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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Technical Field  
         [0002]     The invention relates generally to the field of log structures. More specifically, the invention is directed to an improved corner assembly of a log structure and a method for constructing same.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Prior Art  
         [0004]     Log structures are well-known in the art. These include log cabins, log outbuildings, and other structures where the exterior walls are primarily constructed of logs. Walls for log structures erected by known construction methods are typically constructed at the building site, one log placed upon another one at a time. This method is required in order to connect the ends of logs forming two adjacent walls, whereby such logs must overlap each others&#39; ends to form a structurally sound corner between the two walls. This method is time consuming and weather dependent, and involves a great deal of manual labor. It does not lend itself to the prefabrication of walls for log structures. However, prefabrication of walls in general allows for much greater construction efficiencies, because the walls may be erected within an enclosed environment, without regard to weather conditions at the building site. There are also efficiencies of scale achieved with prefabrication. Final assembly of a structure at the building site is much faster if the walls are prefabricated, and final assembly is more readily performed with the assistance of machinery, such as cranes, thereby reducing labor expense and the total time required.  
         [0005]     Construction methods involving prefabricating wall panels at a remote location and then installing the panels at the work site are well known in the art. See, e.g., Weiss, U.S. Pat. No. 6,951,079 (Oct. 4, 2005), “System and Method of Panelized Construction”. However, none of these methods have been adapted for the walls comprising log structures such that the individual walls can be easily erected and mated together, then made secure.  
         [0006]     The prior art discloses various methods for mating adjacent walls of log structures. Traditional methods include using logs with notches cut into their surfaces near the log ends, such that the end of a log of one wall will snugly fit into the notch of an adjacent log of the second wall. See Garber, U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,489 (Feb. 20, 1990), “Log for Constructing Log Structures and Associated Log Fabricating Process”; Paxton, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,630 (May 9, 2000), “Log Based Assembly Kit”; Chambers, U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,526 (May 20, 2003), “Accelerated Log Building Method”; Morgenstern, U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,233 (Feb. 8, 2005), “Cast Log Structure”. These construction methods, however, require each log to be placed one at a time to fit the notch of the underlying log. This does not lend itself to rapid construction.  
         [0007]     Still other methods are known in the art wherein the ends of the logs themselves are notched, tongue-in-groove style. See Wrightman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,520 (Jul. 12, 1983), “Log Building Construction”; Magnuson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,724 (Apr. 16, 1985), “Building Structure”; Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,452 (Sep. 1, 1998), “Log Construction”; Davis, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,931,803 (Aug. 23, 2005), “Modular Building System”. In each of these construction methods, however, the corners are mated together snugly, so individual logs must still be placed one at a time or the adjacent walls cannot be mated.  
         [0008]     Construction methods using alternating protruding logs are also known in the art. See Faw, U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,532 (Aug. 7, 1984), “Prefabricated Wall Unit for Log Building Construction, Method of Producing Same and Method of Constructing Log Building Therewith”; Calkins, U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,680 (Jul. 16, 2002), “Log Panel System with Panels Comprising a Plurality of Stacked Logs and an End Board Fixedly Attached to the Ends of Each Panel”. In this construction method, the alternating logs and the spaces between them serve the function of the notched out tongue-in-groove design described above. But as with the previously described methods, the mating log ends are very snug when the wall is completed, again requiring log by log construction.  
         [0009]     Thus none of the disclosed prior art anticipates the present invention.  
         [0010]     The present invention seeks to alleviate the aforesaid problems, by providing a method of construction whereby adjacent walls having alternating protruding log ends can be easily mated at the corners during erection of the walls, thus lending itself to the use of prefabricated walls for log structures. As such, full walls may be built in a weather-independent environment, such as an enclosed assembly plant, and then moved to the building site, ready to be erected. This creates a savings in time and money, because of the efficiencies of prefabrication at a single location and the independence from weather conditions. Erection time of a log structure at the building site when prefabricated log walls are used is a matter of hours, rather than days or weeks under old log-on-log methods. Multiple homes can be constructed at once in the assembly plant, further increasing efficiencies.  
         [0011]     It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a useful, improved log structure that can be prefabricated in a remote location away from the building site.  
         [0012]     It is further objective of the present invention to provide a useful, improved log structure that can be prefabricated in a weather-independent environment.  
         [0013]     It is further objective of the present invention to provide a useful, improved log structure that consists of prefabricated walls which can be transported fully assembled to the building site.  
         [0014]     It is further objective of the present invention to provide a useful, improved log structure that can be quickly erected using mechanical means to lift and position fully assembled walls, such as cranes.  
         [0015]     It is further objective of the invention to provide a method for erecting useful, improved log structures utilizing prefabricated walls.  
         [0016]     Other objectives of the present invention will be readily apparent from the description that follows.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     The present invention is an improved log structure and method for constructing same. The log structure is comprised of at least two adjacent walls mated together to form a corner. Each wall is constructed of logs laid horizontally upon each other. The logs alternate between protruding and nonprotruding logs, where the protruding log ends extend laterally beyond the ends of the nonprotruding logs. The ends of the protruding logs are aligned with each other to a substantially uniform degree, and the ends of the nonprotruding logs are aligned with each other to a substantially uniform degree. The protruding log ends extend beyond the ends of the nonprotruding logs at least a distance greater than the diameter of the protruding logs. The protruding logs of one wall are aligned with the nonprotruding logs of the adjacent wall.  
         [0018]     The corner assembly is formed by the interleaving of alternating protruding log ends extending beyond the side edge of each adjacent wall. Each protruding log end fits into the space created between two protruding log ends of the adjacent wall. Because the logs comprising the walls are substantially identical in dimension, the space between any two protruding log ends is substantially identical to the diameter of the protruding log end to be fit therebetween. As such, two fully assembled adjacent walls cannot be mated together because of the resulting high degree of friction between the interleaved protruding log ends. The only way to construct the log structure having this corner assembly design, therefore, is to alternate the laying of logs from the two adjacent walls. The resulting corner assembly will have a tight and secure fit, but the assembly is log on log at the building site.  
         [0019]     The present invention solves the above-described problem by incorporating a removable element, known as a plug, into the protruding end of each of the logs in at least one of the walls. The plug fits into a notch formed into the protruding end of each of the logs. The notches may be cut from the top portions of the protruding log ends or the bottom portions of the protruding log ends, as desired. When the plug is removed from the log ends, the spaces between each pair of protruding log ends becomes greater than the diameter of the adjacent protruding log end to be fit in between. This increased space eliminates any frictional forces between the two adjacent walls during assembly. As a result, two fully and independently assembled walls may be brought together easily and the protruding log ends interleaved to form a corner assembly. Once the adjacent walls are placed in their desired positions and secured to each other, the plugs are replaced, achieving the same snug fit as would have resulted if the walls were erected using a log on log construction method. While there is some friction involved in reinserting the plugs, this can be dealt with much easier than attempting to mate an entire wall to another. Moreover, given the slight degree of inherent play in the protruding ends of the logs, there will be only a single plug which will experience the full degree of frictional forces when being reinserted, namely the final plug to be inserted.  
         [0020]     The method of the present invention comprises the steps of preparing the logs for each wall at a remote location, such as at an assembly building; assembling each wall in its entirety without the plugs, independently from the adjacent wall; then transporting the two fully assembled walls to the building site and positioning them as desired. Machinery, such as cranes, can be used to assist with the positioning of the walls. Once the walls are positioned correctly and secured to each other, the plugs are reinserted, completing the corner assembly. The plugs can optionally be secured within the log ends by mechanical fasteners or adhesives.  
         [0021]     While the plugs can be formed of the portions of the protruding log ends removed to make the notches, plugs made from other materials may also be used, provided they fit snugly within the notches once the two walls are properly mated. Moreover, if the plugs are all cut from the log ends to a substantially uniform shape and dimension, a plug cut from one log end may be reinserted into the notch of a different log end. This adds to the ease of construction because individual plugs need not be associated with any particular notch.  
         [0022]     When four walls are to be used, for example, as a log cabin, only two opposing walls need have their protruding ends notched for removable plugs. The two adjacent walls can be constructed with unnotched log ends. However, the protruding ends of all four walls may be notched, if desired. This would create an even greater space between any pair of protruding log ends, though twice as many plugs would have to be replaced. Where more than four walls are used, any number of those walls may have their protruding log ends notched, as long as at least one side of a wall of every pair of walls is notched. Similarly, a fully assembled wall may have the protruding log ends notched only on one side; if this arrangement is used, then the wall adjacent to the unnotched side of the wall must in turn have its protruding log ends notched.  
         [0023]     The use of plugs in the ends of the protruding logs is novel and not anticipated by the prior art. Moreover, the ability to prefabricate entire walls for log structures and then to erect them an entire wall at a time at the building site is not anticipated by the prior art.  
         [0024]     Other features and advantages of the invention are described below  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0025]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of the first wall and the second wall of the present invention, with a plurality of dotted lines indicating how the first and second walls are to be placed together, and further disclosing the notches of the first protruding log members and one plug, with a single dotted line indicating the how the plug is to be positioned within a notch.  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the first wall and the second wall depicted in  FIG. 1  in their desired final orientation to each other, and further disclosing the plugs completely or partially inserted within the notches of the first protruding log members, with one plug yet to be inserted.  
         [0027]      FIG. 3A  is a side view of the first wall depicting the alternating arrangement of first protruding log members and first nonprotruding log members, as well as the location of the notches within the ends of the first protruding log members and how the plugs would be inserted therein.  
         [0028]      FIG. 3B  is an exploded view of the first wall and an end view of the second wall, with a plurality of dotted lines indicating how the first and second walls are to be placed together, where the notches are shown with the plugs removed to disclose the gaps between pairs of the first protruding log members sufficiently large to accommodate the second protruding log members of the second wall.  
         [0029]      FIG. 4A  is a side view of the first wall and an end view of the second wall depicted in  FIG. 3B  in their desired final orientation to each other, and further disclosing how the plugs may be inserted within the notches to complete the assembly.  
         [0030]      FIG. 4B  is a side view of the second wall and an end view of the first wall, being a ninety degree rotation of the first and second walls depicted in  FIG. 4A .  
         [0031]      FIG. 5A  is a side view of the first wall and an end view of the second wall as depicted in  FIG. 4A , showing an alternate embodiment of the present invention whereby the notches formed into the bottom of the first protruding log members of the first wall.  
         [0032]      FIG. 5B  is a side view of the second wall and an end view of the first wall, being a ninety degree rotation of the first and second walls depicted in  FIG. 5A .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0033]     The log structure of the present invention comprises a first wall  100  and a second wall  200 . See  FIG. 1 . Each wall  100 , 200  is defined to have a side edge, said side edge running from the top of the wall to the bottom of the wall. The side edge of the first wall  100  is suitably adapted to be joined with the side edge of the second wall  200  to form a corner assembly.  
         [0034]     Each of the first wall  100  and the second wall  200  is constructed of at least three log members  110 , said log members  110  oriented substantially horizontally and stacked substantially vertically one upon another, and affixed in place. The log members  110  may be rough hewn logs, debarked logs, shaped logs, such as “D”-shaped logs known in the art, or other configurations of logs used for construction. In the preferred embodiment each wall  100 , 200  comprises several more than three log members  110  each, though the walls  100 , 200  do not need to have the same number of log members  110 .  
         [0035]     Each log member  110  is defined to have an end  112  and a top portion  114 . See  FIG. 1 . The top portion  114  of a log member  110  is defined as the uppermost portion of a log member  110  when the log member  110  is oriented substantially horizontally and affixed in place.  
         [0036]     For the first wall  100 , the log members  110  are identified as base log members  120 , top log members  130 , and first log members  140 . See  FIG. 3A . The first wall  100  has one base log member  120 , one top log member  130 , and one or more first log members  140 . The base log member  120  is the log member  110  that comprises the lowermost portion of the first wall  100  and is placed on a surface, such as the ground, a foundation, the top of another wall, or the like. One first log member  140  is placed onto the top surface of the base log member  120  and affixed to the base log member  120 . The remaining first log members  140 , if any, are placed onto the top surfaces of the first log members  140  already affixed to the first wall  100 , and affixed thereto. The top log member  130  is placed onto the top surface of the last log member  110  to be placed and is affixed thereto, comprising the topmost portion of the first wall  100 . The ends  112  of all log members  110  comprising the first wall  100  form the side edge of the first wall  100 .  
         [0037]     The log members  110  of the first wall  100  (exclusive of the top log member  130 ) are further identified as first protruding log members  150  and first nonprotruding log members  152 . See  FIG. 3A . The end  112  of each first protruding log member  150  extends laterally beyond the end  112  of each first nonprotruding log member  152 . Moreover, the end  112  of each first protruding log member  150  is substantially vertically aligned with the end  112  of each other first protruding log member  150 . Similarly, the end  112  of each first nonprotruding log member  152  is substantially vertically aligned with the end  112  of each other first nonprotruding log member  152 . The base log member  120  is a first protruding log member  150 . If there is an even number of first log members  140 , half the number of the first log members  140  are first nonprotruding log members  152  and half are first protruding log members  150 . If there is an odd number of first log members  140 , the first log members  140  will be comprised of one more first nonprotruding log members  152  than first protruding log members  150 .  
         [0038]     The configuration of the end  112  of the top log member  130  depends on the configuration of the end  112  of the first log member  140  upon which it is placed. If the first log member  140  upon which the top log member  130  is placed is a first protruding log member  150 , the end  112  of the top log member  130  is substantially vertically aligned with the ends  112  of the first nonprotruding log members  152 . If the first log member  140  upon which the top log member  130  is placed is a first nonprotruding log member  152 , the end  112  of the top log member  130  extends laterally beyond the ends  112  of the first nonprotruding log members  152  and is substantially vertically aligned with the ends  112  of the first protruding log members  150 .  
         [0039]     The first protruding log members  150  and the first nonprotruding log members  152  are arranged in an alternating manner. See  FIG. 3A . Thus, from the base of the first wall  100 , the side edge of the first wall  100  is comprised of alternating protruding and nonprotruding ends  112  of log members  110 . The configuration of the top log member  130  adheres to this pattern.  
         [0040]     The log members  110  comprising the second wall  200  are similarly identified and configured as are those of the first wall  100 . See  FIG. 4B . For the second wall  200 , the log members  110  are identified as second base log members  220  and second log members  240 . The second wall  200  has one second base log member  220  and two or more second log members  240 . The second base log member  220  is the log member  110  that comprises the lowermost portion of the second wall  200  and is placed on a surface in the same manner as the base log member  120  of the first wall  100 . One second log member  240  is placed onto the top surface of the second base log member  220  and affixed to the second base log member  220 . The remaining second log members  240  are placed onto the top surfaces of the second log members  240  already affixed to the second wall  200 , and affixed thereto. The ends  112  of all log members  110  comprising the second wall  200  form the side edge of the second wall  200 .  
         [0041]     The log members  110  of the second wall  200  are further identified as second protruding log members  250  and second nonprotruding log members  252 , analogous to the first protruding log members  150  and first nonprotruding log members  152  of the first wall  100 . See  FIG. 4B . The second base log member  220  is a second nonprotruding log member  252 . If there are an even number of second log members  240 , half the number of the second log members  240  are second protruding log members  250  and half are second nonprotruding log members  252 . If there is an odd number of second log members  240 , the second log members  240  will be comprised of one more second protruding log members  250  than second nonprotruding log members  252 .  
         [0042]     The second protruding log members  250  and the second nonprotruding log members  252  are arranged in an alternating manner. See  FIG. 4B . Thus, from the base of the second wall  200 , the side edge of the second wall  200  is comprised of nonprotruding and protruding ends  112  of log members  110 . The result is that the side edge of the first wall  100  has log members  110  whose protruding ends  112  are aligned with the nonprotruding ends  112  of the corresponding log members  110  of the second wall  200  when the side edge of the first wall  100  is adjacent to the side edge of the second wall  200 . See  FIG. 2 .  
         [0043]     For each first protruding log member  150  of the first wall  100 , the end  112  of the first protruding log member  150  comprises a notch  160  and a plug  170 . See  FIGS. 1, 3A ,  4 A,  4 B. The notch  160  is formed by the removal of a portion of the top portion  114  of the first protruding log member  150  at the end  112  of the first protruding log member  150 . See  FIGS. 4A, 4B . The notch  160  has a substantially vertical face  162  and a substantially horizontal base  164 . See  FIG. 1 . The base  164  of the notch  160  extends inward from the end  112  of the first protruding log member  150 , and the face  162  of the notch  160  is adjacent to the portion of the base  164  furthest from the end  112  of the first protruding log member  150 .  
         [0044]     The plug  170  of each first protruding log member  150  is a solid block corresponding in shape and dimension to the notch  160  of that first protruding log member  150 . The plug  170  must be removably positionable within the notch  160 . The notch  160  and plug  170  combination serves to facilitate assembly of the log structure, as will be described in more detail below. In brief, with the plugs  170  removed from the corresponding ends  112  of the first protruding log members  150 , the spaces between each pair of first protruding log members  150  will be greater than the diameter of the log members  110 , thus allowing easy interleaving of the ends  112  of the protruding log members  110  of the first and second walls  100 , 200 . See  FIG. 3B .  
         [0045]     When completed, the log structure of the present invention has its first wall  100  adjacent to and connected to its second wall  200 , with the first protruding log members  150  of the first wall  100  interleaved with the second protruding wall members of the second wall  200 . See  FIG. 2 . As such, the side of the first wall  100  and the side of the second wall  200  form a corner of the log structure. For each first protruding log member  150  of the first wall  100 , its corresponding plug  170  is positioned within its notch  160 . The placing of the plug  170  within the notch  160  fills in the gap between the interleaved ends  112  of the protruding log members  110  of the first and second walls  100 , 200 , resulting in a snug fit. See  FIGS. 2, 4A ,  4 B.  
         [0046]     In one embodiment of the present invention, for each first protruding log member  150  of the first wall  100  the corresponding plug  170  is of substantially the same shape and dimension as each other plug  170  of each other first protruding log member  150 . In this configuration, the plug  170  of each first protruding log member  150  is suitably adapted to be positioned with the notch  160  of each other first protruding log member  150 . This arrangement facilitates assembly of the log structure, as specific plugs  170  need not be matched with specific log members  110 . Where the plugs  170  are cut directly from the ends  112  of the log members  110 , this uniformity of shape and dimension represents a significant savings in time with regard to preparation of the log members  110  and assembly of the log structure.  
         [0047]     In the preferred embodiment, for each first protruding log member  150 , the width of the notch  160  and corresponding plug  170  is substantially equivalent to the horizontal cross-sectional diameter of that first protruding log member  150 , and the height of the notch  160  and corresponding plug  170  is less than one half the vertical cross-sectional diameter of that first protruding log member  150 . This ensures that more than half of the material comprising the end  112  of the first protruding log member  150  remains after creation of the notch  160 , providing strength to the end  112  of the first protruding log member  150 . Finally, the depth of the notch  160  and the corresponding plug  170  is substantially equivalent to the length of the end  112  of the first protruding log member  150  that extends laterally beyond the ends  112  of the adjacent first nonprotruding log members  152 . This allows the notch  160  to accommodate the interleaved end  112  of a second protruding log member  250  snugly against the end  112  of the adjacent first nonprotruding log member  152 .  
         [0048]     Each plug  170  may be frictionally secured within a notch  160 . That is, the tight tolerances of the plug  170  within the notch  160  between the interleaved protruding ends of the first and second walls  100 , 200  may be sufficient to retain the plug  170  securely in place. Alternately, the plug  170  may be fixedly attached within the notch  160  by one or more mechanical fasteners, such as nails or screws. In the preferred embodiment, the plugs  170  are fixedly attached within the notches  160  by an adhesive, such as wood glue or a product known as Liquid Nails®.  
         [0049]     An alternative embodiment of the log structure of the present invention contemplates a reverse alternation of the log members  110 , such that the base log member  120  of the first wall  100  is a first nonprotruding log member  152 , and the second base log member  220  of the second wall  200  is a second protruding log member  250 . See  FIG. 5A . The remaining log members  110  of each wall are arranged as protruding or nonprotruding log members  110  as before. The top log member  130  of the first wall  100  is a first protruding log member  150  if the first log member  140  upon which it is placed is a first nonprotruding log member  152 , and the top log member  130  of the first wall  100  is a first nonprotruding log member  152  if the first log member  140  upon which it is placed is a first protruding log member  150 .  
         [0050]     A significant aspect of this embodiment is that for each first protruding log member  150  of the first wall  100 , the notch  160  is formed from the bottom portion  116  of the log member  110  at the end  112  of the first protruding log member  150 . See  FIGS. 5A, 5B . The bottom portion  116  of the log member  110  is defined as the lowermost portion of the log member  110  when the log member  110  is oriented substantially horizontally and affixed in place. Other than the location of the notch  160 , all other aspects of the configuration of the notch  160  and corresponding plug  170  are the same as in the prior embodiments. In this embodiment, the second base log member  220  of the second wall  200  is a second protruding log member  250 , with the remaining log members  110  alternating as before.  
         [0051]     The present invention also contemplates a method for constructing the log structure described above. The steps are as follows:  
         [0052]     The log members  110  of the first wall  100  are prepared, by performing the following three sub-steps in any order: the base log member  120  and half the number of first log members  140  are cut to desired lengths, such that the base log member  120  and the first log members  140  have a suitable length to be utilized as first protruding log members  150 ; the remaining first log members  140  are cut to desired lengths, such that the remaining first log members  140  have a suitable length to be utilized as first nonprotruding log members  152 ; and the top log member  130  is cut to a desired length, such that said top log member  130  has a suitable length to be utilized as either a first protruding log member  150  or as a first nonprotruding log member  152 , as determined by and opposite to the first log member  140  upon which it will be placed.  
         [0053]     The next step is to prepare all first protruding log members  150  by cutting a plug  170  from the top portion  114  of the end  112  of each first protruding log member  150  to form a notch  160  and then removing the plug  170  from the notch  160 . This step may be performed by automated sawmill machinery which can be configured to cut uniform plugs  170  from the ends  112  of all first protruding log members  150 .  
         [0054]     The next step is to assemble the first wall  100 . This is accomplished by placing the base log member  120  in a substantially horizontal position upon a surface, such as the floor of an assembly building; placing one first nonprotruding log member  152  upon the base log member  120 , with the end  112  of said base log member  120  extending laterally beyond the end of said first nonprotruding log member  152 , and affixing the first nonprotruding log member  152  to the base log member  120 ; placing the remaining log members  110  one at a time upon the log member  110  most recently affixed in place within the first wall  100 , the newly placed log member  110  being either a first protruding log member  150  or a first nonprotruding log member  152 , depending on and opposite to the log member  110  most recently affixed in place within the first wall  100 , such that the first protruding log members  150  and the first nonprotruding log members  152  are arranged in an alternating manner, and affixing the newly placed log member  110  to the log member  110  most recently affixed in place within the first wall  100 ; and placing the top log member  130  upon the log member  110  most recently affixed in place within the first wall  100  and affixing the top log member  130  to the most recently affixed log member  110 . The resulting first wall  100  will have the end of each first protruding log member  150  extending laterally beyond the end of each first nonprotruding log member  152  as described above.  
         [0055]     The next step is to prepare the log members  110  of the second wall  200 , by performing the following two sub-steps in any order: the second base log member  220  and half the number of second log members  240  are cut to desired lengths, such that the second base log member  220  and the second log members  240  have a suitable length to be utilized as second nonprotruding log members  252 ; and the remaining second log members  240  are cut to desired lengths, such that the remaining second log members  240  have a suitable length to be utilized as second protruding log members  250 .  
         [0056]     The next step is to assemble the second wall  200 . This is done in essentially the same manner as the first wall  100  is assembled. The resulting second wall  200  will have the end of each second protruding log member  250  extending laterally beyond the end of each second nonprotruding log member  252  as described above.  
         [0057]     In one embodiment the steps of preparing and assembling the first wall  100  may be performed after the steps of preparing and assembling the second wall  200 .  
         [0058]     If the preceding steps of the method for assembling the log structure of the present invention are performed at a location remote from the construction site, the next step is to transport the first and second walls  100 , 200  to the construction site. Transport of the walls may be made by flat bed truck, and loading and unloading of the walls onto the truck may be facilitated by the use of cranes. Other means for transporting the walls to the construction site are also contemplated within the scope of the claims. In the preferred embodiment, the first and second walls  100 , 200  will be prepared and assembled at a location remote from the construction site, such as at an assembly facility, to achieve efficiencies of prefabrication and mass production without concern for environmental conditions.  
         [0059]     The next step of the method is to position the first wall  100  as desired. The first wall  100  may be positioned by use of a crane.  
         [0060]     The next step is to position the second wall  200  as desired, adjacent to the first wall  100 . The second wall  200  may also be positioned by use of a crane. The positioning of the second wall  200  must result in the first protruding log members  150  of the first wall  100  being interleaved with the second protruding wall members of the second wall  200 . This forms the corner of the log structure.  
         [0061]     The next step is to affix the first wall  100  to the second wall  200 .  
         [0062]     The final step is to position a plug  170  within the notch  160  of each first protruding log member  150  of the first wall  100 .  
         [0063]     In one embodiment a further step is performed in which the plug  170  is fixedly attached within the notch  160  of each first protruding log member  150  by one or more mechanical fasteners. Alternatively, the plug  170  is fixedly attached by the use of an adhesive, such as wood glue or Liquid Nails®.  
         [0064]     An alternative method for constructing the log structure of the present invention comprises the same steps described above, with the following exceptions: the base log member  120  of the wall  100  is cut to a suitable length to be utilized as a first nonprotruding log member  152 , and the top log member  130  is cut to a desired length such that it has a suitable length to be utilized as either a first nonprotruding log member  152  or as a first protruding log member  150 , as determined by and opposite to the first log member  140  upon which it will be placed. The notches  160  are cut from the bottom portion  116  of the end  112  of each first protruding log member  150 . The second base log member  220  of the second wall  200  is cut to a suitable length to be utilized as a first protruding log member  150 .  
         [0065]     Modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments of the present invention and methods for constructing same without departing from the subject or spirit of the invention methods.

Summary:
An improved structure, whereby the log structure is comprised of at least two adjacent walls mated to form a corner, with each wall constructed of logs laid horizontally upon each other, the logs alternating between protruding and nonprotruding logs, such that the ends of the protruding logs of the walls are interleaved, with the ends of the protruding logs of the first wall having notches cut from them to facilitate the mating of the first and second walls, and further comprising plugs to be inserted into the notches upon completion of assembly of the log structure, and a method for constructing same.