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 ??

 

[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]

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.

 

[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!

 

[red horse ranch]

We hired log home builders to put up the logs and install roof, doors and windows. Then we took it from there. We did all the wiring, plumbing and drywall ourselves. (Don't want to do that ever again!) We did all the finish work. My hubby wanted to put up the entire thing ourselves but we were both in our 50's at the time. I said 'no way am I going to be moving those logs around and climbing on that roof'! So we compromised.
The house is a basic rectangle, 28' by 52'. But it's on a full finished walk out basement. And the decks on both sides of the house make it look a lot bigger and fancier than it actually is. The square footage is 1456 on each level so we have over 2900 sq ft of living space. Which is bigger than we needed but the rooms are large and there is plenty of room for grandkids and guests.

We live in the country so we had to to use propane for the gas fireplace. The propane also runs the boiler which heats the water for the in floor heat. Propane tanks can be buried so that you don't see them. Our propane tank was painted a light brown and camouflaged by honeysuckle bushes so it isn't obtrusive looking.

The free standing gas fireplace really saved us once when we had a blizzard and were without electric for 2 1/2 days. We were able to make coffee by setting the camp coffee pot on top of it. And coffee is important!! We were also able to warm soup etc. And it kept the living room bearable even tho a blizzard was raging outside.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[tigger19687]

LOVE IT ! Great to have a deck on the upper part too.
Great to know about the floor heating. I always wondered if it would heat the air above it enough.... I don't like the cold (love snow though, go figure)

Now that I think about it, the Gas fireplace would be better. It would only be for heat in an emergency and it WOULD look better. If I do this it would have to be Propane, just want to be off the road a long way. Hate those tanks tho, would have to make a surround for it. But at least it isn't the work of wood. Thank you.
I had to heat an Old Victorian with a wood stove so I know what you mean about the work.

 

[tigger19687]

Perfect !
Sounds like me, just about 50 and I really like to work on things but no way in he!! I am putting it all together.
I may do the finish work but that would be about it.

I am thinking of maybe more Timber Frame, Maybe, MAYBE outside 1/4 log siding. That way I won't have all the issues that you would have with Logs, ( a bit less settling, wiring, plumbing etc).
I will also be doing Solar too, just not sure how that will all play in yet.

I still love the look of your home and good to have extra space then not enough