Our log home situated on 40 acres in Montana and the move from the East coast was a childhood dream come true, and a labour of love. It quickly became apparent that there is much more variety than one would ever think. Not only do log homes come in all shapes and sizes, but the logs themselves come in as many variations as you can imagine.
There are two categories of log homes: handcrafted and milled log homes. Initially, you may not realize what you are looking at, but there are some basic guidelines that will clarify the differences. A handcrafted log home is just that; the logs are peeled by hand, notched by hand, and in many cases, each log is scribed to fit exactly on top of another log. In many handcrafted homes, the logs are stacked alternately, so the large end of a log is stacked on top of the tapered end of the log beneath. A milled log home will feature logs that are uniform in shape, and the logs will be cut to fit together, such as with a tongue-and-groove or Swedish cope, so that they stack easily and evenly. This is what we chose and alas, The Fish Creek House was born. There is a big price difference between a handcrafted and a milled log home. This is mostly because of the intense labor required to construct a handcrafted home, and because of the larger diameter logs that are normally used. The vast majority of homes built today are milled log homes.
If you see a log home with round logs and chinking, that is a first indication that this is could be a handcrafted log home. Chinking was historically a mortar-like material that filled the gaps between the logs. Modern science has created an acrylic compound that expands and contracts with the wood; it is applied as a wide white stripe. If a handcrafted log is not scribed, then chinking is a must because the logs leave gaps along their length. We've chinked interior and exterior... vastly extending the life as well as the beauty of the logs.
On milled logs, there are many joinery systems to choose from. Today, the most popular joinery is called a "Swedish cope". This is where each log is scooped out to fit snugly on the curve of the log beneath. It gives a very smooth and natural look. This is what we choose. Another joinery system is the tongue-and-groove, or double tongue-and-groove depending on the manufacturer. The tongues are cut into the top of the log and corresponding grooves at the bottom. These create a tight fit and stack easily. A more traditional, early American notch is called the dove-tail, which is a mortise and tenon notch usually cut into squared timbers. There are many other corner systems available, but these are the most commonly used
The characteristic corner of your log home will speak volumes to the person who knows how to read it.
A milled log that is saddle-notched will stack the same way (of course, every log will look exactly the same). Because saddle-notched logs are staggered, course to course, the log ends will be visible on the interior corners of the house as well as the exterior. This gives a very rustic look. A butt-and-pass corner gives you an end where there is a space between every other log. This is because one log butts up against the intersecting log, which runs past it. These logs are all laid on the same course, so that with the interior corners of your home, the logs will come to a squared edge.
The shape, or profile of the log is another feature which helped us decide what kind of package to purchase. Many people prefer a "D" log, which is round on the outside and flat on the inside. This gives you a horizontal wood-paneling look, and is easy to hang pictures on. Others prefer a round log, which is a little more rustic and presents many challenges - such as how to join the logs to the sheetrock. Squared timbers, which give a more Appalachian look to the home, tend to be tall and fairly narrow, and are often grooved for the application of chinking.
The average milled log home will use pine logs in 6" and 8" diameters. You can also find them in 10" and 12" diameters. Anything larger than 15" will probably roll you over to a handcrafted home. Cedar logs are an upgrade, and can be found in 6", 8" and occasionally 10" diameters. Some manufacturers more rarely use oak, cypress, fir, hemlock, larch, poplar, spruce, and walnut. These rarer woods will be a price upgrade. Because of the superior log care products on the market today that protect all the logs effectively, the wood species largely becomes a matter of personal taste. The best rule of thumb when choosing log species is to stay with a wood that is native to your area. The logs will adapt to the environment more comfortably.
In contrast to other building materials, wood "breathes." This means that it is open for diffusion in both directions, because billions of tiny cells ensure there is an on-going renewal of the air molecules in the inner room. At the same time, the surface temperature of wooden elements in the inner rooms of the building is always similar to the corresponding room air temperature and, therefore, always pleasant for the people living there. The log walls regulate humidity by absorbing moisture and discharging it again when the outer conditions change. The electrostatic properties of wood mean that it does not get charged up with static electricity causing minimal dust to be whirled around in the rooms
Newcomers are continually amazed to discover that the logs are their own insulation. To compare a stick-frame wall to a log wall by using the "R-value" is not comparing "apples to apples". Logs have a lower "R-value" than insulated 2x4 walls. However, they work on the principal of thermal mass. Because of the cellular structure of logs, they tend to absorb the heat and hold it longer than traditional walls. The logs will actually absorb the heat from the interior of the house (or from the sun, if facing south), and when the temperature drops at night, the walls will generate that heat back into the house until the temperatures equalize. They take longer to warm up, and stay warm much longer. Conversely, they stay cooler in the summertime. Here in Montana, we turn the air conditioner on by opening another window!
Some producers feature a half-log system, where the logs are attached outside-and-inside to 2x4 or 2x6 stick-frame walls. This adds the extra R-value of an insulated wall, along with the beauty of the log, and also makes it easier to install electrical wiring. Ultimately, these systems are a bit more expensive than full-log, because of the additional cost of the lumber. But they do give the added ability to vary the interior of your house, so that some interior walls could be sheetrock, stone, or tongue-and-groove. In any case, many modern manufacturers use the half-log system on their second floor, to compensate for the huge windows, which may displace so many logs that the wall's integrity could be compromised. Also, because the large windows settle at a different rate than logs, the stick-framed second floor equalizes the overall settling. With the best manufacturers, you won't be able to tell on the outside where the full logs end and the half logs begin.
It would save a lot of work for the buyer to get a "turnkey" price on the logs, the lumber, the windows and doors, and the roof - what is commonly known as a "weathered-in shell". However, this complete system only makes sense if you are local to the manufacturer; otherwise, you'll be spending thousands of dollars to ship ordinary lumber across the country. After all, there is no difference between a roof used on an ordinary house and a roof used on a log home. You choose the kind of roof you want, but it'll come from the same manufacturer. The same goes for the floors, the doors, the kitchen, and the heating system. Windows can be a little tricky; you'll have to find a manufacturer that is willing to make a extended window-sill (or jamb) to accommodate the thickness of the logs. Most major window companies are able to do this.
Remember that log homes are completely custom. No log home company will offer you a choice of kitchens or bathrooms like a development builder. You will have to shop for these yourself, and the possibilities are limitless. Your builder may make some decisions for you, but you will be better served to pick your own flooring, light fixtures, faucets and even door knobs. Most manufacturers do not want to have anything to do with the foundation; that is not their business. You can use any kind of foundation you want, but you'll need to contact a local contractor to do that job, or have your builder do so.
Log homes are not maintenance-free - nor are they overwhelmingly laborious. Although the products on today's market do a fantastic job of protecting the logs from sun, rain and insects, they do need to be re-applied ever three to five years depending on the wall exposure. This "maintenance coat" is much easier to apply than the original coats of stain, and no, you don't have to strip off the old coat first. So it's not as bad as it sounds! However, you must inspect the logs at least once a year for excessive cracking (or checking) - especially when the check opens upward, creating a water trap.
Log homes bring all of the beauty of the outdoors into your home.. ahh the makings of Montana memories...
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marți, 1 februarie 2011
Another Login on Logs
A LOG CABIN IS IRRESISTIBLE. IT expresses the romance of home--that archetypal feeling of warmth, protection, and permanence--like no other structure. It fuels the imagination, making you dream of sinking into your favorite easy chair as firelight dances across log walls the color of honey and a coyote howls in the distance. . A log cabin comeback is under way. Owning a log home has long been defined as living and loving a certain lifestyle. Whether the log home is of traditional design and located on a remote hillside or a totally contemporary model in a resort community, the owners are often independent spirits who enjoy the attention a unique home offers. They love being surrounded by the ambience of natural wood and the feeling of rootedness these sturdy homes imply. Their substantial horizontal silhouettes and sturdily stacked corners seem to stud almost every newly subdivided ranch, contrasting vividly with the thinner, wood-frame construction of conventional houses. Logs embody an alpine aesthetic.
"When we first started our log home renovation with an eye towards opening up the Fish Creek House Bed and Breakfast, , we found that altho we were the hands-on types, still being in California we were very willing to turn the process over to the log home builder, John Benedict once these aspects have been determined. They want their particular log home to look like those they've seen in the log home magazines, but they don't have the time or inclination to make that look happen.
Log home furniture might feature wood frames and intriguing upholstery patterns and colors. The beds and chairs made of logs built from the local Amish community. The lighting fixtures, including table lamps and chandeliers, can be made from antlers or have rustic metal shades featuring cut-out silhouettes. Everything from carved front doors and mantles to log staircases and window frames -- it all comes together for that total log home feel. We were thrilled to discover the variety of furniture and specialty items available to help visualize what the final product would look like.
CHOOSING YOUR WOOD SPECIES
One of the first questions we had to answer was "What kind of wood is the best to use?" There is no one correct answer to that question because quality log homes can be built successfully from many different wood species. Wood has many different [characteristics loghomes/wood/index.html]. Which species is best often depends on which of these characteristics you consider to be the most important.
Characteristics of Wood Species
The characteristics of wood that generally concern log home buyers are appearance, resistance to decay, insulation value, cost and stability--that is, how much shrinking, twisting, warping and checking the wood is likely to experience over the years.
Log home producers share consumers' concerns about these characteristics. They also have to take into account other factors when determining which wood to use. These additional considerations include the availability of the particular species in commercial quantities and the ease with which the wood can be cut and shaped into building logs.
Given all the variables that affect the selection of wood species, you can understand why it is so difficult to single out one species as "the best." A good starting point in evaluating wood is to review the characteristics that both consumers and producers most frequently mention as important.
Appearance. The appearance of wood on the exterior of a log home will change with time due to the effects of weathering. Application of certain wood preservatives also can cause changes in the appearance of wood. The best wood for you in terms of appearance will depend solely on your personal taste.
Decay Resistance. Although the natural decay resistance of various species of wood differs considerably, most producers strongly recommend treating the exterior of log homes with a wood preservative, regardless of the wood's natural decay resistance. While natural decay resistance is definitely a plus, it should not unduly influence your choice of a particular wood species.
R-Value. The following listings provide the R-value of each species of wood. Note, however, that the difference between the species with the highest and lowest R-values is only fractional. As the section on [energy efficiency loghomes/engineering/energy.html] points out, R-value is only one consideration in evaluating the energy efficiency of a log home.
Stability. The tendency of a wood to shrink, twist, warp and check is a valid concern for both consumers and producers. Fortunately, it also is a factor that can be controlled by various producers through good materials-handling techniques. As an example, a wood that tends to shrink can be kiln-dried or air-dried, thus controlling this characteristic. Also, through careful grading of the wood, those logs with an inherent tendency to twist or warp can be identified and rejected. Therefore, the instability of a particular species can be overcome in many cases through good materials selection and management procedures.
Cost. The price paid for different wood species can be significant. Some wood, such as Northern white cedar, is expensive because it is a slow-growing species and is difficult to harvest in commercial quantities. Other wood, such as Southern yellow pine, is less expensive because it is a fast-growing species that is sufficiently available in commercial quantities
Interior Log Home
We have saddle-notch corners (also known as saddle-cope or round-notch), a traditional form favored by handcrafters, get their name from the saddle-shaped notch cut into the bottom of each round log. The notch on the top log straddles the log coming from the perpendicular wall. Both logs extend past the corner. The op posing walls of a saddle-notch corner sys tem start with a half log to ensure the logs do not butt into each other. Energy efficiency is a must for any home. Logs are a natural reservoir for heat energy. To enhance this natural thermal mass efficiency, each log is coped using a Swedish cope. The radius of this cope is slightly smaller than the log diameter to maintain a uniform fit along the length of each log as the logs settle.
Who needs it? Many of the hand-crafted log homes not built in a scribe-fit style are referred to as chinkers or chink style log homes. Several milled log manufacturers also offer log packages that require chinking. These are homes that are purposely built leaving gaps between the courses of logs. The gaps are usually created by inserting small spacer blocks that help hold the logs apart. At the corners the logs are held apart by the notches (usually round or dovetailed notches). When the log shell is erected at your site generally a backer rod (or equivalent) is pushed between the courses of logs and then a chinking compound is applied on the interior and exterior.
THE TWO DIFFERENT METHODS OF log construction are chinked, the more common, and scribed. The chinked approach--which refers to the material used to fill the gaps between the horizontally laid logs--is especially popular now because a synthetic chink has been developed. Previously, chink was a cement-based material that cracked easily and had to be continually replaced. Synthetic chink, an acrylic latex combined with fine sand, first appeared in the late 1970s. The development of the synthetic has helped make log houses more practical, and thus more desirable.
What does chinking do? Quite simply, chinking stops air and moisture infiltration into your home. With the backer rod, it helps insulate your home as well.
What is chinking made of? Traditionally, chinking was a mixture of clay, lime, and sand with variations based on what was locally available. Today we use an acrylic, elastic compound that adheres to the logs and can stretch and contract as the logs settle and move seasonally. Old fashioned chinking often pulls away from logs and cracks, allowing water and insects to enter the logs.
Chinking, (or caulking), can also be used to seal any gaps between logs and notches in scribe-fit style handcrafted and milled log packages that had "gapped" for whatever reason.
We then had our contractor stain both inside and outside, let dry (fortunately it was May here so that worked well )and then e also chinked both interior and exterior.
"When we first started our log home renovation with an eye towards opening up the Fish Creek House Bed and Breakfast, , we found that altho we were the hands-on types, still being in California we were very willing to turn the process over to the log home builder, John Benedict once these aspects have been determined. They want their particular log home to look like those they've seen in the log home magazines, but they don't have the time or inclination to make that look happen.
Log home furniture might feature wood frames and intriguing upholstery patterns and colors. The beds and chairs made of logs built from the local Amish community. The lighting fixtures, including table lamps and chandeliers, can be made from antlers or have rustic metal shades featuring cut-out silhouettes. Everything from carved front doors and mantles to log staircases and window frames -- it all comes together for that total log home feel. We were thrilled to discover the variety of furniture and specialty items available to help visualize what the final product would look like.
CHOOSING YOUR WOOD SPECIES
One of the first questions we had to answer was "What kind of wood is the best to use?" There is no one correct answer to that question because quality log homes can be built successfully from many different wood species. Wood has many different [characteristics loghomes/wood/index.html]. Which species is best often depends on which of these characteristics you consider to be the most important.
Characteristics of Wood Species
The characteristics of wood that generally concern log home buyers are appearance, resistance to decay, insulation value, cost and stability--that is, how much shrinking, twisting, warping and checking the wood is likely to experience over the years.
Log home producers share consumers' concerns about these characteristics. They also have to take into account other factors when determining which wood to use. These additional considerations include the availability of the particular species in commercial quantities and the ease with which the wood can be cut and shaped into building logs.
Given all the variables that affect the selection of wood species, you can understand why it is so difficult to single out one species as "the best." A good starting point in evaluating wood is to review the characteristics that both consumers and producers most frequently mention as important.
Appearance. The appearance of wood on the exterior of a log home will change with time due to the effects of weathering. Application of certain wood preservatives also can cause changes in the appearance of wood. The best wood for you in terms of appearance will depend solely on your personal taste.
Decay Resistance. Although the natural decay resistance of various species of wood differs considerably, most producers strongly recommend treating the exterior of log homes with a wood preservative, regardless of the wood's natural decay resistance. While natural decay resistance is definitely a plus, it should not unduly influence your choice of a particular wood species.
R-Value. The following listings provide the R-value of each species of wood. Note, however, that the difference between the species with the highest and lowest R-values is only fractional. As the section on [energy efficiency loghomes/engineering/energy.html] points out, R-value is only one consideration in evaluating the energy efficiency of a log home.
Stability. The tendency of a wood to shrink, twist, warp and check is a valid concern for both consumers and producers. Fortunately, it also is a factor that can be controlled by various producers through good materials-handling techniques. As an example, a wood that tends to shrink can be kiln-dried or air-dried, thus controlling this characteristic. Also, through careful grading of the wood, those logs with an inherent tendency to twist or warp can be identified and rejected. Therefore, the instability of a particular species can be overcome in many cases through good materials selection and management procedures.
Cost. The price paid for different wood species can be significant. Some wood, such as Northern white cedar, is expensive because it is a slow-growing species and is difficult to harvest in commercial quantities. Other wood, such as Southern yellow pine, is less expensive because it is a fast-growing species that is sufficiently available in commercial quantities
Interior Log Home
We have saddle-notch corners (also known as saddle-cope or round-notch), a traditional form favored by handcrafters, get their name from the saddle-shaped notch cut into the bottom of each round log. The notch on the top log straddles the log coming from the perpendicular wall. Both logs extend past the corner. The op posing walls of a saddle-notch corner sys tem start with a half log to ensure the logs do not butt into each other. Energy efficiency is a must for any home. Logs are a natural reservoir for heat energy. To enhance this natural thermal mass efficiency, each log is coped using a Swedish cope. The radius of this cope is slightly smaller than the log diameter to maintain a uniform fit along the length of each log as the logs settle.
Who needs it? Many of the hand-crafted log homes not built in a scribe-fit style are referred to as chinkers or chink style log homes. Several milled log manufacturers also offer log packages that require chinking. These are homes that are purposely built leaving gaps between the courses of logs. The gaps are usually created by inserting small spacer blocks that help hold the logs apart. At the corners the logs are held apart by the notches (usually round or dovetailed notches). When the log shell is erected at your site generally a backer rod (or equivalent) is pushed between the courses of logs and then a chinking compound is applied on the interior and exterior.
THE TWO DIFFERENT METHODS OF log construction are chinked, the more common, and scribed. The chinked approach--which refers to the material used to fill the gaps between the horizontally laid logs--is especially popular now because a synthetic chink has been developed. Previously, chink was a cement-based material that cracked easily and had to be continually replaced. Synthetic chink, an acrylic latex combined with fine sand, first appeared in the late 1970s. The development of the synthetic has helped make log houses more practical, and thus more desirable.
What does chinking do? Quite simply, chinking stops air and moisture infiltration into your home. With the backer rod, it helps insulate your home as well.
What is chinking made of? Traditionally, chinking was a mixture of clay, lime, and sand with variations based on what was locally available. Today we use an acrylic, elastic compound that adheres to the logs and can stretch and contract as the logs settle and move seasonally. Old fashioned chinking often pulls away from logs and cracks, allowing water and insects to enter the logs.
Chinking, (or caulking), can also be used to seal any gaps between logs and notches in scribe-fit style handcrafted and milled log packages that had "gapped" for whatever reason.
We then had our contractor stain both inside and outside, let dry (fortunately it was May here so that worked well )and then e also chinked both interior and exterior.
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