I will be wiring my first log cabin this summer any tips or ideas on how to do it.

Run away as fast as you can.

I have never done one but all that I have read and have seen on TV about doing so is bad.

I hope your doing it T&M.

I've never done one either, but the first problem that comes to my mind is how do you get the receptacle covers to "flush up" on the round logs. The log cabins that I've seen aren't "real" log cabins they just look as if they are. I would have to know more about the construction of the cabin. By the way, fresh air and a cabin in the woods is just what The Watt Doctor ordered.
Good Luck,
Doc

If I think about it for more than a second two words come to mind - "FLOOR OUTLETS" - all floor outlets. That and low voltage controls for lighting. Two items that would make your life a lot easier.

I've never done a log cabin but know many guys who have. Its my understanding that the logs are drilled as they are put up for electrical. At least thats how its done in Maine. Maine has several large producers of log homes and they are all over the place up here.

I hope your customer likes pipe & surface mounted boxes.

I hope you have a real long drill bit, and are real good with a tape measure.

Reno, why should Peter's customer like pipe and surface boxes??? The two log homes I worked in have no exposed electrical. It takes a lot of work but can be wired like a conventional home.

Peter, the number one task you should plan on is: lots of lay out time. Start planning your circuit paths now. Also plan on being on site everyday with the building crew. Like iwire posted I hope this is being done Time & Material.

Al

The home owner is planing on drilling and pulling My main job is layout, service, and termination. All ceilings are exposed with tongue & grove Great room is 32' x 22' his wife does not want pendant lighting. Outside walls are round logs, bottom course has flat side (for outlets) everything else is gouge out with router and pray.

Remember as the logs dry out, the walls will shift and move. Be carefull with clearances.

LarryC

"The home owner is planing on drilling and pulling", you say!?

All the more reason to either run away, or insist on T&M.

Like the old saying goes...

Labor rates:

$65.00 per hour.
$75.00 if you watch.
$85.00 if you help.

I have done 4 log cabins. The last 1 I did on T&M due to the fact that when i got the job the cabin was already built. That was the best . You can do them several ways. The best is to meet the builder and work with him. Let him drill the logs etc. You install the wire. There is no need for suface mounted boxes. That is for people that dont know what they are doing. You should also figure about 3x the labor and wire from that of a regular house. As far as the recep covers flushing up to the logs, most plugs are put down lowthere is usually a piece of pine board about 8-10" thick that goes around the base and the plugs go in that. Hope this helps

Carjam,

The owners wifes want lots of recessed lighting I don't know what the roof or flooring will be done other than it will be tongue&grove.

I wired one last summer, by your discription it sounds a lot like the one I did. Invest in a realy good fish tape. Lighting is a real pain in the butt. Check your cans for sure, make sure they work before you leave the rough in.I did not have to run any thing in exposed conduit except for the in-line water heater,becouse the owner did not know were it was going to be located till time to finsh.Oh and get yourself a good chisel when time to put in the panel, if your going back to back with the meter & panel Them logs are about 8" thick.

Carjam...and others...I admit to complete ignorance, never having actually done a log home.

I'd really like to see some pics, showing how it's done by "those who know what they're doing."

Silly, me, I had imagined solid logs for the walls, with no interior chase- and burying Romex in the chinking didn't seem right. I also saw some difficulty working with those dovetail joinst where logs come together. Maybe we're thinking of different things?

They are solid logs, tongue and groove, cedar or pine if they are from Maine. The carpenter drills the holes as the logs go up. Seems like alot of work to me for a home that won't be adequately insulated when its done.

Hello from South Dakota!!!!!

Peter, I have wired alot of log homes in the mountains of Colorado, and here in the Black Hills. Don't over think them!! They are just a house. You have to think about where the wire starts, where it ends, and how to get it there. It does take alot more wire for log than it does for stick.

You need to have a good chisel for your boxes, and you would be best off if you invest in fish rods instead of a fish tape.

Like others have mentioned you will want to meet with the builder before they lay any of the logs down just to make sure you are all on the same page.

If the builder is going to drill the holes as he goes, make sure he understands that he must drill all the holes from crawl space to rafters. It will make changes easier (not that they will be easy) when they happen.

When you have a box cut into the face of a log just use an orbital sander to cup the location so the plate fits flat, or you can do floor boxes on the main floor. Most log homes end up with 2x4 tounge and groove flooring that finishes the cieling below making it an eye sore to install floor boxes on the second level.

If someone forgets to drill a hole or you can't fish through the ones that are there, you can router a 1 1/2 deep groove in the door jams before the doors are set. then drill straight into the log where your switch is at and in again to the light.

One more thing. Logs settle and heave over time, so leave slack in the wire to alow it to move.

There are so many tricks to make things easier when doing log homes that I don't know how to list them all. If you have any specific questions please do not hesitate to drop me an e-mail.


Jon

Sorry to sound ignorant here, but what does a Log-Cabin look like?.
I've never seen the inside of one.
How are the gaps between the logs filled?.

For our friends where the use of this much wood would be exessive, as it is enough lumber to build 10 home of equal size, these are some examples of log homes on this site. http://www.loghomebuilders.org

Gaps in the logs are often filled with mortar, or simular plaster.

Seriously though, the floor outlet and a Homeworks panel idea may even save you and the home owner money the way the guys who have done them make it sound. Unless there is an easier way horizontal in the baseboard? Other-wise, I can see the unhappy customer browsing the T&M billing from here. "2 hours lay-out, 5 hours wait-time, 1 hour labor." They must be informed that this is "Form before Function" in the highest sense of those words. Add an anti-whineing/sulking clause to the un-limited T&M contract.


Hanging around a site while the structure is built sounds like an expensive working vacation to me. Even if done T&M, you may want to take up a hobby to stave of boredom. Or better yet run an on-site catering buisiness selling breakfast and lunch might be more profitable. After-all, what else are you going to do with your time as they set each log? Personally, I would demand that it be made as easy and efficiant as possible for the electrical install, and if the creativity of the carpenters cant come up with an estetic way to hide my work, then so be it. Other-wise it sounds like a full-time job on that site alone, with all other contracts for that employee, or yourself shut off, for the duration.