00:00I've been told my massive log cabin project has been taking too long.
00:04Well, it's not as easy as you might think.
00:06This is my story of the past two years.
00:08The first year of the project, in early 2024, I started felling trees.
00:12These giant trees were the eastern red cedar.
00:15They are naturally rot-resistant and decently common in East Texas, ideal for the build.
00:19Cutting down trees off the land owned by my family cost nothing but time, patience, and dedication.
00:24Every chance I got away from college, I'd go into the forest and fell these giants.
00:28I wanted to build something big.
00:30Piece by piece, I debranched and debarked all 30 foot.
00:33It took forever.
00:34Over winter break at the beginning of 2025, I marked out and brought concrete pads for the foundation.
00:39Here in East Texas, the frost line is practically non-existent.
00:43Therefore, digging deep footings is unnecessary.
00:45The soil here has a high sand composition and drains well, so I'm not too concerned with the pads shifting.
00:51I'll monitor the pads and I may add gravel later.
00:53In order to protect all my equipment from storms, I threw together a quick shack out of scrap wood.
00:59This shack is very close to the log cabin and provides me with all my equipment.
01:04I even set up a place to cook inside.
01:06Next, I made a water level out of some tubes so I could stack the concrete pads to an equal
01:11height.
01:12Overall, this worked out very well.
01:13I began assembling the logs by splitting 15 foot sections of cedar.
01:18I then dragged it and set them on the concrete pads.
01:21I did this once again so the next logs would be on an equal height after being notched.
01:26In order to lift the full-size 30 foot logs, I made a tripod and used a chain hoist to
01:31raise them.
01:31I spent hours chopping creating a saddle notch with just an axe until nice viewers commented that I should use
01:37a crosscut saw to help with the notching.
01:39It worked out very well.
01:41Every chance I had, I would drive 6-7 hours from college to back home so I could work on
01:46my log cabin project.
01:47It was slow, lonely, and grueling work.
01:50But I have a vision, a dream I want to complete.
01:53Each log I raise presents a new challenge.
01:55Each challenge I face, I tackle with man-to-man coverage.
01:59Nothing about this build has been easy.
02:01I have made many mistakes, but I learn and I improve.
02:06Our ancestors from every culture, every race, faced their own hardships and struggles.
02:11This molded them into strong, resilient people.
02:14In this modern world, I think every person should take on a hardship or dream of theirs.
02:19Many people wait for perfect conditions that never come.
02:22If there's something you truly want to do with your life, dip your toes in the water.
02:25You will find problems, but you will also find solutions.
02:29No matter how many problems, issues, or setbacks I face, I keep going and keep at it.
02:35Over the summer of 25, I felled more trees through the humid and blistering heat of East Texas.
02:41Then I ended up on a show called Naked and Afraid and lost 28 pounds.
02:46After this last fall semester of college, I returned and continued stacking.
02:50This work can be slow and discouraging, but I believed, and I'm halfway there.
02:55Feel free to like and follow on my journey.
02:57And if you have dreams of your own, stop waiting.
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