UAF to host log cabin workshop in Nenana
April 15, 2013
Nancy Tarnai
907-474-5042
4/15/13
An opportunity to learn from one of the most famous log cabin builders in the world, Robert Chambers, is coming next month to Nenana.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences is working with the Toghotthele Corp. in Nenana to offer the workshop to corporation members and the public. The workshop kicks off May 2-5 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with log peeling, then continues May 6-24 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The site is 307.8 Parks Highway. The end result will be a 16 foot by 20 foot cabin that Toghotthele will likely use as a visitors' cabin.
The sessions are for people interested in building or renovating energy-efficient, quality log structures in Alaska. Chambers, a world-recognized authority on handcrafted log home construction, will lead the sessions on how to build with green logs. Richard Musick of Fairbanks will be assisting. The classes are facilitated by UAF assistant professor Valerie Barber. Basic procedures and techniques will be described and practiced to help even the novice get started with a project. Building an energy-efficient log home requires the highest level of craftsmanship to meet modern standards of airtightness, indoor air quality, safety, comfort and durability.
Instruction includes safety, chain saw use, maintenance, cutting demonstration, practicing notches and ripping and scribing logs. Cost of the workshop is $1,200.
Chambers has been building log homes since 1983 and teaching log construction since 1988. He is the author of the bestselling log home construction textbook, Log Construction Manual, and the inventor of log construction methods, products and machinery. He holds U.S. and foreign patents for his log construction inventions.
In April 2006, the International Log Builders Association presented Chambers with the Grand Achievement Award, which has been awarded only three times in the ILBA’s 30-year history. He is a consultant for log home owners, log home companies, builders and developers throughout the world.
Richard Musick has worked for the last 13 years building custom energy efficient log and frame homes. He owns Ventilation Solutions, a company specializing in heat recovery ventilators and air filtration systems. He has taught more than 20 log home building classes in Alaska.
For more information, contact Barber at 907-746-9466 or vabarber@alaska.edu.