 Its first use in Finland may have been as a storehouse, and later a sauna and then domestic house.The first examples of the "corner-timbering" technique would have used round logs, but a more developed form soon emerged, shaping logs with an axe to a square shape for a surer fit and better insulation.Hewing with an axe was seen as preferable to sawing because the axe-cut surfaces were better in abating water penetration.