Log cabin

A log cabin used by American soldiers, at Valley Forge

Log cabins are structures whose walls, and sometimes their roofs, as well, are built of tree trunks, or logs.

Simple log cabins are usually square, or rectangular structure, with the size of the structure limited by the length of log available. They can be constructed using only an axe, or an axe and an adze. They can be constructed with little or no need to use metal nails or spikes, as notches are cut on either sie of the log, at its end, and the walls are built by fitting the next log's notches into the notches of the top log of an adjacent wall. Mud is smeared into the gaps in roughly fitted walls.

More advanced cabins can be built with logs that are squared, with an adze.