Name That Log Home

[Pinch]

Hello,

New to the forum and very glad to have found you. My wife and I are seriously looking at buying a property with a log home in New England. They are not common up here and while I am familiar with stick framing I'm a little lost with this and the more I read on the Internet the worse it gets. Here is what I do know:

It's called a Georgia Log Home (is that a style or company?) and it was built in the mid 80s. It has been owned for many years by a carpenter and if general appearance means anything he has taken very good care of it. That's about all I know. Here is a link to an image of the house: https://ibb.co/iYmnnm Hopefully it shows enough detail so that someone can tell me about its construction: full log vs. half, Scandinavian chinkless” construction vs “Canadian chinkless” etc. In the meantime, I'm going to start going through old threads and learn as much as I can.

Thank you in advance!

[rckclmbr428]

It's a milled "log" home. Aka a kit log home. Stay away from it

[Pinch]

Thanks for the response. What is it about a milled log home that is not good?

[mudflap]

Thanks for the response. What is it about a milled log home that is not good?
Well, Ronnie can definitely tell you more than probably anyone, but the short answer is the more you process your logs- "milled" - the more it will cost you. And there's no benefit- other than in the building process. that milled home will settle, while a lhba home won't. Not to mention energy efficiency, loss of log integrity.

Lhba is what I settled on after researching all of it for literally years. My biggest project before this was a chicken coop- now I'm stacking logs for the second floor. Most folks on here are the same. Except rockclmbr- he stacks homes for a living.

We even have a retired muffin man, don't we, loghousenut? [emoji1]

You can definitely do this.

blog: https://loghomejourney.wordpress.com/

[loghousenut]

Pinch, this is kinda like asking which cut of beef is the best at the Vegan convention.

This forum and the entire LHBA is about as anti-kit house as they come. Please go back to the main page https://www.buildloghomes.org/ and take a peek down toward the bottom of the page and read what our founder had to say about owning a kit "log" home. He said it better than most of the rest of us could and most of the rest of us agree 100 metric percent with him.

[rckclmbr428]

Here is a picture of a kit home that I was recently called out to look at. It was built in the 80's. This is what happens when you build a kit and then don't strip, treat, and restain the home every 8 years. All of the corners are completely rotted out, and most of the walls are rotted as well. This home is going to be torn down. It will cost more to replace all the damaged logs then start over from scratch. Can a kit be kept up and in good shape after 30 years? Sure, of you don't mind spending a good chunk of change and time keeping them up. But most people don't like a home that is a guaranteed time and money suck.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk122/rckclmbr428/IMG_20171103_155404_zpsn0qxkqwa.jpg (http://s279.photobucket.com/user/rckclmbr428/media/IMG_20171103_155404_zpsn0qxkqwa.jpg.html)

[mudflap]

"U-G-L-Y, you aint got no alibi!" man, what a sad photo.

[Pinch]

This has been very educational. Thanks to all!

[Pinch]

Wait, one more question: with these milled homes what is behind the exterior milled logs? Like with the sad photo posted by rckclmbr48, what's on the other side of those logs? Are they attached to a frame or is the interior wall just the other side of these logs? Would seem kind of thin if it was.

[rckclmbr428]

The other side typically is just the other side of the small logs, with r value being 1.6 per inch, a lot of times the homes don't even meet code for wall insulation. Here is a video from Kuhns Brothers, a kit log home manufacturer in PA lamenting the fact that they are being held to conventional wall insulation codes and how they won't be able to do it, and admitting that they don't meet code. Kits are made for ease of construction and the efficiency of production. Never mind meeting codes or having a product that will last. https://youtu.be/sZPwfrXncNg

[rreidnauer]

My area (I'm in central Pennsylvania) won't allow kit homes any more, due to the inability to meet energy efficiency codes. But since that place is pre-existing, meeting code doesn't matter, except for what effect heating it will do to your finances. I'd ask to see their past winter energy bills, to get an idea what you are getting into.

Have you seen it in person yet? If not, they might have framed, insulated, and drywalled the inside to boost insulating values. At least nobody painted the "logs." (an easy way to cover up problems) but I would take a good look at the corners and below windows, especially on the North side. Taking an awl with you to poke and see if you find any soft (rot) areas is always a good idea.

As far as settling, I suspect that is pretty much done at this point, but check for issues with doors and windows sticking/jammed. Looking for gaps where roof meets the log walls (usually most prominent near the ridge on the gable ends) is a sign of mis-handled settling management. (you really need a ladder to see if gaps are present)

Sent from my SM-G928G using Tapatalk

[mudflap]

This has been very educational. Thanks to all!

So.....when you gonna join us? :)

I think of that decade I wasted- I could be living in mine right now! 'course....10 years ago, the logs I'm harvesting for my build right now were much, much smaller....

[Pinch]

So.....when you gonna join us? :) I think of that decade I wasted- I could be living in mine right now! 'course....10 years ago, the logs I'm harvesting for my build right now were much, much smaller....

I'm with you but I have a lot to learn! To start I'm trying to "see" what you guys see. Here is another log home in CT I found this morning.
https://ibb.co/kzohpb
https://ibb.co/f7Lnpb
https://ibb.co/d1MP2w
https://ibb.co/fZ842w
https://ibb.co/b40j2w
(https://ibb.co/b40j2w)

I've compared it to what I've found here and it has elements of both a milled log home and a custom hand built home. What do you think? My guess judging from the outer walls is that it is milled but was it a kit? Do some of you mill your logs to get a more precise fit?

[rckclmbr428]

Believe it or not, this style is even worse than a standard milled home, the logs have been sawn flat top and bottom for ease of stacking, but the sides are left natural which results in varying widths of logs. The flat, upward facing part of the log collects rain water and it is wicked back in between the logs. There was a company near me (Western Virginia) back in the 80-90s building this style called Shawnee log homes. I have replaced literally thousands of feet of wall logs on multiple homes around here built in the exact same style. The one you linked pictures to seems to have been kept up, or at least a recent coat of gloss stain has been applied. Run, don't walk from that one.

[mudflap]

You're gonna find a lot of variations in our group, but the end result is the same: most of us are building our own, with little to no experience, from logs that we peeled ourselves, paying as we go, and we're ending up with some really beautiful homes.

I chainsaw off some of the more ornery knots, but no, I don't 'mill' mine. Of course, I'm one of the few that harvests my own trees (I'm not bragging, I'm just poor), but don't do this- just buy them already on a logging truck. But yes, some folks on here buy logs from a mill- not that D-shaped or channel grooved nonsense, but not hand-peeled either. Obviously, I'm in the snobby hand-peeled camp. :)

On that 4th photo- I don't like logs that are exposed to the outside elements penetrating my walls- they will suck moisture from the outside and deposit it into your wall logs.

But what is your end goal? you sound like you just want to buy one. As LHN said, you're gonna find yourself asking about the best cuts of beef at a vegetarian convention. Most of us are not much for buying existing homes - we're more about building them from scratch. Buying an existing log home puts you on the wrong end of the economy. Build it for $60k, then sell it for $600k, not the other way around, see? It's more of a belief system than a building system- as in we believe you shouldn't spend 30 years paying for a home. This method (LHBA) will help you avoid doing that.

Keep researching, you'll come around.

[rocklock]

I've compared it to what I've found here and it has elements of both a milled log home and a custom hand built home. What do you think? My guess judging from the outer walls is that it is milled but was it a kit? Do some of you mill your logs to get a more precise fit?

Our basic idea is to build it our self. There are a few variations but a Chain saw is a very important tool.

Natural round logs, peeled by hand, not too long after they are felted is what we use.

Look at the pictures. Look at my pictures.

If you want to work hard, then this is the place to continue to learn...

Don't buy a kit home...

[Pinch]

Wow, this has been a real eye opener. I've had a love of log homes all my life and I'm at a point in life that I'm considering buying one. I never considered building it myself but you have me thinking - especially since many of the properties we are looking at here in New England are basically forests. That said, I'm not sure we have the best species for the job although pine, oak and maple are common. I want to retire and do a little farming so imagine if clearing a field could provide material for my log home? That's about as green and natural as you can get.

I'm still in relatively good shape so maybe I can do this. I have a lot of research to do so here goes. Thanks to everyone who responded. I admire what you're doing.

[loghousenut]

Pinch, your hand built log home would put either of those kit places to shame. I know mine does, and it will be standing, solid as a rock, long after my Grandsons are dust.

Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk

[rocklock]

, I'm not sure we have the best species for the job although pine, oak and maple are common. I want to retire and do a little farming so imagine if clearing a field could provide material for my log home? That's about as green and natural as you can get.I'm still in relatively good shape so maybe I can do this. I have a lot of research to do so here goes..

I am 73 and I started at 62...I have been on this forum a long time...

Look at more pictures... Being in good shape helps, but even LHN has been able to build. It helps to have a son to help... I have two...

Welcome...

About what species to build with... In class they go into various species but the general rule is you build with what you got... Almost any species will work if you have the right size, build correctly and keep them dry...

[loghousenut]

I am 73 and I started at 62...I have been on this forum a long time...

Look at more pictures... Being in good shape helps, but even LHN has been able to build. It helps to have a son to help... I have two...
.


A Son, a Wife, and time.

https://i.imgur.com/MIPP1BP.gif

[lynncherl]

That latter house you posted does have a very positive feature in the wraparound covered porch. The extended roofline will definitely extend the life of the house by reducing the inevitable water-wicking into the walls that will occur with this inferior method.