Above: Alex Scott Porter, a New York architect, created this stacked log wall for a house in Amagansett.

I AM THINKING OF BUILDING AN OUTDOOR WALL out of something I have in abundance: cut logs. There are six or seven piles of them dotted around my property, left by the arborist who cut down several large trees last fall — oaks, mainly.

He took away the very largest pieces, but cut up the branches, about 6″ in diameter, into sections a foot or so long, thinking I could use them for firewood. I haven’t yet installed a fireplace (let’s not go into that again), but I sure have a lot of firewood.

Below: From :Duncan’s Flickr photostream


Meanwhile, I’ve seen pictures of interior and exterior walls made of stacked logs in various books and magazines (and websites) and love the way it looks. Generally, they’re made of very uniform logs, which mine are not. But it could be an interesting approach to creating a sound-insulating barrier along the road at the front of my property. I’ll need a wall fifty feet long and four feet high. Not sure I have quite enough logs to do that, but I’m planning to get started when the weather warms up a bit and see how far I get.

Below: From Hartp’s Flickr photostream

I’m a big believer in using free found materials. And if it doesn’t work out, and I do eventually get a fireplace, well, I’ll have the firewood.

Above: A path made of sectioned logs at Madoo, the two-acre garden of artist/writer Robert Dash in Sagaponack, another artful way to recycle cut-down trees.