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

The house is now being constructed by Bedrock Buildings and they will erect it on site in the early summer, on a plot of land in the village of Tomich.

The finished house will use a total of 55, massive, 100-year-old Douglas Fir logs.

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

The log work (peeling, scribing, cutting and assembly) takes place mostly in the workshop and yard, ahead of a short (2-3 day) assembly on site after which the roof, floors and windows are all added.

Local marketing strategy

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

The strategy allows FLS to engage with SME’s 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.

Speaking about the project, Graham Godsman, Marketing and Sales Business Manager at Forestry and Land Scotland, said:

“This is the type of initiative that we 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 thanked FLS for going the extra mile and being interested in what he is hoping to achieve. Ross explained,

“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.”