Pat Wolfe Log Building School

🪵⚒️Build Skills That Carry Across the Industry 🪓🪵

Spaces are still available this Spring and Fall at the Pat Wolfe Log Building School — and this is more than just a log building course.

Our signature stack scribed log truss isn’t just beautiful craftsmanship — it’s a powerful foundation of transferable skills that move seamlessly into the timber framing side of the industry.

When you train with us, you’ll develop:

🪵 Precision scribing and fitting techniques
📐 Advanced layout and structural understanding
🔨 Hand tool control and chainsaw accuracy
🏗️ An understanding of load paths and joinery principles

These are the same core competencies that set great timber framers apart. Whether your goal is handcrafted log homes, hybrid builds, or full timber frame structures, the skills you gain here in a 4 week or 10 week course can expand your opportunities across the wood building trades.

The stack scribed log truss teaches problem-solving, precision, and structural awareness at a level that makes transitioning into timber framing feel natural — and gives you an edge in the field.

If you’ve been thinking about taking the next step in your craft, this is your opportunity.

📩 Message us for course dates and registration details — spaces are limited.

Heard of forest school? Building things with your hands. Wandering the woods. Learning skills that actually matter. Making friends without trying too hard.

Now imagine that… but for adults. And instead of popsicle-stick projects, you’re building real log structures that can stand up to weather, time, and use.
The Pat Wolfe Log Building School Course is part craft school, part backcountry hike, part lifelong-skills bootcamp.

You’ll learn many design necessities and how to build solid log shelters, work with traditional tools, read the landscape, and understand wood in a way that sticks with you forever.

Days are spent outdoors, hands busy, mind engaged. Evenings are full of stories, sometimes shared meals, and the kind of friendships that only happen when you’ve built something real together.

If you’ve been craving time in the woods, meaningful skills, and a community that feels grounded and genuine—this might be the forest school you never had when you were a kid!

🌲 Learn to build shelters
🌲 Learn from master log builders
🌲 Leave with skills, confidence, and new friends








Scribe, Cut, Fit, and on to the next one! 🪵

Some folks wonder where log builders get their start, for many 'Setters' or 'Fitters' worldwide it all started at the Pat Wolfe Log Building School .

We love teaching the craft to all of those who come to learn here with us!

Join us this Spring!

Check us out at the link 🔗 in our Bio

🪵🪓Looking back at this 2010 Fall Log Shell Structure as we look forward to Spring 2026 students planning and preparing to attend! This shell had the hands of Pat Wolfe, Brian Morrison and Stuart Morrison in on the crafting of it. Pat had Handed off the School to Brian officially over two years before hand and was still helping with instructing on the 1st and 4th week of courses, Brian was head instructing and Stuart was a student alongside his fellow classmates and even his cousin Adam was taking the course with him!

We love this style of shell so much it has been built many times throughout the course's history and really is a signature style of the school. Pat designed the first iteration of it himself and later it was redrafted many times over by a great friend of the school and past student of pats Micheal Neelin, whose daughter carries on his torch!

We look forward to building one like it this year! If you're interested in courses don't hesitate to reach out or find the Links to our website on our page. If you're interested in purchasing a log shell like this the spring one is still available!

50 stories for 50 years🪓🌲

Back in 2008, I took a leap that changed the course of my life by attending the Pat Wolfe Log Building School in Ontario. I was in my early twenties, hadn’t traveled much outside Ohio but had a childhood dream to build log homes. That course wasn’t just a class… It was an adventure, a rite of passage, and one of the most impactful experiences of my life.
It was the first year the course was fully led by Brian Morrison, who had just taken over from the legendary Pat Wolfe. But Pat was still deeply involved during the transition, about 75% present, so we got to learn from both the master and the new torchbearer. It was incredible to witness the handing down of a tradition while being part of something alive and evolving.
There were fifteen of us to start, from all over the world… the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, Japan, the UK, and Slovakia. We lived in rustic lakeside cabins across from the log yard where we spent our days building a full-scale log home for a real client. Mornings were for lessons, afternoons were for chainsaws, chisels, and the physical rhythm of hands-on learning. By the later weeks, we were deep into the build, with the hum of multiple chainsaws going at once as we raced to finish the shell before the course ended.
And after the long days? Mooseheads cracked open around a campfire, grilling, fishing, canoeing, and swapping stories from different corners of the world. That blend of grit, sweat, and camaraderie is something I’ll never forget.
After graduating, I followed my heart out west, first to the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, working with a Native American builder near Glacier National Park. Then on to Cody, Wyoming, where I kept chasing that dream with a chainsaw in hand, carving out log homes and a life I felt connected to.
That course gave me skills but more than that, it gave me direction, confidence, and a deeper sense of belonging in the world of log craftsmanship. I'll always be grateful. -Nicholas

You're Invited!

Join us in celebrating a remarkable milestone — the 50th Anniversary Founders Day Party for the Pat Wolfe Log Building School!

When: 3:00pm to 6:00pm May 2nd, 2025
Where: Pat Wolfe Log Building School Grounds
What: An afternoon of memories, stories, and community as we honor five decades of tradition, craftsmanship, and the people who made it all possible.

We’d love to see past students, friends, supporters and home owners — come share your stories and help us celebrate! — light refreshments and food will be available.

🌲50 Stories for 50 Years🌲

A Special Community Project in the Works!

This winter and spring, apart from preparing for our log building school courses, Stuart and Brian have taken on a meaningful community outreach project that’s close to their hearts. The Almonte United Church reached out to help celebrate the long-time contributions of a beloved community member, Margie, with a log or timber structure; to give her and the church community a nice outdoor Sunday school space that we hope will benefit the church in more ways than one!🌟

Brian, Dawn, Stuart, and family were more than happy to lend a hand, as Margie has had a profound impact on all of us. Stuart helped with the design, and Brian and Stuart are donating their materials and time to craft this structure.

The project is underway, with the guys milling material from excess logs from this season’s stock. We can’t wait to start the notching and invite the community to join in on some of the joinery and raising when the time comes! 👷‍♀️👷‍♂️

A big thank you to Andrew, Leon, Kim, Peter, and everyone who’s been involved in bringing this idea to life at the church!

Stay tuned for more updates as we celebrate Margie's incredible legacy and the power of community! 💪

50 stories for 50 years

The Pat Wolfe Log Building School is proud to have welcomed students from all over the globe. We hope to tell some of their stories with more of these posts.

Take Morgan and Matthew for example: a husband and wife team who were formerly military and police service members. Take a look at some photos they took and shared from PWLBS SPRING 2024.

Have you ever felt a need for a change of pace in your day to day life? Ever spent an evening dreaming of how to be more self sufficient and see your handwork in your own home every day? This is exactly what Morgan and Matthew leapt into realizing when they joined us last spring. They came to Ontario from the USA to seek a different skill set and maybe learn to build for themselves one day or even potentially make a career pivot. We are eager to hear about all the many new and exciting opportunities this pair will seek out and make use of their new skills. Life is so unpredictable but this duo was ___ inspiring__ in their perseverance and support of tackling this course together!

Along the way they made many memories as they joined other students from all over North America and even Ireland. We hope this spring will be just as special, and, look forward to hosting such a diverse and richly storied group.

A great memory for them was taking in the ILBA's 50th anniversary at the chateau Montebello with Pat, Brian, and Stuart. We are all so grateful for those memories and hope to stay in touch with them!

We look forward to seeing more American, Canadian and other international students working together this spring, to build something with this tradition we all share. We also hope any other students from past courses that see these posts and want to tell their stories will start to reach out again with a memory to share or story to pass along of what they're up to now!