King of the Wilderness

(This chapter contains multiple images, each corresponding to different structures of wooden cabins. Please focus only on the structures in the images, not the styles represented.)

Lin Yu’an and Cody immediately picked up the long-handled heavy-duty drill, one on each side, kneeling on the newly laid second layer of logs.

Accompanied by the sound of ”zzzz,” they drilled deep holes through the two layers of wood from top to bottom.

”Stan! Barton! Insert the screw rods!”

Stan and Barton worked together to insert the massive through-bolts into the holes, then used an impact wrench to initially secure them with a ”da-da-da” sound.

One layer, two layers, three layers... The walls continued to grow upward under the efficient collaboration of the six individuals.

The entire construction site was a picture full of rhythm.

In the air, Barton operated a loader, slowly moving the massive logs.

On the wall, Hank and Cody were quickly laying seal strips.

At the woodwork area, Lin Yu’an was meticulously carving perfect saddle-shaped notches with a chainsaw and gouges.

Each time a layer of wood was laid, Cody would pick up the drill, while the others immediately prepared the screw rods and impact wrench.

Every corner was personally carved by Lin Yu’an into a perfect saddle-shaped notch.

Between each log, strong through-bolts and sealing strips tightly connected them.

When the walls stacked up to the fifth layer, exceeding a height of 1.2 meters, they paused to start creating the openings for doors and windows.

Above the openings, a precise 15 cm ”settlement space” was reserved.

Finally, after about five days of work, the entire main wall of the first floor of the wooden cabin, reaching a height of three meters, was completed!

A framework wall of the cabin, full of weight and security, officially stood on Wood Forest Land.

As the wall of the first floor was fully erected on the massive platform, a cheer erupted across the whole site.

Old George pointed to the three-meter-high wall top and shouted: ”Alright, lads! Don’t stand around like tourists! We’re starting work at heights now! Stay sharp!”

The next task was to build the second floor.

The first step was hoisting the main beam of the second-floor decking across the entire house.

This task was full of challenges, as the height of the hoist and the precision required far exceeded previous tasks.

Before the official hoisting, Lin Yu’an and Old George carried out a crucial preparatory step.

They precisely cut several beam sockets into the logs on the top layer of the first-floor walls using a chainsaw and large woodworking chisels.

”What is this for, Lin?” David asked curiously, looking up.

Lin Yu’an explained: ”It’s so that the ends of the main beam can embed within the wall instead of just resting on top, creating a more stable interlocking structure.”

Having gone through the construction of the first layer, the coordination of the six-member team was now perfect.

Lin Yu’an operated the Xu Gong loader, hoisting one heavy square beam after another.

Old George was in charge of directing and positioning at the wall top, while Hank, Stan, and Cody controlled the beam’s aerial posture from the ground with guiding ropes, as Barton provided final guidance on the timber wall.

”A bit higher... good! Shift to the right... yes... slowly lower it down!” Old George’s voice was loud and steady.

Lin Yu’an’s actions were precise, slowly placing the massive main beam into the two pre-prepared beam sockets at the wall top.

It took just one day to set all the main beams securely into the grooves atop the wood walls.

Then, they installed all the secondary beams in an assembly line manner.

Stan and Barton took charge of installing truss hangers between the main beams, Lin Yu’an and Cody worked on the secondary beams with the band saw, and Hank operated the loader to lift batches of secondary beams.

Finally, it was time to lay the tongue-and-groove structural plywood.

All six people climbed onto the beam frame of the second floor, starting the final push on this battleground suspended three meters in the air.

With the sound of ”da! da! da!” from the nail gun, a brand-new second-floor platform was suspended three meters in the air.

Standing on the second-floor platform, they didn’t pause for a moment and immediately began constructing the second-floor walls.

Since the wall height of the second floor only needed to be 2.4 meters, their progress was swift.

It took just a day and a half to finish stacking all the walls and reserving the openings for doors and windows.

Next up was the installation of the attic floor beams.

These massive wooden beams spanned the tops of the second-floor walls, serving as both the ceiling for the second floor and the future attic floor.

Once all the attic beams were installed, the rectangular framework of the building was essentially formed.

Holding the blueprints, Lin Yu’an said to everyone: ”Now, we need to construct two huge triangles at the front and back ends of the house, the gables, which will be the backbone supporting our roof.”

Building the gables required extremely precise calculations and cuts, as the length of each log stacked upward needed to be accurately shortened according to a fixed angle.

Additionally, the cuts at both ends had to be perfect slants to align perfectly with the future roof’s slope.

This became the critical phase for Lin Yu’an and Old George, the two project directors.

Old George was responsible for using a professional protractor to calculate the angles and lengths for each gable log.

Meanwhile, Lin Yu’an performed precise cuts using his Stihl chainsaw.

The others were responsible for hoisting these cut, progressively shorter logs with the Xu Gong loader and stacking them into place.