I think it's time to talk about the roof 🤣

Do we need to have a roof intervention? Admitting you have a problem is the first step.....

It might be time to start splitting shingles.

You’re totally right. Also this is way more relaxing to watch. No (scripted) chaos or whatever to make it seem cooler and more action packed, just the content you came for.

every part of their production is top notch, really

Modern tv cinematographers are too busy shaking the camera around to try to look edgy and realistic.

Anyone i describe this to, I always say it has the production value of the best PBS shows. Professionally filmed, but comfortable and relaxed.

Imagine if History channel still had History on it. They'd be doing 3 hour blocks of Townsend's!

I’ve always been curious about this - we know that fires were a big problem in the olden days, but were there any mitigating measures taken to keep oilcloth and pitch-sealed wood from catching flames? Natural sources of boron retardants or the like?

Nothing to do with the house made of wood then? 😂

@@danowest yeah, that entire towns made totally of wood was kind of major factor. It's why London was rebuilt in brick after the Great Fire. Boston too, I think.

@@andrewevanjohn1482 It seems not much. I think most people at this time were limited to proactive vigilance, and if a fire does occur they had to quickly salvage the most valuable things in the house (which is what the 'bed key' and 'salvage bags' are for - quick collection and dismantling of valuables). They did have many forms of fire resistant materials, but they weren't widely available to safeguard an entire house until asbestos mining and refining became a really big industry in the states during the 19th century.

Chicago went up in smoke!

I agree

Same thing with the door handle. Also makes me wonder though how they'd make the equipment they use to make these things back then.

Depends on the era. Some imported, some then made in the colonies. Nine easy to get with a trip to Lowes. :)

Nine easy - thanks for nothing, autocorrect.

There were doors in Europe and Asia made to far superior standards. This is a frontier door. It wasnt even in its own day meant to be the best door possible. Frequently families played a game of hopskotch with family homes. They'd build a cabin like this then a small brick home then add to it a while then more and more modern until today. Unbroken lineage of door making before and since.

... especially if the carpenter sucks! /s

@@Kamamura2 I don't see how having a good smith makes up for having a bad carpenter considering they work with entirely different material.

@@aaronloiselle7404 They put the bad carpenter in irons and parade him around to town for him to see err of his way, unless there is no blacksmith and the carpenters reign of terror goes unchecked... Just guessing here but it seems legit.

The carpenter cant do his job without iron tools.

Same with stonemasons. In a castle build in Europe at that time the guilds frequently cooperated to form novel and otherwise impossible solutions. Some of which remain architectural world heritage sites to this day. Particularly in the UK from whence many of the founders of this nation carried forth

Quite a while ago I read Two Years Before the Mast. If I recall, sailors work was unending, but yes, the less pleasant work was usually reserved for the lazy guys, but the amount of unpleasant work available generally made for everyone getting their share.

They were making 'oakum'.

@@jonanderson5137 lived aboard a sailboat for years, unending work is correct

You are talking about a customized hat that is taken off as a custom, aren't you? So hats off to the hat-makers ....

oakum and stockholm tar

When mixed with beeswax, it also makes a superior metal finish.

Linseed/turps is the old fashioned way. 50/50

But would Washington's men have any? That's the theme of this cabin... what a primitive, thrown-together cabin would be like; the kind you slap up so you can survive building a better one...

@@northeastslingshot1664 That’s how I maintained my cedar gutters. WAY better than cheap aluminum ones!

@@maugusenergy7008 Sure are! Ive treated and oil painted hundreds on Nantucket and most historical renos Ive worked on. My carpenters would hand cut and nail lead into corners as well. Now I torch the insides to a light char and then 50/50. 🙏

Tarred oakum and leather sealing on the door would do wonders for the habitability of the house - this rope isn't sealing much, since you can see the outside right through it.

oakum? I hardly know 'um!

That's a fantastic idea Ace! The only thing I wonder about it how often you would need to replace it, even with that in mind I bet that idea would've been GREAT during the winter time!

Oakum tucked in tight with a caulking iron and sealed with Stockholm tar. It will allow for expansion and contraction and be weather and water tight.

@@wedohedoshedooowee828 Replace it when the wind starts coming in around the door. Wrap yourself in a nice warm blanket and lie down by the fireplace to keep warm

Except log cabins like that dot the wilderness all over the united states, especially in the Rockies and Appalachian but they're also a common sight throughout the deep south in the back woods and very rural areas. They're time tested structures used for hunting, camping, get aways and vacation. And so long as they're well maintained can last decades.

@@ComotoseOnAnime *centuries

@@matildas3177 That's rather optimistic and assumes a dry climate where wood rot wouldn't compromise a vital part of the structure, forcing a repair that would effectively require dismantling it. Unless wood is treated and covered by some form of paint or covering, wood will eventually rot or succumb to moisture, and even then sun bleaching will compromise it no matter how much you maintain it. It can last decades without any major repairs so long as insect and rot is kept to a minimum but everything needs repairs at some point and for a typical log cabin, if the repair is near the base of the structure which it generally always is considering it's sitting on the ground where insects and moisture stay, it would require dismantling the entire cabin to replace those logs.

@@ComotoseOnAnime in my part of the world replacing parts of or entire logs is considered an integral part of normal maintenance of a timber cabin. That's why we have timber structures that are literal centuries old all over the country.

Mostly seen in historic buildings in the US.

@@edcrichton9457 I have one in my garden shed 😂

These videos are so good. Cheers, Rose!

Happy, happy...

That's an interesting technique

I was about to suggest it too. Also: dry moss can be used instead of ropes. Strips of hardy leather could be nailed to the door frame to further cover the gaps between frame and door. Old blanket or tarp can be hung from the top of the frame (on the inside of the room of course) to reduce the drafts even further. And finally, small covered vestibule could be build outside, with another door at the end. It would isolate main room from the outside cold, reduce amount of snow brought in by either wind or feet, and provide space to leave wet or snow covered outer garments and shoes. All those methods were used in old Polish houses I've seen preserved in open-air museums.

They would also build a little closed-in porch, outside or even inside

I would assume a bit of both sealing and hides. AFAIK hides require quite regular care to weather getting wet and drying cycles.

@@defeqel6537 I think also that you can use the hide for a lot of other things, especially if it's big/numerous enough to cover a door of that size, so it be inefficient use of materials for this repair. Granted probably you could tar up some trimmings of rags or junk leather and it would be a good substitute for the rope.

I would assume even a ruff blanket hanging from the door frame would help cut down on the draft. But most cabins are always colder in the winter, from my experience from camping. An open fire all, a hot meal and clothing that covers the whole body you don't notice it so bad.

@@234ne14 That's a good point, you'd probably rather sleep under that hide than put it on the door.

That would work to block drafts while inside for the evening, but might need to be tied up or folded away while you're out. I'm not sure many frontier folks could afford to use that much fabric for the purpose? Might be helpful next winter, though!

Battens and door stop was my first thought too.

@@joshh5336 My first thought was grooving the plank edges for an inlay strip or packing a channel between the boards, and/or shaping them on a V or a flat angle to nest with thinner packing (felt scrap, etc), but they're beyond that point.

Small battens nailed or pegged to the casing to form a door frame for the edges. Battens on the cracks that's how many of the old doors I have seen and built where done. Nails would be expensive so wooden pegs would suffice and often be used instead of expensive nails.

Expensive though back then, that's why candles were so precious

TBH I think bees wax doesn't do well outdoors cus it doesn't like water

@@daveb3910 could use animal fat instead

Stop molding for the WIN!