Log Home Company Comparisons

Log Home Suppliers, are they all the same? What options exist? How do you maximize your quality coupled with price?

Let me tell you about our journey. Yes, I love log homes. Yes, I live in a log home. And Yes, there are many many differences in log home companies. But our story is unique because we are also Custom Log Home Builders. Over the last 25+ years, we have worked with products from many log home suppliers and lumber companies. So we are able to offer a different insight, than just a log home owner.

With our background and our disgust with the abilities, knowledge, and service of so many log home companies and dealers, it is a privilege to be our own log home company.

From random length log suppliers to fully cut packages, big name companies to mills just down the road ~ oh the stories we can share...

Random length logs are just that, random. Many times from a "wholesale" company, someone tells the log home company how big the house is going to be and provide the mill a sketch, then they sell the customer the amount of logs needed to build the dwelling. The logs are milled and ready to stack, but the rest is up to the homeowner.

Though this is a less expensive route, there are some downfalls. With having to do all the cutting for doors, windows, electric boxes, roof system, butt joints, etc on the job site, the over all construction time is extended by at least 2 1/2 to 3 months. A fully precut home of the same size can be stacked in about 5 days.

Also with all the cutting being done on site, the cuts are not as accurate as they would be if done at the mill.

Before someone chooses a random length log, they should consider how much time they have to put into it, or if they are going to hire a general contractor. A random log package can take a lot to transform from a semi load of logs into a dream.

These packages come with the corners precut, but all the butt joints (where one log ends and the next begins), the doors, windows, roof pitch, and any log roof system have to be cut on site. Precut corners do save time, but the rest of the cutting is still time consuming. It is also a challenge to get all the doors and windows, roof angle and butt joints to look professional.

A fully precut package log home kit has every log precut and pre-numbered. The logs are cut to length for the door and window openings. Certain logs, such as the top wall logs, are milled flat on top at the mill to make setting the roof framing easier. The ridge beam is also pitch cut and any purlins are pitch cut. Log or timber trusses are precut and ready for assembly. Log posts are left a bit long and are trimmed to the final length on site.

When purchasing a dryin log package you can expect it to usually include the following:

Log shell that is pre-cut and pre-numbered, log schedule included with blue prints, all roofing material, timber roof system or standard trusses (as per design), first floor sub floor, second floor sub floor, 1x6 tongue and groove soffits, exterior door and window trim, door and window bucks, interior framing lumber, exterior doors, windows, roof framing, roof sheeting, roof underlayment, loft and step railing (optional), interior log staircase (optional), decks and porches (as per plans), material required for log assembly- typically lag bolts, oly-log screws, settle jacks, log builders caulk, foam tape, and splines.

I am enjoying rereading these Hubs from between 10 and 15 years ago. I have more perspective now and I am glad to see that most of what I enthusiastically wrote a decade ago is still relevant. So much is changing in the world today, that having these Hubs is like revisiting good friends who have had enough character to remain the same.

One different is the random length log packages today are called the Woodcrafter Series, if you visit our website. And the pre-cut packages are the Architectural Series. Both are produced using the same TPI premium grade logs and both are sent through a profiler instead of turned on a lathe so the logs are a more consistent diameter with tighter corners when stacked. But above all the choice of which style log home package to purchase is dependent on you, the homeowner, and what you are comfortable with. We began building log homes after spending time in a custom wood shop and building conventional houses and remodeling ones that were well past their prime. If you enjoy woodworking and have the time, the random length packages are not a bad option. If you need the home done as quickly as possible, then the pre-cut Architectural Series is the best option.

Building your log home is an investment of yourself. It is a reflection of your tastes and character. The soul of home is revealed in those who live in it, and a log home that is unique, designed by you, and built for your needs and desires is a deep reflection of those who's minds it became alive in in the first place.

We consider it an honor and privilege to work with so many diverse people who have one thing in common --- the love of log homes.

So when your turn comes for turning your thoughts into sketches and your dreams into reality, give us a call. Even beginning planning a few years before you are ready to build is smart.

And as always...

Thanks for reading!

Building Log Dreams,

Mike and Sue Lemmon

Cowboy Log Homes