A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of “log cabin” and “log house. ” Historically most “Log cabins” were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less architecturally sophisticated.
Log construction was particularly suited to Scandinavia, where right, tall tree trunks (pine and spruce) are easily available. With suitable tools, a log cabin could be trashed from scratch days by a family. As no chemical reaction is involved, such as hardening of mortar, a log cabin could be erected in virtually any weather or season. Many old cities in Northern Scandinavia are constructed exclusively out of log homes, which were decorated by board paneling and wood cuttings. Today, a building of modern log cabins as leisure homes is a fully developed business in Finland and Sweden. Modern log cabins frequently feature fiberglass insulation and are sold as prefabricated kits machined in a mill, rather than hand-built from the field like traditional log cabins.
Log cabins are for the most part constructed without using nails and thus derive their equilibrium from easy stacking, with just a few dowel joints to get reinforcement. This is because a log cabin will compress slightly as it settles, over a few months or even years. Nails would soon be out of alignment and ripped out.
