Log homes.

[pickwood]

There are good and bad log home companies and installers. The best are kiln dried, a whole lot less wood movement when home is finished. The best advice I can give is to do alot of research and go visit homes that are completed for a year or so. Depending on the style of log home, ask about log movement and how they deal with it-especially important the first couple of years-ususally scribed log systems. Also, log home are rated with U values instead of R values-log homes can be extremely energy efficient when built correctly. They are a little more expensive, require more maintenance, but the feel and comfort are hard to match.

 

[powerstroke73L]

I feel compelled to chime in since I lived in a log home from birth until about 6 months ago (bought my first house) and it all depends on who you buy from and who builds it. My parents bought from Lincoln Logs out of New York State-they've been out of business for a while now, but they made a good product. Our logs were milled so we have walls that are rounded on the outside and flat on the inside which my mom lobbied for. The logs are basically 8" thick and have a double tongue and groove milled into the tops and bottoms. Not sure what the exact R-value is, but our house is good and tight. The logs were actually soaking wet when they came off of the truck, but they were allowed to sit and bake in the sun from June to July before they were installed. They still checked and shrank a bit after they were installed and my dad spent a lot of time caulking, but we never had any bad drafts and only a few minor leaks during torrential rains. After the first two years, lots of caulk and expandable foam insulation, everything was fine. My folks have gas heat/central air and their bills have always been reasonable for the size of the home (about 2500 SF), so again, there are good and bad log home companies and good and bad log home builders. My dad probably could have avoided the headaches by going with an experienced log home builder, but he used his cousin who was a very experienced general contractor, but had never done a log home. They were both learning as they went.

 

[kuhndog]

No other WAY

Designed and built my own log kit from Timberline(1988).3120 Sq. ft including basement and 2 br loft.Stained the 1st yr and clear coat every 5,6th yr since.Sure, month of may,2 weeks of june I do a bumble bee walk around to blast them but I also have to watch all the pressure treated also.(friends red cedar too).Mine is white pine (all heart logs) Kiln dried is a hoax as explained to me imagine the time and energy to do it.My roof is 7 layers,D log (6x8,8 high).I have no leaks or air spaces and no chalk jobs.There is a 24 hour heat up and cool down for temp change.Did put air in when my wife had an illness it's a 1 ton and does everything/winter heat is 30 to 90 gal oil/5 +/- cord of wood at 74,75 degree.electric 75, 80$ month .Yes I did my dream.Go and live it!

 

[ktm rider]

Kiln dried is a hoax as explained to me imagine the time and energy to do it.!

If that is the case then why don't the air dried log homes have lifetime warranties? The best i could find was 20 yrs.. It is just common sense that a non kiln dried or "wet" log is going to shrink and that is something you do NOT want to happen to your home.
I have seen air dried homes that actually had large screws through the walls that the owner had to actually tighten from the basement to keep their walls plumb.. Who in the world would want that?

I'll take the kiln dried "hoax" logs over air dried anyday.

 

[David Wayne]

I dont have a log home, & "think" I would like to. There have been many interesting replies, split about 50/50 "for" vs "against". From what I read from companys that do not kiln dry their logs is that they will still absorb moisture especially if you dont get them sealed befor they get rained on, so it is a wast of time. From your real wold experiance that is apparently not true. But do they swell & shrink any with changing humidity?
I know when we took vacation to Alaska in 07 we saw alot of log homes around Fairbanks & several new ones being built. If they can keep warm up there it should be easy down here IMO.

 

[trailmaker]

I lived in a log home for a couple of years. It was not well designed or made and I was happy to get out. We had wood pecker and bug problems. I was researching R-values of different materials last night and wood is pretty low. I get the feeling that the "heat sink" property of wood is not all it's cracked up to be but I don't have any numbers to back that up. If you want a rustic, wood feel, look into timber frame houses. You live inside a beautifully crafted wooden frame that can be sealed up nice with insulated panels