LOG HOME and LOG CABIN EDUCATION INFORMATION
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LOG HOME and LOG CABIN EDUCATION INFORMATION
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Log Home questions you need to ask? How much does a log home cost? There is no magic bullet! Any log home manufacturer or log cabin dealer that can tell you exactly how much your log home will cost is just picking a number out of thin air and you need to be concerned. Until you meet with a log home builder and have a full set of log home construction plans that he can take to his sub-contractors and suppliers no one will know the cost. The log home builder needs to know what you want in cabinets, plumbing, floor coverings, heating system, etc. When the log home contractor receives all the estimates back then and only then will you know the cost of your home. If a contractor tosses out a random number make sure you document it and have it signed at the time you sit down to sign a contract. What he has promised, you need to see in writing. Any changes during construction should be noted and signed by both parties. Change orders are protection for you and your builder. Always make 2 copies and do not leave until both are signed. Leave one copy with your log home builder and place your copy in a home construction file. Any log home manufacturer that can give you a firm contract price without knowing all the door and window openings in your log home is selling you a random length log package and you will end up paying for logs you will not be using. Most manufacturers sell you the total linear length of log for the entire wall. When openings for doors and windows are cut out with a chain saw you have just purchased expensive firewood. You need to find a log home manufacturer that credits you back for these openings. Why should you pay for this? This is why you should look at a manufacturer that will not give you a firm contract price until you have a full set of log home drawings they can accurately calculate the linear used in your home. **Note see section on random length log packages. If a contractor comes back to you at the end of the project wanting more money for additional services, he now has to prove to you that they were first approved and cost accrued or you will owe him nothing. Also have a builder sign a no-lien agreement so your home will be free of liens from any other sub-contractor your builder hired and is to pay. Is my log home deposit refundable? Most of the log home manufacturers (over 90%) do not and will not refund your deposit. Often a small deposit can get them 'working for you' - plans etc. But no large 50% deposits should be made until ALL aspects of the process are in order. Is there any source for references other than satisfied customers provided by log home manufacturers? Yes. You should check with the Log Homes Council. This agency is the Better Business Bureau of the log home industry. Log home manufacturers have to be in good standing and comply to standards set by the LHC. If they have excessive complaints or not keeping the standards they are kicked out and can not come back until they have taken care of complaints to the LHC standards. You can contact the Log Homes Council through their web site www.loghomes.org or 1-800-368-5242, Ext. 8357. This is free insurance for you. Dunn and Bradstreet Credit report. In today’s economy you never know which manufacturer is in financial trouble. Doing a Dunn and Bradstreet credit report will give you peace of mind. They run fro $9.95 to $29.95. You can not beat the cost of doing your homework with this credit report. You should ask any log home manufacturer if they would reimburse you for the cost of the credit report if you go with their company. The manufacturers that will should be higher up on your selection list because they know their credibility and financial's. What are log home transportation costs? Due to the daily change of fuel costs it is very difficult for any log home manufacturer to give an actual cost of shipping until the day it ships. Any log home manufacturer that tells you that the cost of shipping is free is not telling you the truth. They bury the cost of shipping in the cost of not just your log home package, but in every package they send around the country. They average in a base cost to every package and the closer you live to the log home manufacturer the more you will pay for the package. For example, if a manufacturer builds in a cost for shipping and lets say $2,000.00 to every package and the actual cost 100 miles from the manufacturer is $400.00 the manufacturer makes $1,600.00. Now if you are 1,600 miles from the manufacturer and the cost is $2,000 they break even. The farther away from the log home manufacturer the more cost and the base paid by the closer customer helps subsidize for the farthest customer. Just remember that nothing is for FREE any more. You will pay for it some where in your package. Manufacturers are in business to make money not give it away. Do your homework! What about log home INSECTS? Today most sealant manufacturers have an additive that can be mixed into the product before application to repel pine beetles, flathead bores, ants, termites and other insects. You should always ask if to make sure that this chemical is standard in the sealant or should it be requested as an upgrade for a cost. Manufacturers that claim they treat every log in borate at their facility is actually costing you more money. Why do this process and charge the consumer 3 times what it would cost for an additive in the log sealant. You do not need to have your package treated in borate with the new technology today. All of the additives are EPA approved for consumer protection. It only has to be reapplied when a new sealant is applied to your home in future years. Remember the 20 mule team borax in a box? You can treat your log home with this product just before staining and get better protection. Log home manufacturer's that pre-treat log packages do not tell you that if the pre-treated logs get wet "IT WASHES OFF". It is a water base product and if it rains and the logs are not protected you just spent money on nothing. You can go purchase a 1 gallon weed sprayer and mix the 20 mule team and spray your logs a couple days before staining and have better protection and save a lot of money. Will a log home burn quicker than a conventionally built home? NO! A conventionally framed home will burn 10 times faster than a log home. What burns in any home is the interior furnishings and then the walls ignite. Tests over the years have proven that a round log will ignite very slowly if at all. The exterior of a log might get charred, but is easily removed to restore a log homes beauty and original color. Logs have less air mass in-between the fibers and with out oxygen they can not burn. With a conventionally framed home you have lots of air in-between the studs to feed the fuel (studs) and allows for quicker ignition. It is the old test where you can take a phone book and stand on it then try to light on fore. It will not burn. Now take the pages and crinkle a few in the phone book allowing air in-between and see how quickly the pages burn. There are products on the market today that take the fuel away from the fire. This product can be applied before or after the exterior sealants on log homes. When flames hit the logs the additive bubbles not allowing the log to ignite. There have been documented cases where the product actually put out fires saving the homes. Insurance companies are also giving homeowners up to a 15% discount on their log homes if a certified applicator signs off on the home. Go to www.noburn.com and see the videos they have demonstrating the product. Will I ever have to chink my log home? Chinking is not a necessity anymore. You must ask the manufacturer if this will ever need to be done on your home. Again if you do not ask they are not obligated to tell you. Chinking cost around $6,000 per 1,000 square foot of home. So if you have a 2,000 square foot home you need to be saving $12,000-$14,000 every 5-6 years to replace the chinking. It is not cheap and you the consumer will have to pay for this as you first move in to your new home or shortly after and then every 5-6 years. It is not fair for any log home manufacturer to not disclose this to you. Most will bury this in their contracts under “General Maintenance” and when you go back to them, they look at you and say you should have read your contract. Any contract you sign is binding and you are liable to read and understand before signing. How energy efficient is a log home? Depending on the species a log home manufacturer uses for your log walls determines how energy efficient your home will be. The very best is Cedar, but cedar costs 5 times more than pine. When you look at the pine family the very best is Western White pine and this is due the amount of Thermal Mass in the cells of the fiber. What is “Thermal mass” it is the amount of air in the cells in the fiber. These air cells resist the transformation of the heat from the heated side to the cooler side. So in the winter months using the right species with high thermal mass the logs will absorb the heat from the interior and not allow the heat transfer through the walls. The logs will store the heat and continue to radiate the stored heat back into the log home. What is the best pine species? Western White pine. When you get into Douglas Fir, Alpine fir, Spruce, Hemlock or hardwoods like Cypress or Oak they are very dense and little or no thermal mass allowing heat loss transfer through the walls. The harder woods take forever to heat up and will cool off quickly. You will hear from one log home manufacturer to another that species does not matter, this only shows their lack of knowledge and education of wood. The Log Homes Council is now performing a “Hot-Box” test to finally prove the thermal mass performance of many different species of wood used in log homes. Only a few log home manufacturers have participated in this study and will have results to show, while the manufacturers that did not want to participate will not have this information and they do not want it because what they are telling you discredits their product with the test. Also beware of log home manufacturers mixing species and grade of wall logs in their homes. You will have variable thermal mass, structural problems and a butcher block look on your log home. So in short, log homes are more energy efficient than conventionally framed homes. You do not have the heat loss transfer through the walls (if the right species is used) like a conventionally framed home. You can walk up to a log wall in the winter time and feel how warm it is then feel the wall of a conventionally framed home and see how cold it is. Cold pulls heat from the interior and if the walls are cold you are experiencing heat loss transfer.
Will it take longer to build a log home? No, When you put up a log wall it is only one step compared to a conventionally framed home that takes 5 steps. 1. framing 2. insulation 3. sheet rock 4. exterior OSB 5. exterior siding. Now you hope all sub-contractors show up on time to do each job and not start the domino effect that happens too often. After the walls are up the interior framing is just like a conventionally framed home. The roof system may take a little longer due to complexity.
Consulting firms that help you through the building process are well worth your time and money. Not knowing the in and out's of building a log home or timber frame home can become very frustrating. Custom Woodcraft Builders out of Indianapolis, Indiana serve the Mid-Western States. If anyone has seen it all...it is Custom Woodcraft Builders. Sources of expert timber frame and log home building advice: www.customwoodcraftbuilders.com For log and timber trusses and entryways - please visit timbertrusses.net and timbertruss.net. To learn about building options with authentic reclaimed lumber, beams, logs & timbers for true historical 'green' building, please visit reclaimedwood.biz and reclaimedtimber.org. If you are interested in more information about timbers, timber framing and log and timber frame construction in general, please visit the following sites: Be sure not to miss a wide array of log home and log cabin suppliers, builders and accessories at the Outdoor Sport Lake & Cabin Show in Fort Wayne Indiana March 12-14, 2010. This event is produced by Coliseum Productions Inc.
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Send mail to
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Send mail to
info@universityofloghomes.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
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Send mail to
info@universityofloghomes.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
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