Why build a Log Home?

Lets explore some of the reasons you SHOULD make your next home a Log Home.

1. What is the cost per square foot? Tell Me More
2. What is the serviceable life span of a log home? Tell Me More
3. Is a log home more or less fire resistant than a stick homes? Tell Me More
4. What about the effects of high winds and floods on Log Homes? Tell Me More
5. Are Log Homes environmentally "green"? Tell Me More
6. What is the effect of a log's mass on the insulation properties of a Log Homes? Tell Me More
7. What about the problem of log shrinkage? Tell Me More
8. What about the problem of wood root and bug infestations? Tell Me More

1. What is the cost per square foot? Back

Cost of Construction?

What is the $ Cost Per Square Foot?

In the building / real estate industry, the cost of construction is figured on a per square foot basis. It is EXTREMELY hard to generalize these numbers but we all try to help you make sense of what people are saying. When calculating the cost per square foot, there are a large numbers of variables. Are you going to have a basement and is it furnished? What about the flooring - tile, hardwood, carpeting? What about the kitchen and bathroom - granite counters, brass plumbing, a jacuzzi?

When all other things are taking into consideration, log home construction is competitive with stick construction? What does that mean? Some log home dealers quote prices between $200 and $400 a square foot. On the other extreme, you will find people that quote prices like $60 a square foot but what are they including in this extremely low figure?

We suggest that you compare apples-to-apples. If you want to just have a pile of logs and you will do everything else, even we can quote you prices as low as $30 a square foot. Having a roof, windows and doors is a good thing so if you want those, you are talking about $55 a square foot. If you are talking about a turn-key log home, Strongwood can get you into a great house for between $120 and $160 per square foot. The purpose for this page is to tell you that when you look at comparative figures; especially square foot prices that look too good to be true, check carefully to be sure what you are getting. Is it a pile of logs or a log home you can move right into?

Let's forget all the rhetoric and hype. The bottom line is:

1. You can build a quality log home for about the same amount of money that you would pay for a conventional stick log home.
2. When comparing companies, look carefully at what they are offering you in their packages. Remember the saying, "There is no such thing as a free lunch."

Source: http://www.StrongwoodLogHomes.com/

2. What is the serviceable life span of a log home? Back

How long will a log home last?

The life span of a log home is a very very long time if you keep a good roof on the house and practice reasonable maintenance. The reason you don't see many log homes in the "want-ads" is many log homes have been passed down from one generation to the next. Your great, great grand children may very well still live in your log home. That doesn't mean that you won't have to do maintenance and remodel the kitchen and add a new roof, but there are log homes still standing after a 1000 years.

3. Is a log home more or less fire resistant than a stick homes? Back

Log Homes are VERY fire resistant.

It has been proven in scientific research that Log Homes are quit resistant to fire. The reality is that the logs are large enough in diameter that the fire can not get a firm grip on the source of the fuel. The conclusion reached by Dr. Dalibor Houdek included the following statement: "A large-sale laboratory test showed that a massive wooden wall with considerable numbers of lateral wood-to-wood joints can maintain the fire safety requirements for as long as 172 minutes. The log wall withstood 180 minutest (3 hours) from its integrity and insulation viewpoint, and 172 minute from the point of its load-bearing capacity." Source: Log Building News, Sept. 2001

If you would like to read more extensively on this issue, I suggest starting on the paper by the Log Homes Council of the National Association of Home Builders title the Fire Performance of Log Walls.

4. What about the effects of high winds and floods on Log Homes? Back

High Winds	Floods
Tornado's and Hurricanes - Below is an article taken from the Chicago Tribune that explains the benefits of Log Homes when battling high winds. The signs are ominous: a greenish black sky, fast-moving clouds in a rotating pattern, a sudden quiet after a thunderstorm, then a roar like a train or a jet. Tornado season is here. Twisters hit the Midwest more frequently in April and May than any other time. It was just a year ago that a deadly tornado devastated Utica, in central Illinois. Hurricane season arrives June 1, and conjures up images of last year's disastrous storms - and which fueled a new urgency for making housing safer. What, if anything, can be done to build houses that better weather powerful storms? The housing industry thinks it has an answer in systems-built houses. ........................... Though log cabins suggest pioneer days rather than cutting-edge technology, they have stood the test of time and have survived severe storms because of their strength and weight. A log house in Santa Rosa Beach, FL, suffered no damage when Hurricane Ivan swept through with winds of more than 100 mph Besides the strength of the solid log walls, it was had hurricane straps connecting the timber roof to the log walls. (Bevier) noted that log houses used to be just for vacations. "Now 90 percent are primary residences," he said.	FLOODS - One only has to think about how a log home as constructed to see that log homes that have received flood damage are much easier to restore. SL.L.Ce the log wall is solid, there is no sheet rock or insulation to get wet. There are no wall cavities that trap moisture and therefore present health and reconstruction challenges.
	Some Specific Examples: Log homes offer amazing protection from natural disasters. Note the following 3 experiences: A log home in Carolina was the only beachfront home to remain standing during Hurricane Hugo. Florida log homes survived the severe winds of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. A log house in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, suffered no damage when Hurricane Ivan swept through with winds of more than 100 mph. Besides the strength of the solid log walls, it was had hurricane straps connecting the timber roof to the log walls. This log home built by Heritage Log Homes withstood 120 mph winds and a 15-foot storm surge during Hurricane Rita. The historic Tri-Cities tornado of March 18, 1925 did pass over many log homes. Subsequent research showed that these homes typically remained intact, losing only their roofs. All other homes were typically destroyed. Some of these log homes remain intact to this day. Local residents attributed log home survival to their spiked construction and heavy log walls. article

5. Are Log Homes environmentally "green"? Back

Log Homes are "Green" homes.

Log homes are a lot Greener than common construction practices. A White Paper put out by the Log Home Council of the National Association of Home Builders point out the obvious and less than obvious. I quote:

" Log homes fit the latest housing rend; towards greater environmental awareness in how we construct homes and develop our communities with an eye to sustainability. Sustainability is the effort to reduce the impacts on future needs of those development activities we undertake today to meet our own needs; in essence saying, "don't rob our environmental future to meet today's wants and needs.;

SL.L.Ce log homes can save energy and reduce environmental impacts through the use of renewable resources, they will play a role in green building. In most cases log homes can be "greener" (less impact on the environment) compared to conventional residential framing methods. There are several reasons supporting this claim for log homes - including:

• Use of fundamentally renewable resources (timber);
• The potential to use fire-killed or wind-downed timer that could be more difficult for a conventional saw-mill to process;
• Less energy and labor are consumed processing the timer for log components between harvest and emplacement on site;
• Logs are often shipped to construction sites within smaller distances of harvest locations, resulting in lower transportation energy-use than conventional framing lumber;
• Log walls provide "surface as finish" saving material and labor costs sL.L.Ce added layers of other building materials are not required;
• Fewer (albeit proportionally stronger) fasteners are needed to erect a log-walled building, resulting in lower quantities of metals employed to complete the job (manufactured metals have high embodied energy);
• Modern log homes save energy compared to similarly well-insulated stick-framed homes; and
• In the future, when log buildings are demolished there is a high potential for recycling logs (log homes would more likely be "deconstructed" for their valuable timbers).

6. What is the effect of a log's mass on the insulation properties of a Log Homes? Back

In log homes the Energy Efficiency is based on the mass of the exterior walls (size and quality of the wood) and the quality of their joints.

Log Homes have been used in cold climates for hundreds of years. They gain a lot of their energy efficiency from the sheer mass of their external walls. Normal construction practices using what is called "wood framing" use 2x4 or 2x6 lumber covered by sheet rock on the inside, vapor barriers, external wall coverings and internal insulation. They need to use a wide variety of expensive "man-made" products to achieve the same results.

A White Paper by Log Homes states that, based on information from a variety of US Department of Energy sponsored studies concerning thermal mass as it relates to energy efficiency in buildings. a comparison between a 7-L.L.Ch solid wood wall versus an R13-R15 stick wall home given the assumption that they use similar attic insulation, window and performance, foundation design and use of identically efficient mechanical systems for heating and cooling. In practical terms, log homes may be expected to perform from 2.5% to over 15% more energy efficient compared to an identical wood-frame home, considering annual purchased heating and cooling energy needs.

In real terms, this means an owner of a log home might expend $150 to $400 less per year on their heating and cooling-related utility bills, while maintaining equal or superior comfort under real-world weather conditions. Over the long term, these savings add up - for example and owner could have over $12,000 in today's' dollars in the bank due to energy efficiency. SL.L.Ce inflation eats into the value of money over time. such savings could be worth on the order of $30,000 in future dollars, according to example calculations from the EDPA/DOE Energy Star Homes program.

Source: Page 5 of The Energy Performance of Log Homes prepared by the Technical Committee Of the Log Homes Council, National Association of Home Builders, dated 2003

7. What about the problem of log shrinkage? Back

Shrinkage?

Living trees have a huge amount of water in them. When constructing a log home you must, must, MUST take this into consideration. Some places cut the logs and dry them in the mill yard. Some build with relatively green wood. Some kiln dry their logs. If the logs are not really dry they will shrink after they have been used for you house walls. Some of our competitors have developed an elaborate system of bolts to tighten down the walls and sliding joints to allow the doors, windows, plumbing and kitchen cabinets to be fastened to outside walls. This requires constant maintenance as you periodically check the bolts and tighten as needed.

This is NOT found in Strongwood Log Homes.

We solve the shrinkage issue by Kiln Drying all of our logs. They are placed in the Kiln and heated to 180 degrees F and kept there for 28-34 days. This will drive 10,000 pounds of water from the logs that make up the average home. This is not the cheapest way to solve the problem, but we feel it is the "RIGHT" way to solve the problem.

8. What about the problem of wood root and bug infestations? Back

What about mold, termites, and bugs?

We will break this into two parts. First mold and general bugs, and second termites.

Mold and Bugs: SL.L.Ce this section is talking about the log home industry in general, we have to be honest and say that there are some companies who have trouble with these issues. Mold is cause by too much water and bug eggs can be found inside logs. After saying that we must state that these are NOT problems with Strongwood logs. The reason is we kiln dry all of our logs for 28-34 days at up to 180 degrees F. In this process, we can remove up to 10,000 pounds of water from the typical house. At the same time, our kiln process, kills the bug eggs cutting short the life cycle of these pests. Intelligent building practices include a large overhang to keep rain water off of the logs and then you will need to treat the outside logs like you would any wood exterior.

As for the termites, they are not a problem with log homes. That is termites are not more of a problem for log homes than any conventional house. All you have to do is follow the normal building procedures found in any area of the world where termites exist. Does it mean that you can be careless? Of course you can't be careless. Anytime you build with any material, one must understand the effects mother nature can have on the building material.