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Calcimator

Log Home Calculator

Log count, volume, weight, and chinking needs from building dimensions and log profile.

About this calculator

This calculator figures out how many horizontal log courses a wall needs, then converts that into lineal footage, volume, board feet, weight, and chinking. Log Courses comes from dividing Wall Height by the Effective Log Height -- the log's diameter reduced by a profile-specific stacking factor (0.87 for Round logs, 0.85 for D-Log, 1.0 for Square/Hewn, which accounts for notch overlap at the corners) -- and rounding up, since a wall can't use a fractional course. Because Log Diameter and Log Profile both feed Effective Log Height, a bigger log needs fewer courses to reach the same wall height; Window/Door Openings and Waste Allowance never affect the course count, since courses are purely a stacking-height question, not an area or material-order question.

Net Lineal Feet of Logs multiplies courses by Building Perimeter, then subtracts a proportional share for openings, and that lineal footage (not the raw course count) is what drives Total Volume, Total Board Feet, Order Quantity, and both weight figures -- Green Weight assumes ~45 lb/cu ft (fresh-cut) and Air-Dry Weight assumes ~32 lb/cu ft (~15% moisture content). Chinking/Sealant Length tracks the same course count and perimeter, since every log-to-log joint needs sealing regardless of which profile you chose.

Inputs

ft
ft
in
sq ft
%

Results

Log courses

13

Net lineal feet of logs

1,682 LF

Total board feet11,009 BF
Order quantity (with waste)12,660 BF
Total volume917.4 cu ft
Green weight41,284 lbs
Air-dry weight29,358 lbs
Actual wall height9.42 ft
Effective log height8.7 in
Chinking/sealant length3,235 LF
Chinking tubes needed162
Log profileRound
Net wall area1,219.5 sq ft
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Building perimeter, Wall height, and Log diameter.
  2. Set Window/door openings, Log profile, and Waste allowance.
  3. Review Log courses and Net lineal feet of logs (LF).
  4. Use Total board feet (BF) and Order quantity (with waste) (BF) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Wall height

Wall heightLog coursesNet lineal feet of logs
4.57842 LF
6.75101,262 LF
14202,662 LF
20283,782 LF

What each input means

Building perimeter
Total perimeter of exterior walls (e.g., 35+35+35+35 = 140 ft).
Wall height
Desired wall height from sill log to top plate log.
Log diameter
Average log diameter (or dimension for square-hewn logs).
Window/door openings
Total area of windows and doors to subtract.
Log profile
0 = Round (full log), 1 = D-Log (flat interior face), 2 = Square / Hewn.
Waste allowance
Extra material for notching waste, defects, and corner joinery.

What each result means

Log courses
Number of horizontal log courses to reach wall height.
Net lineal feet of logs
Total running length of logs needed (adjusted for openings).
Total board feet
Estimated board feet of log material.
Order quantity (with waste)
Board feet to order including waste allowance.
Total volume
Net log volume in cubic feet.
Green weight
Estimated weight with green (fresh-cut) moisture content.
Air-dry weight
Estimated weight at ~15% moisture content.
Actual wall height
Height achieved with the calculated number of courses.
Effective log height
Stacking height per log after notch overlap.
Chinking/sealant length
Total linear feet of joints requiring chinking or sealant.
Chinking tubes needed
Estimated tubes of caulk/chinking compound (~20 LF per tube).
Log profile
Selected log profile style (Round, D-Log, or Square/Hewn).
Net wall area
Gross wall area minus window/door openings.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Building perimeter = 140, Wall height = 9, Log diameter = 10, Window/door openings = 100 = 6 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Log courses
    Log courses = ceil(wallHeightFt / effectiveLogHeightFt)
    13 = 13
  3. Calculate Net lineal feet of logs
    Net lineal feet of logs = totalLinealFt * (1 - openingReductionFraction)
    1682 = 1682
  4. Calculate Total board feet
    Total board feet = totalCubicFeet * 12
    11009 = 11009
  5. Calculate Order quantity
    Order quantity = totalBoardFeet * (1 + wastePct / 100)
    12660 = 12660

Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do window and door openings change the number of Log Courses needed?

No. Log Courses is Wall Height divided by Effective Log Height (rounded up) -- purely a stacking-height calculation based on Wall Height, Log Diameter, and Log Profile. Window/Door Openings only reduce Net Lineal Feet of Logs (and everything downstream of it: volume, board feet, weight, chinking length) by subtracting a proportional share of material, not the number of courses the wall is built up from.

Why does a larger log diameter reduce the number of courses needed?

Effective Log Height is the log's diameter times a profile-specific stacking factor (0.87 for Round, 0.85 for D-Log, 1.0 for Square/Hewn), so a bigger-diameter log stacks taller per course. Log Courses (wall height / effective log height, rounded up) falls as diameter rises across the full 6-20 in range -- fewer, taller courses reach the same wall height with larger logs.

Does the Waste Allowance percentage affect how many courses are stacked?

No. Waste Allowance only inflates Order Quantity (with waste) above the calculated Total Board Feet, to account for notching waste, defects, and corner joinery losses when ordering material. It has no effect on Log Courses, which is set purely by Wall Height, Log Diameter, and Log Profile before any ordering math happens.

How is the Chinking/Sealant Length figured out?

Chinking/Sealant Length is based on the number of horizontal joints between courses (roughly twice the course count, since each log has a joint above and below, minus the top course which has none above it) times Building Perimeter, adjusted down for the same opening-area fraction used elsewhere. It scales with both Log Courses and Building Perimeter, so a taller wall or a longer perimeter both increase the sealant length needed.

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