Western Log Home Supply Blog

• Western Log Home Supply - X-100 and Log-Gevity Log Home Stains and Sealants

  We would like to introduct ABRP as one of our newest suppliers. American Building Restoration Products, Inc. is a think tank. Borne out of the building restoration problem solving arena, American Building Restoration Products, Inc. (ABRP) is a system developer for the restoration and preservation of wood, masonry, metal and glass. We offer surface restoration/cleaning systems using environmentally safe, economically practical and contaminate specific products. Surface preservation products that provide protection from organic and man made atmospheric pollution, graffiti, water intrusion and debilitating micro organisms like fungus. This means we have taken into consideration the future of the surface being restored. It is not good enough to just restore or clean a surface. The surface should be protected. X-100 Natural Seal for wood, Hydro Seal 100, 200, 300 for masonry and the original POLYSHIELD for protection from graffiti staining. Implementation of proper maintenance procedures and restoration methods are just as essential to the integrity of the surface. Too abrasive a method of restoration and the surfaces integrity will be compromised. Using one of ABRPs preservatives, water repellents or graffiti barriers will allow you to use less aggressive cleaning measures, thus minimizing the abrasive nature of surface cleaning. We have developed surface restoration/cleaning systems utilizing researched technology, statistics and facts backed by results from five to ten years of market performance per product line. We take the R&D off the table, saving you start up costs at the same time adding value to your business. X-100 Natural Seal®, Log Gevity finishes and their complement of restoration products for Log and wood sided homes are product lines designed to bring service life and sustainability to your homes exterior. X-100 Natural Seal® Wood and Log Gevity formulas consist of essential wood protecting ingredients blended in an oil that is non-sensitive to ultraviolet rays. Both product lines finishes are designed to penetrate the wood. X-100 Natural Seal® and Log Gevity finishes protect wood against cracking, splitting, cupping, curling, sapstain, mold and mildew. The X-100 Natural Seal® Wood Preservative unique oil-borne system is E.P.A. registered and V.O.C. compliant. X-100 Natural Seal® and Log Gevity finishes are for use on all vertical wood surfaces susceptible to moisture damage including cedar, redwood, pine, plywood, T1-11, cypress, fur, dimensional lumber, logs and roofs. X-100 Natural Seal® and Log Gevity finishes are available in ultra transparent stains and natural oxides. The ultra transparent technology enables the natural wood grain to show through allowing for a natural wood finish.

• Wood Wizard - Pueblo West forester, builder shares expertise on log homes

  Normal 0 21 false false false ES-CO X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabla normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} Pueblo West, Colorado forester and log home builder shares expertise on log homes By MARY JEAN PORTER THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN Clyde Cremer calls himself a "wood technologist." The Pueblo West businessman holds a master's degree from the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, but he doesn't spend much time in the woods with the trees. Instead, he concentrates on wood as an ages-old building material; he's an expert on trees once they've been harvested and he's designed and built log homes for more than 30 years. He started American Log Homes in 1977 in Missouri and opened a second plant in 1984 in Pueblo West. Now Cremer, 66, and his son, Jeffrey, have written a book about Clyde's favorite subject. "The Complete Guide to Log Homes" includes everything a person needs to know about living trees, about logging and timber preparation, about buying an existing log home and caring for a log home - and why building a log home yourself might not be the best idea. "I don't really recommend people building (a home) themselves," says Cremer. "In the book we say to be very honest with yourself." It might seem like the picture of pioneer spirit to build the log home of your dreams in a clearing in the forest beneath the stars, but can you cut rafters with a framing square, Cremer asks. Can you put down a subfloor? Can you size joists and rafters to be structurally sound for snow load, wind and other factors? Do you know about electricity and plumbing - and what about local building codes? How much time can you devote to the project? Cremer's intent isn't to throw cold water on weekend Daniel Boones, just to inject a large dose of common sense into the log home-building process and to impart his years' worth of knowledge and experience. Sitting in his office at American Log Homes, Cremer says he already was writing a book about a relative who fought in the battle of the Argonne Forest in France during World War I when Jeffrey urged him to write the log home book. The younger Cremer, who's company vice president, helped with the book's graphics and charts and worked with the publisher to get it released. Jeffrey lives in Colombia, where he operates his own business, Western Log Home Supply, via the Internet. Clyde Cremer says log homes account for a small percentage of the houses built in the U.S., but they remain popular because they are durable and can be energy-efficient. It's hard to say whether they are more expensive than conventional homes because people often want amenities that drive up the price, such as a fireplace, cathedral ceiling, large windows. There are cheaper packages for people who want "a little home in the hills," he says. The 2009 price list has a model that costs $26,000 in pine and one that's nearly $150,000 in red cedar, and many models in between. "We do mostly custom homes. We go over a person's plans and ideas, tell them what's most efficient, what's feasible. We can do the blueprints and get it engineered if it's (being built) in Colorado. We can get the logs graded, if required, and can ship them out on a tractor trailer. It takes one to two trailer loads for a house." Pine and spruce are most often used, though western red cedar is best, Cremer says. The trees are cut in Colorado and Utah and some in Canada. Log homes appeal to people all over the U.S., not just in the West, and Cremer says potential customers e-mail from as far away as Belgium. He's also gotten inquiries from Israel, Spain and Turkey. In their book, the Cremers offer advice on many aspects of buying and building a log home, including the tree species used in log homes; how to estimate costs; construction concerns; evaluating and purchasing an existing log home; and the threats to log homes, such as decay, termites and other insects, and fire. The book has checklists and a glossary and provides illustrations and questions to ask at different stages of the construction process. "Based on many years in the business, we firmly believe that far too many potential customers do not have quality information available when they shop for log homes," Cremer writes in a press release. "This book provides you with that knowledge, enabling you to make intelligent decisions at every step of the process." "The Complete Guide to Log Homes: How to Buy, Build and Maintain Your Dream Home" was published by iUniverse and sells for $16.95. It can be ordered at the company's Web site, www.westernloghomesupply.com; through the publisher's Web site, www.iuniverse.com ; or from online booksellers.

• Steps to Log Home Repair

  Log Home Repair Steps Treating, cleaning, caulking, staining, chinking, clear coating—In what order do I do these? Who should do all of the above and how do I find them? The following general steps should always be followed: Make sure the moisture content of the logs is appropriate for the product that you are about to apply to the logs – and verify this with a moisture meter. Make sure the log surfaces are really clean and composed of sound wood. Always apply the products to be used in the proper weather, with the surface temperature of the logs appropriate for those products. Apply wood preservatives (such as Sashco’s PeneTreat). Apply the stain (such as Sashco’s Capture / Cascade or High Sierra). Apply the backer rod and caulking or chinking (such as Sashco’s Log Builder or Log Jam). If you have any questions please give us a call at 719 547 2135