Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2017 i Log and Timber Home Living

The logs are up, the walls are all framed, the roof is sheathed (and at least minimally covered with a water barrier) and the windows are in. What was once only a figment of my imagination is now a very real thing I can see and touch. So we can finally say goodbye to the framing crew and move-in day is right around the corner, yes? Not so fast … The framers can go, but a lot of real work is yet to be completed. It’s time for the next group of subcontractors to enter our lives, starting with the rough-in stage for plumbing (including gas), electric and HVAC. As we’ve learned throughout this process, a log home is a unique structure that requires a little bit of creativity when…

Whether you have sprawling acreage that’s perfect for hobby farming or just a small clearing nestled up against the woods, adding chickens to your mix is always a fun consideration. And who doesn’t love free farm-fresh eggs? Although you’ll need to pay attention to proper coop setup and make sure that your feeding/watering schedule is on track, raising chickens can be a low-maintenance, highly entertaining enhancement to your log home lifestyle. Here are three fundamentals that will get you started on the right foot: 1 Choose an appropriate flock Often, it’s best to start a flock as chicks that grow up together. There’s a reason the term “pecking order” sounds so rough: Chickens create a definite hierarchy, and if you bring adult chickens from various flocks or locations together, you…

With their land spreading across 200 acres in the hills of rural central Pennsylvania, Melinda and David Karchner knew it would be the perfect spot to build a new home that fit right into its surroundings. Why a log home: The couple wanted an authentic, aged look for their home, which they plan to furnish with antiques. Squared, hand-hewn style logs accented with bands of chinking will provide that timeless style. Most important features: “The Karchners are fortunate to have several good views,” says designer Lynda Tompkins of Timberhaven Log & Timber Homes in Middleburg, Pennsylvania. The front of the site faces the mountains, and a pond and view to the valley lies to the side of the house. Inside, the home needed to be conducive for entertaining friends and…

It is hard to improve on cherished memories of a special place and the fun you had there. For many of us, the first experience we had with a log home came when we were young and spent summer days at a cabin owned by a family member or friend. We always remember fondly the food, late-night card games, hunting, fishing and other activities that are etched into our brains as good times. What we fail to remember is that most of those old cabins were pretty rough. At the time, we didn’t care if some of the rooms weren’t heated or cooled properly; that critters sometimes showed up in places they didn’t belong; that the water tasted a little like rust; or that you had to cut and haul…

Language is a funny thing. You’d think each word would have such a precise definition that if one person speaks it to another, both would interpret it in exactly the same way and have a clear picture of the topic at hand. Not so. Take the word “hybrid,” for example. Technically speaking, it means “composed of elements of different or incongruous kinds.” But in the past 15 years or so, the term has been tossed around so much, referring to everything from vegetables to cars, that its meaning has gotten muddied. Housing is no exception. Indeed, in the past seven to 10 years, we’ve talked about hybrid home construction extensively in the log and timber world. But as a builder, when a client comes to me and says, “I want…

Tennessee may not be the first place a log home has ever sprung up, but the Volunteer State has certainly raised its hand to be one of the genre’s most prolific producers. In fact, log buildings are synonymous with the state, with nearly two-dozen manufacturers and builder/dealers dotting the countryside. And though the variety of log home styles are as distinct as country music is from rock and roll, the spectacular scenery, from the Mississippi River to the Great Smoky Mountains, sets a perpetually perfect stage for log home living. Join us as we take a tour of the great state of Tennessee — log home style. Along our trek we’ll map the way to some of the region’s picturesque parkland and fun local activities. We’ll check out some downhome…

Deep in the heart of Texas Hill Country, amid a lush, rolling background and the historic charm and German heritage of Fredericksburg, lies Boot Ranch, where private estates enjoy sweeping and spectacular views of the meticulously manicured yet rugged grounds that surround them. In 2015, the Wilson Family enlisted Chas Architects, local builder Centurion Custom Homes, interior designer Donna Figg and Newport, Tennesseebased log home producer Hearthstone, Inc. to craft a singular residence that would harmonize with the property and give the impression that the place grew over time and generations. The outcome of this collaboration is The Overlook Cabin — a stunning hybrid homestead, combining logs, timbers and signature Oklahoma Blend stone. Featuring a mixed-materials main gathering house, a twobedroom log guest cottage and a detached board-and-batten barn-style…

When it comes to providing a whole lot of log structures in a short period of time, Blue Ridge Log Cabins isn’t horsin’ around. Since 2014, the Campobello, South Carolina-based log home company has manufactured and built more than 80 structures for Tryon International Equestrian Center, a year-round venue located in Mill Spring, North Carolina. This 1,500-acre equestrian lifestyle destination showcases many of the top riders in the hunter/jumper and dressage disciplines and features 13 rings, a main arena/grandstand, press boxes, a tack shop, vendor storefronts and restaurants — not to mention the 20,000-square-foot Legends Club — all built with hybrid log construction. If you’re not local, there are even 18 2,400-square-foot luxury log homes and more than 40 400-square-foot, one-bedroom, solid-log park models to rent during your stay. Freddie…

Most people are familiar with pine, cedar or oak; but mushroom board? Mushroom board is one of the most unique woods on the planet, but you won’t find it in nature. It’s manmade, and it has a unique history all its own. With its deep, swirling grain patterns and pronounced knots, this highly prized character wood starts out as a meager planting bed for commercial mushroom crops. Usually made from so_ter woods such as cypress, cedar or hemlock, the beds endure years of damp, dark conditions and acid-laden compost. The combination exaggerates the grain and tints the fibers a deep amber brown with blackish knots, creating mushroom board’s unique appearance. When the PH concentration gets too high, the FDA mandates that the mushroom beds are replaced. Ordinarily, the old beds…

When Canadian couple Paul and Patty Marshall accepted an invitation to spend a weekend getaway at a friend’s log cabin in western British Columbia, they expected a few days of rest and relaxation. What they didn’t anticipate was that their mini vacation would be the start of their own log home story. “Over that weekend, we got to know the area and the lake and thought, ‘What a great place for a holiday retreat away from the city,” Paul says. For the next couple of years, the Marshalls dreamed of the home where they would enjoy weekends with family and friends and amassed an impressive stockpile of photo-filled binders in the process. “We spent a lot of time cutting pictures we liked from magazines and looking at showrooms for ideas,”…

When you think of Gettysburg, images of battlefields and Civil War relics quickly come to mind. Yet there’s another side to this historic hamlet that is equally enticing; its unassuming landscape of pastoral fields and wide-open spaces is the perfect setting for a log home. This serenity is what lured upstate New York natives Greg and Marian Ruth to the momentous locale nearly two decades ago. “We were ready for a change of pace, and we were drawn to Gettysburg for its history and proximity to large cities,” says Greg. “We believe it’s the most quaint, historically active and best preserved ‘small town America’ place in the country.” Deciding on the type of home they’d build in Gettysburg was easy — the couple had already owned a few log…