Some things to consider

[stahlt12345]

I want to make everyone aware that is considering building a log home some things I was never told about.

1) It is extremely hard to find homeowners insurance in Michigan. Nobody wants to insure a log home. I have Progressive car insurance and they just started selling homeowners in MI. I called them in hopes of getting the multi policy discount. They will not insure a log home. I have been refused insurance and cancelled insurance because of it being a log home. My current policy has it listed as a frame (stick built home). I am scared to death if I have a total loss they will not pay. You do need to check that.

2) In 2000 when we started building we took blueprints to the county/twp and were given an estimate for property taxes with barn and garage. They would not give us this in writing, I did ask. At 70% of completion our property taxes were already the amount they quoted us without the garage and the barn. At 100% they are over $2,000 more than they told us and we do not have a garage or barn. The reason...because our home is a "custom" home. We are paying more from property taxes than some brick executive homes in our area.
We have fought it at township level and have also had it go to state level...we lost every time. So, we pay $5,000 per year property taxes and do not have any garage or barn.
I have no idea what you can do to prevent this from happening to you...I just want you to be aware.

3) It is extremely hard to get your log home refinanced if you need to. Di-tech would not even consider financing it so we could reduce our interest rate.

4) The bugs are terrible! We have tried many products. Too many to list. We have an exterminator come out 2 x a year. We have bats that love the logs. We have birds that want to build nests on the house (this summer we got bird mites inside the house from a nest we missed and didn't get tore down). We bought a special bug inhibitor to put directly into the stain.

5) Our home is not energy efficient. It is 3,000 square feed and it cost me $700 plus to heat it per month. Heat only, no electricity. It is swedish cope design. We put foam strips and the tubes of calk were used between logs. Our home is heated with boiler heat. And, because it is boiler heat we did not have A/C installed (we were told it would be very cool in the summer). It is 10 degrees cooler in the house than outdoors. So, if it is 90 degrees outside...the inside is a very, very warm 80 degrees if closed up.

6) our windows are wood on the inside. Many of them have condensation and mildew from winter months. The window company blames the logs being too "air tight". Well, I disagree with that if I have a $700 heat bill.

7) and, I can't forget the indoor waterfall when it rains. The rain will find any little tiny crack in the wood and follow its way down the log. I cannot tell you how many times I have had pans, pans and more pans catching water.

So, would I do it again if I could...ABSOLUTELY NOT! Please feel free to contact me at stahlt12345@yahoo.com

Teresa

[stahlt12345]

But, this was my dream home. It has turned into a nightmare that I cannot afford. My taxes and insurance alone are over $700 per month because of my "custom" home. Bet the settlers would have loved that one..."custom".

Teresa :)

[Keysoflife]

I noticed your not a member! Did you take the class? Do you have a fireplace in your house? I wouldn't pay $700 a month to heat. I would put on a couple coats, thats for damm sure. Sorry to hear about your problems. Good luck with that.

[sherri37]

was yours a butt and pass? or did you buy a kit

[chadfortman]

Teresa words
It is swedish cope design, We put foam strips and the tubes of caulk real log homes dont use Caulk to seal out most the weather KIT KIT KIT not log home
Yes read all she has to say becuse she got a Kit and that not a real log home.
If i build a home from 2 by 6s its made wood is it a log home? NO
If you Buy Smart car and someone put BMW trade make on it is that BMW i dont think so
Yes allot things like this happen when you dont have a real log home and buy over priced Kit that says it log home.
And Bug i have them in the woods and all you have do treat your home with borate solution.
There a bunch of place that insurance log home look in the kit mags and none the members here with REAL LOG HOMES have had a problem.
When a home is given a title LOG HOME unless made correct and not milled wood its not log home.
sorry she didnt learn to build a log home before she wasted her money.
We have member on here her sister lives in same mess as Teresa does becuse she bougt a kit and didnt have a real log home.
Sorry Teresa you went out and bought a large investment before you researched to see what you were buying.
Real log homes dont have any these problems.

[ChainsawGrandpa]

"The bugs are terrible!
We have bats that love the logs.
We have birds that want to build nests on the house.
Our home is not energy efficient,
and, I can't forget the indoor waterfall when it rains."

Yeah...I understand. My parents sold their butt & pass
several years ago. Fifty + years old and the only problem
was hillside dirt that had accumulated against
a sill log, but that wasn't a design problem. No bugs,
no indoor monsoon, and very easy to heat. In the
depth of the Winter in the North Cascades, it can be
heated by a single baseboard heater. A fireplace
insert would be way too much heat. The squirrels were
a big problem. They would come in through the stick-
framed bathroom addition. Nope...cedar boards didn't
even slow them down. A real terror....
The squirrels were never a problem until the stick-framed
addition was built. Thompsons water seal mixed
with a little of the man sauce might be a good deterent.

However...

Their neighbors built a beautiful "log" kit home. The
place is stunning,

but:

*when it rains outside, it also rains inside.
*They really can't heat the place. A hurricane blows
down between the roof and fireplace.

When I took the class, Skip said an insurance agent
freaked out, said there we no comparables, and no
one would insure his place. The next agent came and
looked, and said, "Not a problem."

There are areas in the country where agents & officials
are not friendly to log homes, but in my area the
insurance hasn't been a problem, and the officials
pretty much want to be left alone.

-Rick

[Shark]

Can we see pics of this home please??

We've had no issues getting insurance (both state farm, and progressive).
Much better heating & cooling than the stick-frame we rented before.

3000SF? Of course it's going to cost alot for heating the place, that's HUGE!

[clairenj]

but every problem sounds like one that probably could have been avoided by proper construction. except the taxes. just like death, very hard to avoid. There is no way the water should be running down the side of your house if all the log home building rules were followed. bugs are everywhere and everyone has to deal with them regardless of the type of house you are in. Heat loss? Again, if the walls were built properly there is little lost. In the summer, if we close our windows on the hottest days, the cooler air from the previous evening remains inside and so walking into our log home on the hot days is very refreshing. We open the windows again at night. Perhaps you could look at your structure and decide if your eaves and gables extend out far enough for starters. We extended our gables on the old part of the house because they were not big enough to keep the rain off the logs. Now we have no problem there.
good luck and I hope you can persevere and learn how to love your home.

[Timber]

how big is this home? do you have large overhangs on the ends and sides of your roof?

[Basil]

hmm, i got quotes from three insurance companies without problems, got an appraisal (although comps were next to impossible) and have a secondary market loan on my home with a 4.75% rate. I'm sure some areas of the country are harder to do this than others, but they talk about this in the class as well.

If it is swedish cope, then it is either a kit home or a custom-built home. if it's a custom home, and you are having these problems, you need to track down the builder. Most are very conscious of their reputations and would want to fix any problem they had created. but custom homes are rare and very expensive. I'm guessing you have a kit home, and if so, you are preaching to the choir about these issues. This group is dedicated to building real log homes, not manufactured homes out of manufactured wood. While many of us are sympathetic to your plight, the problems you are encountering now are the product of an industry that builds these homes to sell, not live in. Pictures of the problems you are describing would help us help you(maybe), but understand that things like synthetic chinking and wood treatments are not things that most of us have experiences in.