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07-06-2007, 08:21 AM
By AMY GUNDERSON
Published: July 4, 2007
When Pete Gusmano bought a 10-acre lot alongside Lake Huron in the eastern Michigan town of Lexington, he decided that a log home was right for a lakeside retreat.
Mr. Gusmano chose Barna Log Homes (www.barnahomes.com) to supply the building materials for the house. Most log homes come as kits, packages that include all the structural materials for the walls, roof and sometimes flooring. Then Mr. Gusmano modified one of the company’s existing floor plans, enlisted his brother to act as a general contractor and waited for the delivery day, when three truckloads of nine-inch white pine logs would arrive at the lot to be pieced together into a four-bedroom, 3,600-square-foot house for about $125,000.
The building process was “pretty much like Lincoln Logs,” Mr. Gusmano joked, referring to the toy log cabins. It took just a couple of months with a small crew to get the house erected, though the kitchen and bathrooms took much longer to complete and weren’t included in the cost of the kit.
“You get that up-north feeling,” he said. “Plus, it makes it more of an experience to go to the lake and stay in a log home.” The end result, he said, was a home that felt far removed from urban life.
Log homes, by design, signal a rustic quality and an element of hand craftsmanship, while the aesthetic seems to tap directly into the second-home ethos: comfort and relaxation.
Getting Started
After finding a company to build a cabin retreat (there are more than 400 log-home companies in the United States, according to the Log Homes Council, a trade group that is part of the National Association of Home Builders), a property owner should pick a species of wood, and the size and shape of the logs — which differs from company to company.
“A lot of that is aesthetics,” said Rob Cantrell, the owner of Stone Mill Log Homes, a log-home company based in Knoxville, Tenn., that manufactures 70 to 80 log homes a year. “Each company has its own point of difference in the type of wood, the profile of the log and how they join the logs. We use links of timber up to 40 feet. Other companies’ systems might be only 14 feet.”
Home buyers should also consider the cost of shipping. If a potential builder has land in Colorado and picks a log-home company based in Maine, the budget will be significantly affected by the added cost of transporting the kit across the country.
Types of Wood
Stone Mill Log Homes sells homes that use western hemlock logs grown in British Columbia and Washington state, but other companies offer pine, oak, red cedar, cypress and even reclaimed wood. According to the Log Homes Council, most companies produce milled logs, or logs shaped on a machine. Those logs typically have a smooth surface. Another alternative is hand-peeled or hand-hewn logs, which have been shaped by an individual craftsman. The result is a more rustic, textured log.
Picking a Kit
Companies also differ on what the final kit includes. Most kits include the basics, like the walls and the roof, and leave the final finishes, like hardwood floors, a back deck or granite kitchen counters, to the owners. Other companies may put buyers in touch with suppliers for windows, bathroom fixtures or fireplaces.
The Budget
The kit will represent only a portion of the final cost of the house, since it doesn’t include labor or any of the interior finishes, the foundation, the plumbing, the electrical and heating systems, the kitchen and (often) the flooring.
While costs can vary, log home manufacturers estimate that the kit makes up just one third of the final price of the house. “If you are buying a $150,000 kit you are going to end up spending $450,000 on the house,” said Rich Horn, the director of sales for Northeastern Log Homes in Kenduskeag, Me.
Doug Sidell, a developer who built a four-bedroom log home in Indian River, Mich., knows firsthand that a well-built log home is far from a bargain. The walls of his house are made up of old-growth red pine logs as large as 32 inches in diameter.
“I choose those because it looked cool,” he said. The interior of his home is finished with northern white cedar and oak floors. “You don’t build a house like this to save money,” he said.
from: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/realestate/greathomes/04gh-home.html
Published: July 4, 2007
When Pete Gusmano bought a 10-acre lot alongside Lake Huron in the eastern Michigan town of Lexington, he decided that a log home was right for a lakeside retreat.
Mr. Gusmano chose Barna Log Homes (www.barnahomes.com) to supply the building materials for the house. Most log homes come as kits, packages that include all the structural materials for the walls, roof and sometimes flooring. Then Mr. Gusmano modified one of the company’s existing floor plans, enlisted his brother to act as a general contractor and waited for the delivery day, when three truckloads of nine-inch white pine logs would arrive at the lot to be pieced together into a four-bedroom, 3,600-square-foot house for about $125,000.
The building process was “pretty much like Lincoln Logs,” Mr. Gusmano joked, referring to the toy log cabins. It took just a couple of months with a small crew to get the house erected, though the kitchen and bathrooms took much longer to complete and weren’t included in the cost of the kit.
“You get that up-north feeling,” he said. “Plus, it makes it more of an experience to go to the lake and stay in a log home.” The end result, he said, was a home that felt far removed from urban life.
Log homes, by design, signal a rustic quality and an element of hand craftsmanship, while the aesthetic seems to tap directly into the second-home ethos: comfort and relaxation.
Getting Started
After finding a company to build a cabin retreat (there are more than 400 log-home companies in the United States, according to the Log Homes Council, a trade group that is part of the National Association of Home Builders), a property owner should pick a species of wood, and the size and shape of the logs — which differs from company to company.
“A lot of that is aesthetics,” said Rob Cantrell, the owner of Stone Mill Log Homes, a log-home company based in Knoxville, Tenn., that manufactures 70 to 80 log homes a year. “Each company has its own point of difference in the type of wood, the profile of the log and how they join the logs. We use links of timber up to 40 feet. Other companies’ systems might be only 14 feet.”
Home buyers should also consider the cost of shipping. If a potential builder has land in Colorado and picks a log-home company based in Maine, the budget will be significantly affected by the added cost of transporting the kit across the country.
Types of Wood
Stone Mill Log Homes sells homes that use western hemlock logs grown in British Columbia and Washington state, but other companies offer pine, oak, red cedar, cypress and even reclaimed wood. According to the Log Homes Council, most companies produce milled logs, or logs shaped on a machine. Those logs typically have a smooth surface. Another alternative is hand-peeled or hand-hewn logs, which have been shaped by an individual craftsman. The result is a more rustic, textured log.
Picking a Kit
Companies also differ on what the final kit includes. Most kits include the basics, like the walls and the roof, and leave the final finishes, like hardwood floors, a back deck or granite kitchen counters, to the owners. Other companies may put buyers in touch with suppliers for windows, bathroom fixtures or fireplaces.
The Budget
The kit will represent only a portion of the final cost of the house, since it doesn’t include labor or any of the interior finishes, the foundation, the plumbing, the electrical and heating systems, the kitchen and (often) the flooring.
While costs can vary, log home manufacturers estimate that the kit makes up just one third of the final price of the house. “If you are buying a $150,000 kit you are going to end up spending $450,000 on the house,” said Rich Horn, the director of sales for Northeastern Log Homes in Kenduskeag, Me.
Doug Sidell, a developer who built a four-bedroom log home in Indian River, Mich., knows firsthand that a well-built log home is far from a bargain. The walls of his house are made up of old-growth red pine logs as large as 32 inches in diameter.
“I choose those because it looked cool,” he said. The interior of his home is finished with northern white cedar and oak floors. “You don’t build a house like this to save money,” he said.
from: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/realestate/greathomes/04gh-home.html