Historic cabins are getting a new lease on life.
Log Cabin Life
15 Signs You Should Move Into a Log Cabin Immediately 15 Photos
Not sold on city life? Here are a few signs you should migrate to a place where the homes are rustic and the shirts are flannel.
About the Show
Charlie Norman and his crew tear down log cabins, deconstructing them piece-by-piece, move them and eventually put them back together. If they don't rebuild them, then they use the rare wood from these historic structures to build something else.
Episodes
See Episode GuideA Walk in the Woods
The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, a repeat client of Charlie Norman's, needs a reliable shelter constructed for weary hikers and campers trekking the Appalachian Trail. Drawing from the techniques used to build old barns, Charlie and his crew erect a pavilion -- but not without taking a break to visit the weathered cabin of a long-ago hiker.
A Cabin Within
A ramshackle barn in Piney Flats, Tennessee, holds within its poison oak-covered boards an original two-story log cabin the owner would like to reclaim. Charlie gets to keep the barn boards if he and the crew can claw through the weeds, avoid critters and take down the beast all while keeping its treasure intact.
Beam Me Up, Charlie!
Charlie Norman and his crew take a trip into the mountains of Banner Elk, North Carolina, to retrofit a modern home with a rustic timber frame interior. With the house already built though, it takes some finessing to get the 1,500-pound beams into place. Two new faces join the team to help tear down a barn, and Charlie gets a few antiquated boards out of the deal.
History on the March
Charlie and the team travel to Jonesborough, TN, to carefully dismantle an old barn so the new land owner can reuse the beautiful and battered boards in her new dream house. Then Charlie gives a consultation about repairs needed to a historic cabin on Main Street in downtown Jonesborough.
Charlie Needs a Vacation
Charlie Norman heads to Lake Norman, NC, to renovate an antique cabin-turned vacation home. From the foundation to the ceiling, everything is in need of some TLC, especially since the previous owner's repair attempts created more work for Charlie and his crew.
Log Cabin Love Bug
Accidental cabin collectors Bobby and Laurena of Johnson City, Tennessee, are hiring Charlie Norman to move one of their historic structures. Set into a hillside and surrounded by gardens, the team must resort to old-fashioned handiwork in order to haul the heavy hand-hewn beams out. Tyson leads the first day's work, but Charlie may not give him the chance again.
Two Barns Become One
Charlie Norman and the crew travel across town to convert two century-old tobacco barns into a craftsman's quarters. The task will require tearing down one sagging structure and using its pieces to patch and antiquate the other. While this is a speciality of the Watauga Preservation, they'll first have to overcome rotting floorboards, heaps of scrap metal and a few Molotov cocktails for good measure.
There's No Place Like Home
After building many homes for his clients, Charlie Norman finally finds the time to renovate his own home. He plans to double its size and use all the best beams and boards he's acquired over the years. As a bonus, Charlie and his dad salvage a 150-year-old chimney to install in the house.
Rural Vintage Cabin
Mike and his sister, Anita, want an antique log cabin built far from civilization, but the crew discovers that getting this job done means bringing in power where there is none and fighting massive lightning and hail storms. They also have to build a roof so steep that one false move means a fall that could break their bones -- or worse.
A Home on a Hill
The crew builds a rustic new home for a young married couple at the top of a mountain, but they discover that getting their equipment up the treacherous roads is as difficult as building the cabin itself. The build is so demanding that Charlie's old hand Troy quits, leaving the crew short-handed until Charlie's brother arrives to save the day.
Pennsylvania Barn Demolition
The crew takes on its biggest job ever when they attempt to tear down a massive barn owned by an Army veteran and his family, who love the old barn but realize that its glory days have long since passed. The job requires Charlie to do some high-wire acrobatics, which scares the daylights out of the crew.
Collecting Barn Beams in Pennsylvania
Charlie discovers a mother lode of historic beams inside a dilapidated barn in Pennsylvania. The barn's owner needs the building torn down because it is in danger of collapsing onto a major roadway. During the job, the crew quickly discovers getting to the wooden gold means doing some of the most dangerous work they've ever attempted.
Searching for Historic Wood in Amish Country
Charlie and the crew travel deep into the backwoods of Tennessee mountain country to tear down an American Revolution-era log cabin. Then, Charlie goes in search of historic wood, visiting an old family friend in Pennsylvania Amish country. Finally, the crew creates an ingenious way to fix a hole in the stonewall of a cabin's bathroom.
Revisiting and Repairing Charlie's Log Cabins
Charlie and the crew revisit a massive log cabin vacation home they built to replace a rotting timber that's driving the homeowner crazy. Next, Charlie and his wife Beth visit a stunning wedding reception cabin retreat, one that he and his crew are particularly proud of building. And finally, Charlie and the crew create a gorgeous cabin-like television screening room for one of Charlie's old college buddies and his wife.
Another Brick in the Wall
Charlie Norman comes from three generations of professional masons, so when a client wants an antique wine cellar constructed, the Normans go digging for Revolutionary War-era bricks and explore their lineage along the way.
A Walk in the Woods
The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, a repeat client of Charlie Norman's, needs a reliable shelter constructed for weary hikers and campers trekking the Appalachian Trail. Drawing from the techniques used to build old barns, Charlie and his crew erect a pavilion -- but not without taking a break to visit the weathered cabin of a long-ago hiker.
A Cabin Within
A ramshackle barn in Piney Flats, Tennessee, holds within its poison oak-covered boards an original two-story log cabin the owner would like to reclaim. Charlie gets to keep the barn boards if he and the crew can claw through the weeds, avoid critters and take down the beast all while keeping its treasure intact.
Beam Me Up, Charlie!
Charlie Norman and his crew take a trip into the mountains of Banner Elk, North Carolina, to retrofit a modern home with a rustic timber frame interior. With the house already built though, it takes some finessing to get the 1,500-pound beams into place. Two new faces join the team to help tear down a barn, and Charlie gets a few antiquated boards out of the deal.
Log Lessons
Jack, an expert craftsman, is giving Charlie Norman a lesson in hewing logs the old-fashioned way, using simple hand tools and a lot of elbow grease. Then the team gears up to finish a lengthy home remodel in Mendota, Virginia, by trimming the kitchen with worn wooden beams, but the three-man crew soon realizes these beams are bigger than they bargained for.
Cabins with a Side of Chaos
Charlie Norman and the crew travel deep into the hills of Sandy Mush, North Carolina, to disassemble a 100-year-old cabin on a compound time forgot, but trouble seems to follow them at every turn. One crew member's goofing off leads to a trip to the hospital.
Stand by Your Cabin Man
Just when his inventory is beginning to run low, Charlie Norman receives an unusual call from a man offering a barn full of disassembled barnwood. After replenishing his stock, Charlie goes to the aid of a childhood friend, Sarah, whose cabin has acquired a bad case of rot. It's nothing a little cosmetic construction can't fix, though, and Charlie might even teach Sarah his tricks. Charlie also takes his wife, Beth, on the job to build an antique mantelpiece for his eighth grade English teacher.
Woes of Wooden Foundations
In Church Hill, Tennessee, Vaux has a 100-year-old barn that's rotting from the ground up thanks to a wood foundation. Unwilling to tear it down completely, he brings in the log cabin crew. This is a new challenge for Charlie Norman, who must raise the barn and install a new foundation in order to keep the structure sealed from the elements for years to come.
History on the March
Charlie and the team travel to Jonesborough, TN, to carefully dismantle an old barn so the new land owner can reuse the beautiful and battered boards in her new dream house. Then Charlie gives a consultation about repairs needed to a historic cabin on Main Street in downtown Jonesborough.
History on the March
Charlie and the team travel to Jonesborough, TN, to carefully dismantle an old barn so the new land owner can reuse the beautiful and battered boards in her new dream house. Then Charlie gives a consultation about repairs needed to a historic cabin on Main Street in downtown Jonesborough.
Charlie Needs a Vacation
Charlie Norman heads to Lake Norman, NC, to renovate an antique cabin-turned vacation home. From the foundation to the ceiling, everything is in need of some TLC, especially since the previous owner's repair attempts created more work for Charlie and his crew.
Log Cabin Love Bug
Accidental cabin collectors Bobby and Laurena of Johnson City, Tennessee, are hiring Charlie Norman to move one of their historic structures. Set into a hillside and surrounded by gardens, the team must resort to old-fashioned handiwork in order to haul the heavy hand-hewn beams out. Tyson leads the first day's work, but Charlie may not give him the chance again.
