Anyone live in a Log House? Newer model

[tigger19687]

I love these, always have but heard mixed bag about them.

Newer ones are Kiln dried to not so much "settling" and Gaps. Although some new ones are sold as a Kit and are still Green so they settle a bunch.

My main thing is WINTER, for those that live in a State that gets Freezing temps most of the time and Snow, Lots of it.

How is it REALLY to heat?
I hear all sorts of things, the R-value sucks (well yeah it is only a log thick) and others that say it is just fine.

Thought i would ask on here to see if anyone has a Log home and how it is for you ??

 

[Welshies]

I don't have one, but my friends do.
It's a 3 story log house, absolutely beautiful.
It's always super warm and they say that it's fairly efficient, both on power and heating.

 

[red horse ranch]

Here in Wyoming log homes are very popular. Ours is made from 10" logs and is very warm. The bigger the logs are, the more insulating value they have. We also have in-floor heat which is better than a forced air furnace in log homes.
Last night the temperature was near zero but the house was 72 degrees when we got up this morning. Large south facing windows can take the temperature in the living room up close to 80 degrees by the end of the day. Even tho it's still zero outside.
I love my log home but more maintenance is required than stick built homes since the logs need to be sealed every few years. And cracks do occasionally appear in the logs and that requires caulking. Do your research before making a decision to have one but I've never regretted building ours.

 

[tigger19687]

Great to know, Would love to see pics of your house @red horse ranch
@Welshies Do they have floor heating too?

I have been looking at this since back in the 1990's. Did loads of research back then, just starting to do research again since things have gotten better.
Really want to make sure that the logs are not treated with Chemicals due to health issues.

I always wondered about the Floor heating and if it was efficient enough for our Cold Winters.

 

[Welshies]

I am not sure if they have in floor. I would ask but it's been a few years.
We live in Alberta. -20 to -40°C on average during winter.
A fireplace is a great thing to have in any home especially a log home. Fireplaces are fairly efficient and a cheaper way to heat up a home in a quick period of time or a power outage.

 

[tigger19687]

I want a wood stove, set partially inside a fireplace if that makes sense. More efficient I think.
So many things to think about and I am still at the dreaming stage.
Hoping to buy some land in the next year or 2.

 

[CapricornFarm]

We love our log house but whoever built it left a lot undone. We have been caulking and filling gaps since we moved in. The wood under the eaves needed to be redone , bees and other bugs moving in. We need gutters, and had a big porch added on. We had hydrants installed, a water filter installed and a circular drive put in. There was no drain for the washing machine. No dishwasher. We replaced the door since there was no window and the front hall was dark. Only 2 closets in the cabin and no bath tub.
We had a garage and a workshop built and trucked in.
But it was just a summer cabin and not used much before we bought it. It needed more electrical outlets and still has trim missing. We are fixing it up the way we want it. Located on the Pigg River in VA, we have 13 treed acres. We love it. Right now it is 38 outside and 77 inside, courtesy of our woodstove. It stays cool inside in the summer quite well. This is our first winter so we will see how it goes.

 

[red horse ranch]

Great to know, Would love to see pics of your house @red horse ranch
@Welshies Do they have floor heating too?

I have been looking at this since back in the 1990's. Did loads of research back then, just starting to do research again since things have gotten better.
Really want to make sure that the logs are not treated with Chemicals due to health issues.

I always wondered about the Floor heating and if it was efficient enough for our Cold Winters.

I went thru all my pictures on this computer and I have hundreds of pictures of my chickens and guineas.... But NO pictures of my house! I will try to get one tomorrow.

Wood heat would be nice in a log home but we live in the prairie where the only trees are the ones we planted around the house. So we have a free standing gas fireplace that we use when we want a little extra heat or just to sit and look at the fire. I love a wood fire but we burned wood as our only source of heat for more than 20 years in another house and we just got tired of all the work and mess.

In floor heat is the only way to go in my opinion. The floors are always warm and there are no drafts from the blower on a furnace. It's not uncommon for us to have -20 to -30 degrees here and the house is as warm as we want it to be. I think it may be a little more expensive to install but it is very efficient to use.

 

[red horse ranch]

Merry Christmas from wild and wonderful Wyoming!

 

[N F C]

Following to learn more. We've talked about a log home off/on for some time now. It will be a while before we can do anything about moving and building but planning & dreaming work for now.

@red horse ranch glad for your tips especially since we're both in WY. Your home is lovely!