Hello, Erkka. I am one of the Appalachian mountain people of whom the Foxfire books were written. Sadly, only the oldest members of our culture still live as described in those books, but there are some of us of the less-old generation who are trying to get back to those basics and preserve our culture.

They really are pretty good books, especially the first ones. I think there are perhaps seven or eight in the entire series. I also highly recommend them. There is wonderful information on building log homes, timber framing, making lye soap, tanning hides, etc.

When I was very young, we lived in a very old log house. It used the dovetail construction that allowed the house to stay together without any rods drilled and driven down through the corners. I vaguely remember my father repairing some corner damage similar to what you describe (though perhaps not as advanced a state of decay). What he did was to frame up the good sections of wall on either side, so as to hold the house together. Then he cut out the rotten sections with a chainsaw. He then cut new wood pieces to replace the old, carved out the dovetails with wood chisels, and made a lap joint with the existing wood and fastened it with large bolts in the lower logs and wooden pegs in the upper logs. He then filled in all of the spaces where things didn't fit back together quite right with grout.

We eventually sold the house to a wealthy person who wanted to restore it in California, to pay for some of my grandmother's medical bills. But that fix was still holding strong when the came and took the old house apart.

Hope that helps, and best of luck with your repairs. It is wonderful that you are restoring that old house instead of letting it rot away until it is torn down. I think that these old homes have much more soul than the newer ones, despite being so drafty!