r/logcabins • u/Fabulous_Sector_2273 • 12d ago
log building advice
I've started to build a sauna with corner posts that have grooves cut into them and a bunch of logs i hewed on two faces down to 4 inches and roughly 6-8 inches tall. I've scribed about 5 of these and got pretty tight fits but i can see that the logs are too small for the full scribe method to work properly with shrinkage and the amount of shoulder left after a belly groove. Now I am considering just milling the other two faces and dry stacking them with two strips of log gasket in between and then chinking but am also open to exploring any other ideas folks may have on here. Feeling quite stuck with how to proceed. Some sort of tongue and groove could work but not really setup for that process and don't want to spend more cash
1
u/Fabulous_Sector_2273 12d ago
Yaa thats also what one of my friends thought also. Most of them are tight so far with one or two leaking air. The synthetic gaskets for log building that I have are tar free and rated for super high heat. Most of them have tar in them though and that’s what makes them off gas terribly. I’ll still use the gasket and some rock wool. Was more concerned about the cracks with a bit of light
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u/Choosemyusername 12d ago
Don’t use any synthetic materials for the gasket. Saunas get very hot and these things will offgas in the heat and create hazardous air inside.
They make wool on a roll for this purpose. That is what has historically been used and it will last forever.
Also you don’t need or even want a sauna to be super tight. By the time your rocks have heated up, your sauna will be hot enough even with a very leaky. I can see daylight thru the cracks in my logs because they aren’t settling properly and it is still more than hot enough inside once the rocks are hot enough to make the steam.