How Half-Log Timbering Helps Construct Cost-Effective Log Houses
The log cabin conjures images of back-breaking labor, do-it-yourself building, and beautiful character. The appeal of a log home rests on our belief in wood’s strength and durability. Even though modern builders often use only half a log, as siding or for decor, the log’s moisture content (MC) is still the foundation of a lasting log home.
The Climate Influence
Log building traces back to Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, regions with harsh winters. Swedish settlers are believed to have built the first log cabins in America, in the Delaware Valley, and the log cabin went on to become a lasting symbol of American frontier life.
Today, properly dried logs can perform well both outdoors and indoors. Wood in service gradually reaches its equilibrium moisture content (EMC), the point where its moisture content is in balance with the temperature and relative humidity (RH) of the air around it.
When trees are cut, the wood is “green,” holding the moisture it had in the living tree.
Green moisture content can differ greatly between species, so lumber producers dry wood, often in kilns, using temperature and humidity schedules suited to the species being dried.
Wood that’s been dried close to the EMC of its service environment moves less with everyday changes in humidity, which helps prepare it for a long service life.
Lumber mills use wood moisture meters throughout production. From in-line moisture measurement systems to handheld wood moisture meters for spot-checks, wood professionals monitor and manage the wood’s MC from the moment a log arrives at the mill.
Half-Log Siding
Half-log milling saws a log into two roughly equal halves for siding. Where earlier builders stacked whole logs on top of each other to form walls, modern half-log siding is applied as a covering, round side out, to create the same appearance.
Half-log siding gives the look of a full log home and can be used inside or outside. Because it installs over a conventional stick-frame wall, it can even be added to an existing stick-built home.
Half-log siding is sold in a range of sizes and is commonly made from pine and cedar, with other species sometimes available.
The logs are usually kiln dried to speed up drying. Outdoors, the EMC that wood eventually reaches depends heavily on location and season. In one Forest Products Laboratory analysis, average monthly outdoor EMC ranged from 4.6% in Phoenix in June to 20.2% in Eugene, Oregon, in December.1 Even kiln-dried logs can shrink and settle as they reach equilibrium with their surroundings, though usually less than green logs.
The Moisture Content Imperative
A wood moisture meter is an essential tool for keeping track of the MC of half-log siding. Just as log building has evolved over the years, moisture meter technology has evolved so that almost anyone can use one to check log siding before installation and over time.
Using an accurate wood moisture meter helps half-log siding keep its strength and durability for years to come.
- Simpson, William T., “Equilibrium Moisture Content of Wood in Outdoor Locations in the United States and Worldwide,” Research Note FPL-RN-0268, USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, 1998.
Troy Edwards is Technical Service Supervisor for Wagner Meters, Inc., where he oversees manufacturing, quality control and IT service for their electronic measurement products for the building and construction industry. Troy holds an AAS in Electronics Technology and has over 20 years’ experience in various electronic manufacturing and production positions.
Last updated on October 14th, 2026
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Nice infromation about How Half-Log Timbering Helps Construct Cost-Effective Log Houses. can you please share you phone number.Thanks
We built our log home with half logs (crossed corners) from Wilderness Log Homes out of Wisconsin. I think the are out of business. My daughter and her husband are wanting to build, but we can’t locate a supplier…just full log. HELP PLEASE!