Full-scale log house set to be built with 100-year-old Douglas Fir logs

LOGS the length of a double decker bus, harvested by Forestry Land Scotland (FLS) and supplied to a specialist log cabin builder, are being used to build a full-scale log house in the village of Tomich in the Highlands. 

The house is being constructed by Bedrock Buildings and erection on site is expected to begin in the early summer. The finished property will use a total of 55 100-year-old Douglas Fir logs.  

Harvested as part of FLS’s A82 steep ground harvesting programme – which is designed to remove very large old trees that are becoming too large for the landscape and causing a potential risk – the logs are now being prepared at the Bedrock Buildings workshop and yard.  

The log work takes place mostly in the workshop and yard, ahead of a short assembly on site after which the roof, floors and windows are all added.  

While the majority of FLS timber is sold to a limited number of major sawmillers, these logs have been supplied to Ross Balharry, owner of Bedrock Buildings as part of FLS’s local marketing strategy.

The strategy allows FLS to engage with SMEs and craftspeople such as furniture makers, who are looking for special timber in small quantities and who would otherwise struggle to purchase timber in the volumes FLS would usually market.  

Graham Godsman, marketing and sales business manager at Forestry and Land Scotland, said, “This is the type of initiative that FLS will be looking to support in future through our local marketing strategy; it’s important we reach out to small and medium sized businesses who may not have the capacity or resources to compete for large scale contracts or who may require to purchase niche products and species from us.”

Ross Balharry founded Bedrock Buildings in 2001 after building his first log cabin with his brother when they were teenagers. He added, “Working with FLS and Calum Duffy has been great: knowing that the requirement was a bespoke order, for log cabin construction, they helped to find practical solutions throughout, from order to cutting spec, purchase and collection. I was given an opportunity to view and select logs at the felling site, allowing for detailed assessment and measuring up, prior to purchase.

“This was a huge benefit for me with regards to planning and logistics. The current project is a log house for my mother, – a modest 100m² one-bedroom build, with mezzanine floor and large veranda. We are still at the beginning of our journey but hope to have four full time employees by the end of the year and aim to construct 2-4 projects like this a year.”