Log framing round house - something like this

we have a bunch of pines that have fallen in storms and i'd like to build something.  not as in depth as the 2 story attached but similar in style, ie log framed roundhouse with center masonry chimney.  single story though and i'm thinking on pier footings.  (piers like the attached picture)  I would like a good 3-4' overhang past the posts.  maybe even more?

any resources for how to frame using logs?  details as to how a log framed structure would go together (how to attach roofing logs to beams etc)  how to overlap beams at each post?

just FYI these pine trees range from 12-24'' about 4' off the ground.

anyone done something similar?

thanks!

Erik, where are you and what kind of pines are they?   If you look at the pines that are fallen and old, what is breaking them down?

Where I am, the pines get eaten by termites and beetles within 6 months of being cut, they rot in damp soil within a year, the sap comes out of them and gets all over everything.

But I saw a guy on YouTube in Russia making a log cabin, and the pines in his forest get better and harder once they die.  They are dead and upright in the forest, are seemingly untouched.  He fells them and cuts them to fit.  He says the wood is very valuable for building there.  

So it really depends on the exact type of tree.

I'd also be really careful about the kind of piers and how they are attached, because moisture can get under the wood and on top of the pier and cause rot.  Just because people post great looking pics of newly built structures, doesn't mean that in 5 years they aren't having issues.

Also, the third picture looks the best as far as construction techniques with the diagonal braces.  Those are crucial for keeping the structure from twisting and collapsing, especially in strong storm winds and heavy gusts, and snow load.

we always just called them Virginia Pines.  Might be White pine.  It is in North Central Virginia.  I have several that are standing and dead and have been for a couple years.  Some laying on the ground and have been for a while and they're in various stages of decomp.  As long as they don't lay on the ground in the mud they seem to hold up pretty well.  Just like most wood they just need to be kept dry and out of the muck.

the top one likely got its lateral stability from the cordwood infill (not shown here)  

I'm less concerned about the species and more about the techniques and build plan.  I can put the posts on top of a PT section of wood and/or tar paper to keep them from wicking moisture out of the piers.

Here's from Wikipedia:  Pinus virginiana was used historically as mine timbers, for railroad ties, and for fuel and tar. Currently, it is being planted as in reclamation sites for coal mining operations. Pinus virginiana can also be used for wood pulp, which is used to make paper, and for lumber. The wood weighs 32 pounds (14 kg) per foot.[3]

What about woodpeckers?

Rain water will always seep into a crack like that created between a post and a pier unless there's siding stopping it.  The wooden posts absorb water, and the water can freeze, expand and contract.

If it's just for a patio structure, not meant to be a house, then there's less to be concerned about.

There are lots of building plans online, and if you search under Pole Barn construction that might be the most relevant to what you are after.

the plan was for a 36-48'' overhang past the posts.  plus barrier between concrete and post.  Posts would be 12-18'' above finished grade and eventually perhaps inside the structure.

regardless i cant seem to find info on the types of connections for roundwood vs conventional timber framing.  perhaps they are exactly the same

thanks anyhow.

Would plans for log homes include this information?

i assume it would depend on the type of log cabin.  i dont see a lot of examples of rough roundwood log construction like i'm looking for.  there are plenty of log home plans (horizontal logs stacked on top eachother) although they're mostly for kits.  There's also timber frame plans i just dont know if the two types of construction are the same.  it seems like they would be close but there have got to be some differences since roundwood isnt perfect dimensional lumber.  

I'm building a round wood timber frame house with strawbale infill. We're going with a rectangular design, in part because joinery in roundwood is a tricky enough art that adding the odd angles involved in doing round construction just doesn't seem like a good plan without lots of experience. I don't have lots of experience I've built a 10 x 10 combination pumphouse and rabbitry to protect our wellhead. That was my practice run I'm also building my shop, which IS being done in a round form, but with a reciprocal roof and the fairly classic (by now) "henge" pattern of framing.

When you're doing round wood timber framing, you're basically working with the same joinery techniques as with milled timber frames, with the added element of achieving mating faces in pieces that don't mate well. There's one joint I'm aware of that's specific to round wood framing and that's the "butter pat" joint. Ben Law is the top notch resource on round wood timber framing and, as far as I know, developed the butter pat joint.  The vast majority of the joinery is mortise and tenon work. We had local engineers with experience doing timberframing draw up our final plans, both to get us through permitting more smoothly and to make sure my calculations were valid. Their drawings specify mortise and tenon joints same as you would see in milled frames. They specced some substantial standoffs and waterproofing between the concrete foundation and the posts. I wouldn't advise going with tarpaper in that role, I don't think it would be sufficient.