Fire Hardened Wood Roof on a Log Cabin in the Woods using Ancient Japanese technique Shou Sugi Ban

Description

Well, the roof on the off grid log cabin is done, and it's not metal or cedar shakes like we all discussed. See how I burned the boards by watching this video after the current one https://youtu.be/O8TbbRK4MDs

It's wood plank, hardened with flame in the Japanese style of shou sugi ban, an ancient technique of preserving wood for construction. It makes the wood water, weather, insect, UV and burn resistant, perfect for the roof of this log cabin in the woods.

There are building in Japan that have been standing for centuries due to the use of this durable wood construction material, know as shou sugi ban.

At the end of the video, I continue with my self reflections, this time talking about passion and how important it is to a happy and successful life.

Tags: bushcraft,self-reliance,survival,log,cabin,shou sugi ban,house construction,home building,woodworking,crafts,japanese woodworking,inspiration,motivation,self improvement,canoeing

Video Transcription

hey everybody welcome back to the cabin I'm gonna be moving fast today because I have one day of sunshine and then some bad weather coming in it's a busy week I've got some guests coming up to the cabin this week probably my first fireside chat log jam interview whatever we're calling them you're gonna see something here behind me which we've come as a surprise to I think just about everybody who commented on what they thought that roof type should be because even though I really appreciated all those comments and gave me a lot to consider and I was convinced one way or the other depending on the comments that I read my wife came up with this idea and I liked it and we decided together to go some complete different direction and something that she's always wanted me to do on other projects that I haven't got around to doing and I think this is the perfect place for I hope you like what we chose and I'd love to hear what you think about it [Applause]

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this is just a test piece just tacking it up here to see what it looks like I think this is how I'm doing the ridge cap I want to see it from the ground enough to see what I need to fill in at the top of these battens that's the general idea well think I'm going to wrap this video up right here reason being got rain coming in imminently and the predictions for this area this year are heavy snowfall like 50% more than usual is what they're predicting and I believe it with this warm weather the Great Lakes are still warm and when we have ice-free Great Lakes especially Georgian Bay all winter long the clouds build up over Georgian Bay and then they blow over here and as they hit this higher ground they dump their load so I bet we're gonna have five six feet of snow here maybe even on the ground at times I need to start looking around and cleaning up making sure I haven't left any tools on the ground get some of the excess like the cut offs from the logs somebody had a great idea that said I should make a cord wood building out of them and I've got so many of them I could probably get at least one good wall so I think I'll do that so I need to get those stored somewhere out of the weather and what else got a bunch of things they still need to finish off the outhouse behind you there I need to put in the logs the upright posts for the front porch and that's going Cinque the cabin so I needs to finish collecting the moss and all that clay which I'm going to have to do this week taste the ground starts freezing so a lots and lots of stuff to do but like I said I'm going to wrap this video up here for that reason I'm just not going to get back to the computer all week to add more to the video so I'll do that video tonight

but one more thing this is Monday and actually realized I posted a picture of the front of the cabin with the first couple of rows on here on Instagram on the story section so I don't know if anybody noticed that that kind of gave away the roof type before I intended to but I think what I'll do is I'll post some more pictures of this and the far side which I love likely get done well before the next video comes out I also post some pictures on Instagram and give some update to what's going on around here probably even the woodshed so so if you want to see what's going on here before the next video that's a good place to check or Facebook myself reliance on Facebook so thanks again for watching look forward to seeing you next week up the cabin take care strong wind from the northwest was the signal that Indian summer was about to end

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overnight the temperature dropped to four degrees Celsius and the wind died down literally the calm before the storm [Music]

the change in weather was a reminder to me to start preparing for a long cold winter ahead you notice I've got tired eyes again this morning which I often have you know a lot of nights they don't get a great night's sleep which is not good for your health very important but a lot of times I'm so excited about what I'm doing the next day that I wake up too early if there's one thing I've learned through observation of my own life and people around me is that having passion for something is one of the keys to happiness I'm a very curious person by nature so I have no lack of inspiration or lack of a passion for things and new things so I'm always trying out new things and I think that curiosity is what makes me happy and it keeps me motivated keeps me inspired to get up in the morning and start something new you know I love sports as a kid I played soccer and hockey passionately but at the same time I want to spend a lot of time outdoors so I never became really great at one thing it was pretty decent hockey player and soccer player had had some successes there but I was missing practices and not going to some of the games even so that I could go hang out at door so it impacted

I guess my success in any one thing but because I've done so many things I'm so passionate about and so curious about so many things I'm always kind of moving on to that next thing and not having time maybe to fit as many people into my life as maybe others would prefer or that maybe would even be healthier for me I'm not sure but what I do know is that having excitement in my life having something I can't wait to get up and do the next morning it's so rewarding for me it's so exciting it's so uplifting it gets I could never get depressed I can never get bored because I'm just that type I'm just curious and I think everybody should try to find some of that passion and it's different for everybody for me I've done everything from wood carving to hunting and fishing and canoeing and cabin building sports and

and family of course which is very the very top which takes up a lot of my time well I think we've become so comfortable indoors that we don't get out and don't experience discomfort don't experience the wonders of nature again listen to the birds and the squirrels and the Chipmunks running around the leaves and it's just a really dynamic atmosphere out here especially compared to now sitting in front of our TV or sitting in front of our computers so to get out there and do this type of thing I would say if you don't have a passion this would be where I would start but like I said passion is different for everybody and and I mentioned the comfort because we get lulled into complacency we get too comfortable with our surroundings and therefore we have nothing that inspires us part of why I get outdoors and challenge myself you'll see me winter camp and you'll see me and you'll see me use minimal equipment and kind of stress myself which looks like it's unnecessary but if you don't experience discomfort then you don't appreciate comfort if we're in a sterile environment too you know 22 degrees Celsius temperature all the time year-round we're indoors we're not as affected by light when the Sun Goes Down we flick on a light switch we don't get into the natural rhythms of nature I think we're really missing out on something so we might have our indoor passion so you might be passionate about playing video games you might be passionate about writing or reading or any kind of a sedentary pastime which I think it's great if you're passionate about that a passion is different for everybody and that's what excites you that's what makes you get up in the morning that's fantastic but if it's not enough then I suggest getting outdoors and doing some of this kind of stuff but that passion to me is the number one key it's the number one key to success and happiness and if you can and I really urge everybody to find their passion you know one of those passions obviously is family my wife and my kids are my absolute priority they're my number one thing reasons to do anything in fact a lot of what I do even here is to motivate them for them to be proud of me in fact that it makes me a better person because it makes me feel confident and and happy I'm therefore a better father and a better husband and you know despite the fact that I'm always looking for something new I'm looking for change that doesn't apply to family and it doesn't apply to my relationship with my wife I'm extremely happy with my wife we have a fantastic relationship and I wouldn't trade it for anything that's my number one priority so all of these other things are passions but you can be passionate for many things and passion for a loved one I think is top priority but you have to make time for yourself and you have to follow passions that don't involve other people [Music]

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