The following post offers a few points to think about if you’re considering building a log home.  A lot of people get overwhelmed with information at the beginning of this process.  I wrote this a few years ago to help break down the nuts and bolts of log homes. 

When a family has decided that a log home structure is what they want to build, they first must ask themselves whether they want a rustic looking hand crafted house or a building that has been pre-manufactured with whatever “rustic” qualities included.  The main difference between the two is a hand crafted model is generally built by hand on another site, disassembled, and then reconstructed on the final site by a small crew of builders while the manufactured models are often designed, cut to specifications, and assembled into a kit before shipping out to a job site from one location, very often assembled by whatever contractor has been selected to construct the house and not a specialty crew. The key to manufactured log homes is the uniformity of the shape of the top and bottom (horizontal) surfaces.  Manufactured homes can be purchased several different ways, from walls only to a complete house with all doors, windows, and fixtures.

After the decision of which type of construction to use, the job of building your dream log home is just beginning.  Several decisions now must be made, and a good place to start is to choose a species of the logs that you wish to use.  You might want to include factors such as appearance, decay resistance, insulation value, stability, and finally cost.  A close look at where you plan to build your cabin can have a dominating effect on the species you choose.  Insects may not be a concern in your area, but fungi and decay thrive in moist environments and a more expensive species may be necessary to combat these elements over something that you believe looks better. 

As soon as a species has been selected, you must now decide how to join your logs together.  There are many variations of basically these four methods of construction, flat on flat, hand scribed, concave over round (Swedish cope) and tongue and groove.  How the corners are addressed must also be decided.  Here you can choose between saddle notch, dove tail, butt and pass, corner post, or an interlocking system.  In addition, a fastening system must be chosen to help keep the logs together and straighten them out in case they decide to bow or twist.  Most wall systems involve elements of the following – spike and lag bolts, thru bolts, timber pegs, and oly screws.  Also, a good system will help resist the external forces and stresses placed on the structure by wind, snow, and seismic activity.  If properly built according to local codes, any of these methods will be sufficient to build your structure.

Once you have a structure built you must decide what type of wood preserver to apply.  This will depend on what climate you are in, the moisture content of the wood, orientation and exposure, pigmentation, and finally, personal preference.  You can apply water repellents, UV blockers, biocide agents and other preservatives.  The key to a successful staining and preservation of a log home is that you use something specifically designed for a log home.

As you can see, there are many factors that are involved in choosing and building a log home.  One thing I have found is that the success of your log home building experience depends greatly on your builder.  A builder can make or break your project – a good builder can take bad product and make it look like a million bucks while a bad one can take a million dollar package and turn it into garbage.  If you take your time and research your contractor as much as you research your log provider, you shouldn’t have many problems.  Once these basic questions are answered, designing and building your dream home can be accomplished easily.  By asking yourself these questions ahead of time and doing a little investigating about your geographic area, you will help your designers and builders tremendously.  Good luck and happy stacking.