Building a house on an island in Lake Mälaren

Writer: Helena Bergström

Updated: September 2026 | Building a house is a big project. Building a log house from scratch, on an island where all the materials have to be transported by boat, is a few levels more difficult. Our friends Lennart and Beata embarked on this slightly crazy project on Ringsö in Lake Mälaren.

For many years we have been able to follow the construction closely. Peter and his brother Dennis have also helped during parts of the work, and slowly but surely what was once a gigantic construction project has been transformed into a real summer home. Our friends no longer have the house, as they have moved to Spain, but we would like to tell you about this unique construction.

A log house built from scratch

When we say that Lennart and Beata built their log house from scratch, we really mean from scratch.

When they took on the plot on Ringsö, they had to start by clearing the land. Then they built the house themselves, log by log. An impressive project – and probably much bigger than it seemed when the idea was first conceived.

They worked tirelessly on the house for several years, but eventually their energy ran out and the construction had to rest. For a few years, the house was largely finished on the outside, while much of the interior still remained to be done.

Maybe it's sometimes lucky that you don't really understand how much work a project will involve before you start?

Construction is picking up again

After a few years of much-needed break, Lennart and Beata decided to continue. By then we had started coming to Ringsö, and Peter and his brother Dennis, who both have extensive experience in the construction industry, also came out to help.

One of the first projects was to build a large patio outside the house. After that it was time to tackle the roof.

Insulating a roof may not be the most enjoyable task. It's cramped under the ridge, hot when the sun is shining, and the insulation has an unpleasant tendency to itch. But the job has to be done.

Peter and Dennis insulated the roof and worked on the interior ceiling, and a few more important parts could be checked off the long list.

Building a house on an island requires extra planning

It's one thing to build a house on the mainland. Doing it on an island in Lake Mälaren creates some additional practical challenges. Ringsö is located near Selaön and there is no regular boat service. To get to the island, you need your own or private boat.

READ MORE: Ringsö in Lake Mälaren - a Swedish idyll

This of course also means that everything needed for the construction must follow the same route. Materials and tools must be transported to Selaön, loaded onto the boat and driven over to Ringsö. On the island, quad bikes and similar vehicles are used to get packing and materials from the dock to the house.

In other words, it's important to think ahead. It's not much fun to stand on an island, with a long way to the nearest hardware store, and discover that you're missing... a screw.

From construction site to summer home

Once the roof, insulation and balcony were in place, there was still a lot of work to be done inside. Among other things, proper flooring and a functioning kitchen were missing.

During an intensive construction period, the house took big steps forward. Suddenly there was a real floor throughout the house. It may sound like a fairly simple thing, but the difference was enormous. For the first time, the house began to feel less like a construction site and more like a home.

The kitchen was an even bigger change. At first it was spartan to say the least. Eventually new tiles were put in place and the kitchen was equipped with a refrigerator, dishwasher, oven and kitchen cabinets.

With each project, living in the house became a little easier and more comfortable – while retaining the character of the self-built log house.

An old wood stove gets new life

One detail that really fits into the house is the old wood stove in the kitchen. Lennart and Beata bought it second-hand. It is from the Ankarsrum brand and is from the early 1900s. It is fascinating to think about how many people may have cooked on it before it finally ended up in a log house on Ringsö.

Of course, in order for the stove to be used, a chimney was needed. This became a new project for Peter and Lennart.

The installation was not completely straightforward. The roof slopes and the penetration therefore had to be adapted to the angle of the roof. The chimney was first pulled up through the house and the sleeping loft and then further through the outer roof.

Finally, the chimney was in place above the roof. After that, the installation had to be checked before the wood stove could be used.

This is not intended as an instruction on how to install a chimney – but for us, the work became another clear step in the house's long journey from construction project to functioning summer home.

More steps towards a finished house

With a project that has been going on for so many years, there is of course always something more to do.

In the sleeping loft, where we have slept many times, for example, it took a long time to get up and down using a tall ladder. In the end, a real staircase was built. Another change that may not sound dramatic, but makes a big difference when a house is actually used.

Another later project was the toilet. On an island and in a house without the usual municipal solutions for water and sewage, you have to think a little differently. Here the solution was an incineration toilet, the installation of which we have described in a separate report.

READ MORE: Installing an incinerating toilet

There are probably more small and large projects that have been done – and even more that can be done. That's often the case with houses. The question is, will they ever be completely finished?

A house – and many years of work

When we first started coming to Ringsö, the log house was still very much a construction project in progress. Over the years, we have seen it change, bit by bit.

Peter has been involved in building several parts himself and the house has also become a place where we have spent many pleasant days together with Lennart and Beata. We have slept in the loft, had dinners, celebrated midsummer and sat on the terrace during warm summer evenings.

But above all, the house is the result of Lennart and Beata's persistence and a pretty fantastic idea: to build a log house from scratch on an island in Lake Mälaren themselves.

It has taken many years. There have been breaks, new beginnings and many hours of work. And maybe it was lucky after all that they didn't know exactly how much work it would be when they started.