Log Homes...

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

Originally Posted by NewHummerGuy

Not a log home but a timberframe. We just closed on this Friday May 11. I love this place and 30 yards to slopes. Its in Canaan Valley West Virginia at a ski resort called Timberline.

3 hrs door to door from our home in Northern VA.

Very nice...

Still haven't ruled out timberframe. Would go with tongue & groove interior in stead of wallboard though.

nice pics...

[NewHummerGuy]

Originally Posted by DennisAJC

Is he kissing it? Or suckling on the nipple?

Kissing and suckling

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

Originally Posted by KenP

Go prefab. You'll have a better product in the end because of the climate control conditions. They can scribe logs better in the factory and get a superior fit.

They completely assemble the home at the factory, disassemble it and ship it to the job site where it's reassembled. Very fast.

The builder should know what wood is best for the environment you want to build in.

Oh wait, I'm not supposed to chime in.

this time its ok....

Yep looking at prefab also... nothing is being poo - pooed yet

[DRTYFN]

http://www.blueribbonbuilders.com/finehomes.aspx

[Huck BB62]

We had just about built one, but at the time the stacking crews were all busy and charging a mint so we passed. Kuhns Bros uses kiln dried. We were impressed by the half dozen or so that we visited. We looked a more log building material than a proctologist looks at aholes. One thing that ALL of the folks had to say about log homes that also changed our mind is maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.

Turns out we put in a manufactured home. Love it to death. It's as efficient as a thermos bottle. We ordered it, customized it, and moved in within four months. My neighbor's been putting his log home together for TWO YEARS! I must say though, there's nothing quite as awesome as a nice log home (timberframes come close).

The logs work on thermal mass as much as they do R value. Get that wood heated up, and keep it warm.

Anyone that does build one, we heard this more than a few times, when your logs get cut, BUILD IT. The logs sit around they twist, check and make the construction a lot harder. All logs check and split all of them. They settle and move. If you love one that much, it'd be worth it, but the ride isn't free.

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

Originally Posted by Huck BB62

We had just about built one, but at the time the stacking crews were all busy and charging a mint so we passed. Kuhns Bros uses kiln dried. We were impressed by the half dozen or so that we visited. We looked a more log building material than a proctologist looks at aholes. One thing that ALL of the folks had to say about log homes that also changed our mind is maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.

Turns out we put in a manufactured home. Love it to death. It's as efficient as a thermos bottle. We ordered it, customized it, and moved in within four months. My neighbor's been putting his log home together for TWO YEARS! I must say though, there's nothing quite as awesome as a nice log home (timberframes come close).

The logs work on thermal mass as much as they do R value. Get that wood heated up, and keep it warm.

Anyone that does build one, we heard this more than a few times, when your logs get cut, BUILD IT. The logs sit around they twist, check and make the construction a lot harder. All logs check and split all of them. They settle and move. If you love one that much, it'd be worth it, but the ride isn't free.

HUCK,

Thanks for the info...

The more investigation I do the more unsure I am about Log Homes. The looks of course are wonderful but as you say the maintainence is looking very intense. With my rheumatoid arthritis climbing on ladders etc to rechink, pressure clean, patch checks etc etc may just be out of the question. I'm going to continue to do my homework since I have a couple of years yet.

[bparker]

fizzed

Originally Posted by h2co-pilot

Log homes are built out of logs. I used to play with my older brother's Lincoln Log. PM me.

[MarineHawk]

Originally Posted by NewHummerGuy

Not a log home but a timberframe. We just closed on this Friday May 11. I love this place and 30 yards to slopes. Its in Canaan Valley West Virginia at a ski resort called Timberline.

3 hrs door to door from our home in Northern VA.

That's nice. Congrats!!

[h2co-pilot]

Originally Posted by bparker

fizzed

[SnakeH2]

Originally Posted by RubHer Yellow Ducky

HUCK,

Thanks for the info...

The more investigation I do the more unsure I am about Log Homes. The looks of course are wonderful but as you say the maintainence is looking very intense. With my rheumatoid arthritis climbing on ladders etc to rechink, pressure clean, patch checks etc etc may just be out of the question. I'm going to continue to do my homework since I have a couple of years yet.

ya sure about that??

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

Originally Posted by SnakeH2

ya sure about that??

I'm a COASTIE, gota stick around to rescue the world...

[H3 Alaska]

Built a 20x20 cabin with a 1/2 loft. On the road system but in the middle of friggen nowhere.

All Spruce (see Rox's comment of using native trees) 8" "D" logs.
Peeled them, and stacked 4 logs high the first summer.
Went ~8.5' high the second summer
Finished roof & upstairs 3rd year
Chinked the 4th year.

The thing is as tight as can be after all that drying and settling.

Would NEVER do it again.........it's either stick frame or get a construction loan and PAY someone to do it while I fish, tend the fire pit, and make sure my beer is iiiiiicccceeeee cold.

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

Originally Posted by H3 Alaska

Built a 20x20 cabin with a 1/2 loft. On the road system but in the middle of friggen nowhere.

All Spruce (see Rox's comment of using native trees) 8" "D" logs.
Peeled them, and stacked 4 logs high the first summer.
Went ~8.5' high the second summer
Finished roof & upstairs 3rd year
Chinked the 4th year.

The thing is as tight as can be after all that drying and settling.

Would NEVER do it again.........it's either stick frame or get a construction loan and PAY someone to do it while I fish, tend the fire pit, and make sure my beer is iiiiiicccceeeee cold.

I have discovered Amber Bock DRAFT ...

Boy it fits my TASTE PERFECTLY !!!

[KenP]

You could always go with milled logs using T&G jointing instead of chinking to reduce mainenance.

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

Originally Posted by KenP

You could always go with milled logs using T&G jointing instead of chinking to reduce mainenance.

Ken,

I've looked at every option out there. I know I want most everything on a single level, a basement with interior stairwell and an exterior access/bilco door. I want a partial loft with a 3rd bedroom/full bath. Most of the main level needs to be a vaulted ceiling (open beam) I want a detached 2 to 2 1/2 car garage with a connecting breezeway. The roof needs to be a minimum of a 8 / 12 pitch . I want cypress or heartwood ceder or redwood.

I have some floor plans and have tried a couple of times to upload them to this thread but everyone here knows my limits with the computer soooo...

The big thing in log homes is the method of sealing between the log layers. Of course each manufauturer claims theirs is the best and only way to go.

I think i'm going to attend another log home show this year either in Atlanta, Tampa or Orlando and then in October when I visit my property visit other owners in that area as well as manufacturers and builders.

RYD

[MarineHawk]

Originally Posted by KenP

You could always go with milled logs using T&G jointing instead of chinking to reduce mainenance.

I think, in modern times, this is referred to as "asianing" to avoid offending anyone.

[ssgharkness020147]

I bought a log house about a year ago. Its half log and has been pretty efficiant over the last year, bear in mind my parents spend about 1K a month on natural gas to heat their home in the winter, so maybe my view of efficant is a bit scewed. Other then the fact that they are a pain in the ass to maintain (did I mention mine needs to be stained), I have been very happy with it.

[BlueHUMMERH2]

Having spent the majority of the last week pressure-washing and painting a deck, I must say that I think I like the way log homes look, but I wouldn't want the maintenance. I mean, the deck is maybe ~1,000 sq. ft. with all the sides, rails, fences, etc. and it's taken forever. I can't imagine doing a whole house! I'm even using a power painter, but it still takes a while, and the thing is messy, you get a lot of overspray, and it's spray pattern is not as predictable as I'd like. I convinced my mom to go with a solid color stain/paint so it will last a good 8 years (supposedly), and 20 years on siding/fences. But this eliminates that log home look of natural wood.... So might as well just build a nice post and beam house in my opinion, and get the look of a log home inside. Or just paint the thing with the acrylic latex, pick a neutral color and save yourself a lot of maintenance for a few years.