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Welcome to the Onalaska Log Building School, LLC
Business license # 603-001-503

Updated August 22, 2010.

My name is Jack Tipping and with my wife Sharon, we built 6 log buildings on our property in rural Onalaska, Washington (see photos). We built our log house in 1980, and our log garage in 1981. In 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 we constructed one log building each year with trees we planted in 1980. Our house cost us $20,000 to build, including new appliances, and today it is valued at over $250,000. Building our own house allowed me to retire in 2005 at age 52 after working 30 years for Washington State Fish and Wildlife (fish biologist).

Now we are ready to share the knowledge of log building construction with others so they might also be able to retire early one day. There is nothing like the comfort of a warm and cozy log house, you will never want a stick house again. By building your own log home you will acquire a great sense of accomplishment, and possibly improved self-confidence. We estimate that a new l,600 square foot log house will cost about $100,000 to $120,000 to build, depending on your desires and abilities, which is far less than most new homes sold today.

Please do not buy a log house kit until you take our class, or you will regret it. We will teach you how to construct your own log building using ropes and pulley blocks, two people is the ideal number for building. The class will go into far more detail than the brief overview listed below, and you will be provided with notes and a CD of the PowerPoint for future reference. You will also get to inspect our log buildings. Our goal is for you to walk away from this one day class with the knowledge and ability to construct your own log building. You will also learn from our mistakes, just knowing the best time to cut your trees is worth far more than the class tuition.

Brief class overview:

	Building site and permits.
	Foundations
	Tools needed
	Logs (when to cut, sizes needed, peeling, etc.)
	Log building assembly Lifting logs Placing sill logs Putting up wall logs Getting logs to fit Ridge pole Rafters Gables
	Finish work Roof Floor joists, flooring, electrical. Heating Stairs Doors/windows Chinking Log care
	Hands on demonstrations of lifting logs with pulley blocks, peeling logs, chinking, batter-boards, 2-stick measuring method for vertical poles, reviewing 6 existing log buildings, etc.

As part of the outside demonstration, you will lift a wall log onto a small 8 ft x 8 ft building, plus lift a ridge pole into place, and put a set of rafters up (see photos below). It is one thing to see photos of how it is done, but helps considerably to actually do it yourself, even on a small scale. You will use ropes and pulley blocks and see how to guy the lifting poles.

Students lifting a rafter set on the working-model building.

Another outside demonstration includes training on setting up and using batter boards to level and square your foundation. You will save a ton of money doing your own foundation.

Students working on laying out a square foundation.

There is also a log lifting station where you will easily lift a 11" diameter x 16' long log with pulley blocks.

Other stations include log peeling with spuds and drawknives.

Spinning a log with a peavey.

Reviewing the hand and power tools needed.

Learning how to chink (see photos).

Classes are conducted in our log home and class size is limited to 10 people. You will receive a 26 pg booklet of the class and a copy of the Powerpoint CD. Classes are scheduled for Saturday:

Sept 11 (7 openings left)
Oct 9

Sign-in is at 8 am, class starts at 8:30 am and ends around 5 pm. Tuition is $175 per person ($150 per person for parties of 2 or more) and includes an outstanding lunch provided by our great local cafe. You will be able to select your lunch option, including vegetarian, after registering for class. To register for class, contact us via email tmusky@tds.net or phone 360-978-4962 and send a $50 deposit per person via Paypal or check at least two weeks before the class. Deposit will be refunded if your reservation is canceled more than one week before class. Balance due on day of class. We do not accept credit cards although we do take Paypal (Paypal address is tmusky@tds.net ).

Please note, we have cats, so if you are badly allergic to cats, you should not attend the class.

We are located about 30 miles south of Olympia and 10 miles east. The area is rural and quiet. You are welcome to take a walk in the woods at lunch break. Be sure to bring a raincoat and shoes that you can remove easily as we will be going outside a couple times for demonstrations (no shoes in the house). Thanks !

Links to related sites:

Log Homes, Log Cabins & Log Furniture - http://loghomelinks.com/

Need a cool B&B to stay overnight while attending the log building class? Great lodging and food at a good price. http://www.theshepherdsinn.com