Restoring a heritage log cabin isn’t something I set out to do. It was never a grand life goal , or something I thought I might like to do ‘someday’. It just happened , and now, 12 years later, I’m so glad it did.
I bought our little house in the forest somewhere around 1999. Actually, let me rephrase that – I bought the ‘pieces’ of our little house. Then the real work started.
Here’s how we did it.
Step 1 – Find Decrepit Log Cabin in the Woods
Sometime in the late 1990s, my father was traipsing around in the woods outside our family’s property and came across an old, original homesteader’s log cabin sitting on what at one time must have been a sunny knoll. Now surrounded by fully grown trees and covered with moss, the building was probably a year away from the roof collapsing and the whole thing rotting into the ground.
It was remarkable it was still intact, as most of the old homesteading cabins in our neck of the woods fell to the ground decades ago. But for some reason, this one, built in the early 1930s (according to local records) and left abandoned for 40 years, was still standing. Incredible. And, I thought, a sign .
My dad told me about the building, and being a bit of a heritage buff, asked him to show it to me on one of my weekend visits. Well, one look and I was hooked. You know those moments when you seem get a ‘download’ from above, when you just know that there is something you simply have to do ? This was one of those moments.
“Let’s restore it!” I said, entranced by just the thought of bringing a historical building back from the brink. In return I got a look that oozed, “Are you nuts?”
Once the incredulous vibe subsided, we talked about it and discussed the possibility of approaching the owner of the 45 acre property the old cabin sat on to see if he might be willing to sell the entire piece. I located the owner, asked if he might be interested in selling the property, and got an ‘absolutely not’ in response. But not one to be foiled, I thought I’d try another approach.
“Would you be interested in selling the old cabin?”
The ‘yes’ didn’t come right away, but after a bit of time, I met with Mr. D at a coffee shop and signed some very informal paperwork selling me the building. $150 cash, and I was the proud owner of a mossy, falling down, hand hewn log cabin.
OK… Now what?
Step 2 – Move It
Before I bought the old building, my parents and I had long discussions about how we could get it from where it sat down to our family property. Basically, it came down to numbering each hand-hewn log with a coding system, taking it apart piece by piece(which turned out to be the simplest part – it basically just fell over with a push), and moving the piecesa few hundred feet north to the new building site. Sounded simple enough – until the property owner mentioned he didn’t want any trees removed or trails widened. More challenging? A tad. 
After a bit of brainstorming, we decided the simplest solution would be to pull the cabin out of the bush via a cable attached to an ATV. One… piece… at… a… time. Not terribly efficient, but it got the job done over a weekend.
Step 3 – Clean It Up
Once all the logs were moved to the new building site, they were piled and covered for an entire year to let them ‘dry out’ a bit. As wood tends to swell and shrink depending on moisture content, and this building had been abandoned for 40 years with a decomposing roof, the logs were pretty much wet through. And HEAVY, which would make reassembly more cumbersome.
Before reassembling the logs, any areas of rot were removed with a chainsaw, using the rounded end of the blade to ‘carve’ out any punkiness. Remarkably, there were few of these spots to remove – a testament to the amazing resiliency of our native western red cedar. We only had to replace the very bottom logs that essentially had been sitting on the dirt in the original building – the rest of the logs were almost entirely sound.
Finally, each log was cleaned using a home model pressure washer to remove the years of algae and dirt that had affixed to the wood surface. As you can see in the photos, the difference is amazing!
Step 4 – Put it All Back Together Again
Here’s where the real work started. For a variety of reasons, we decided to put the building on a platform rather than a foundation: 
- to make it easy in case we ever wanted to move it later;
- to keep costs low; and
- to allow us to do most of the work ourselves (rather than hiring cement layers, etc.).
This decision has served us well over the years by providing a crawlspace for storage, plumbing, etc., but there are a few drawbacks:
- the crawlspace allows for cool air to circulate under the floor – great for summer, not so great in winter (we insulated, but there’s more work to do);
- sitting on posts makes parts of the building a bit shaky – heavy footsteps can rattle the dishes in the dish cabinet… the bonus, though, is that we’re well set in case of an earthquake, as we won’t need to repair a concrete foundation;
- I think there are certain critters who take refuge there… but maybe that’s OK, so long as they’re not invading or causing structural damage.
Once the logs were cleaned and prepared, the job of reassembly kicked into high gear. As you can imagine (and see in the photos), this was a bit of a chore. And as is always the case when you think everything is going swimmingly, we found that some of the inventory numbers had rubbed off
some of the logs on their way from one site to the other. Needless to say, there was much reviewing of photographs and trying logs this way and that. Kind of like a giant jigsaw. A really heavy jigsaw puzzle!
The logs were reassembled using a winching system, lots of muscle, and a tonne of building experience on the part of my dad. It truly was a labour of love.
Finally, to make the cabin more ‘modern’ to accommodate a kitchen and a bathroom, we added a shed-roof addition on one side, and increased the pitch of the roof from the original in order to fit in a sleeping loft. The original building was two rooms and a storage loft – we thought we’d need a bit more space than that.
Step 5 – Finishing
Once the building was complete, we installed some antique wood windows (single pane, unfortunately), added the back sitting porch, nailed in the window and interior trim, and had a chinking party to do the exterior chinking using a traditional ‘recipe’ of cedar sawdust, cement and water. Over a decade later, the exterior chinking is still solid. The interior chinking, however, has dried out from the continuous heating, cooling and dampness of winters here and is falling out in chunks. I know what I’ll be doing this spring! 
The doors came from a used building supply store, and we managed to repurpose the original cabin’s front door, complete with the owner’s initials, as our bathroom door. I love the additional sense of history it brings – the whole building is a conversation piece, but that door is in a whole other category. I simply adore it.
The Nitty Gritty
Over the years, the cabin has been a rental, a home for my brother in his younger years, and a family gathering place. Friends have stayed here on retreat, we’ve had a wedding and multiple birthday parties. When we moved in in 2009, it had gone through a major renovation, which only served to add to its charm.
It’s been an incredible gift for our entire family, our friends, and everyone who sees it. There’s just something about this building that exudes ‘cozy’ and a whole lotta love. Maybe it’s all the handwork that went into it, both originally and in the rebuild. Maybe it’s the location. I don’t know. All I know is that it’s a blessing, and I absolutely love living here.
If you can find an old cabin and have the team available to help you restore it, my recommendation would be ‘go for it’! You’ll be very, very happy you did.
- 11 Lessons Learned from 11 Years of Rural Living - March 23, 2020
- What is ‘Modern Homesteading’, Anyway? - July 17, 2016
- Summer Rural Living Celebration! - July 1, 2014
Victoria, I’ve been avidly following your homesteading adventures and the reconstruction of this old cabin into the lovely home you’ve made it really inspires me. One day I hope to be able to do the same! You’ve triggered something inside me that’s been latent since childhood that wants to turn a small piece of land into a piece of self-sustaining artwork…. chickens, goats, horses and all! Keep up the great work!
Thank you, Susan – that means so much coming from someone with such a wealth of rural living experience as you do. :o) And I love your visual of a ‘self-sustaining artwork’ – I can most definitely see you designing just that, like a gorgeous quilt. Living in a house you helped build is definitely something special. And if it’s got the heritage component as well? A double whammy of goodness!!
Victoria, I love your posts. They are very interesting reads too. We have a place part of Habitat for Humanity that has home improvement items–some new, some old, but never a shortage of finding things to recycle here at great prices. This city girl here has lots to learn even thought a transplant to the country from the big city.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Carol! We’ve got a Habitat ReStore here as well, but I haven’t ever visited. Must go check it out! Thanks for the tip…
We have a 6800 sq. Ft. Log cabin building built 1937. Four rooms, ones a kitchen, bathroom added in 1965. One auditorium. We need an estimate on the cost to restore. Any suggestions?
Can be seen at http://www.springfieldcommunityinc.com
Hi, I was wondering what should be used to preserve the exterior the logs?
What an amazing adventure you have been on…but look at the result! Wow! Wonderful article that demonstrates the realization of a dream! Never say never!
This was one of those posts that had me hanging on every word, Victoria. I didn’t realize you guys had to take it apart and build it back. I’m sending the link to my dad right now – he’ll love this story!
It was a job, that’s for sure, but so rewarding!
Wow – thank you so much for stopping by and leaving your story – I’m honoured to make your acquaintance, and am so grateful for your support. Some days it feels like a rather hard slog, but hearing your words raises me up!! Thank you so much… I look forward to sharing more of our adventures… ;o)
Thanks so much for your kind comments! It’s definitely been, and continues to be, a labour of love. Definitely a conversation piece… :o)
Here in PA I see lots of abandoned stone houses and want to adopt all of them. They are so beautiful and should be refurbished by someone. But like in your case the owners don’t want to sell (it’s been in the family forever), but no one wants to fix it. Shame…. I love your home and appreciate the work to bring it back to life…
I also love my 1835 2 story log house here in Ohio. It was indeed a labor of love and today 2016 I’m still in love with it! I’m also thinking about putting up another one this summer and making it into an antique shop. Thanks for your story .
Victoria, enjoyed the post about disassembling, moving and rebuilding an old log cabin. It resonated with me, we found an old log cabin just this past August that my grandfather had built in the 20’s. Similarly dilapidated, but with emotional significance.
Would you have time to discuss what we’re planning? It is an old Estonian smoke sauna.
Wayne
Would love to connect! I’m not sure how much I can offer, as it was quite some time ago, but my dad is available to answer questions (he did most of the work). Let me know! You can email me at victoria@modernhomesteading.ca .
Hello: Glad to have came across your post. Looking for the same thing. Something bandit or a fixer-upper off grid to restore and live in or purchase one at a cheap price can’t afford much but I’m running Out of options trying to get something.
Thanks!
I don’t know where you are located, but there are still a lot of options for what you’re looking for in Wyoming. Right now, there is an offering for 5-19 acre plots for $89.999 in a real-estate offering called Whispering Hills. I see billboard advertising it up and down the I-25 and I-80 corridor near Cheyenne, Wyoming, Ft Collins Colorado and Laramie Wyoming. Additionally, there are cabins and old houses for sell (really cheap) in Encampment, Wyoming – which is just minutes from the Medicine Bow National Forest. Don’t know if this helps- but there are treasures out West and I thought I should share.
So this is where you do all your amazing work! Enjoyed reading your cabin journey!
Thank you!
I have several old log buildings on a family homestead that were acquired by my ancestors in the Homestead Act – and date back to the early 1900’s. I am now the primary caretaker and executrix of the estate. We have replaced all the dilapidating roofs over the past five years. We can only do work in the Summers – and can’t afford any other path than DIY. I’m now concerned abut conditioning the exterior walls. One building in particular – the logs are flaking – much like chapped lips on the Western side. I have heard that using boiled linseed oil is the best penetrating treatment. Could love any input from you or your readers!
What species of tree are the logs from?
Wow, what an incredible journey you’ve had with restoring your heritage log cabin! I stumbled upon your blog post and couldn’t help but be captivated by your story. The way you described stumbling upon the decrepit log cabin in the woods was so vivid, I could almost picture it myself.
It’s fascinating how you felt an immediate connection and a sense of purpose when you laid eyes on the abandoned building. Moments like those, when we receive a “download” from above, are truly special and should never be ignored. Your passion for preserving heritage really shines through your words.
I admire your determination and the sheer amount of effort it must have taken to restore the log cabin over the course of 12 years. It’s not an easy task, but your commitment and love for this project are truly inspiring.
Your storytelling is compelling, and I found myself eagerly reading each step of the process. Starting from finding the cabin, to the actual restoration work, your attention to detail and dedication are commendable. It’s amazing to see how a neglected structure can be brought back to life with passion and hard work.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s evident that restoring this log cabin has become more than just a project for you; it’s become a source of pride and joy. Your journey is a testament to the power of following one’s instincts and pursuing a path that may not have been initially planned.
I look forward to reading more about your log cabin restoration and seeing the incredible transformation you’ve achieved. Your story is a reminder that sometimes the most meaningful endeavors are the ones that unexpectedly find us. Keep up the fantastic work, and thank you for sharing your positive and uplifting experience with us!