Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i Log and Timber Home Living

Over the course of a log home’s lifespan, its stain will require periodic touch-ups, particularly on the southern-facing exposure where exterior walls are most subjected to the sun’s harsh UV rays. This regular staining requirement is part of routine log home maintenance, just as wood-siding needs to be repainted and vinyl-siding has to be replaced if it cracks. Even brick houses require occasional cleaning and mortar repair. Though giving a wall a fresh coat of stain is pretty straightforward (clean the logs; let them dry completely; reapply the stain), there are a host of reasons why you may consider stripping the present stain off the wood and starting from scratch. Maybe you bought an existing or antique log home and you don’t know what type of stain product or shade…

Though the way the shade of stain makes your log home look is a major consideration, there’s more to selecting a stain than meets the eye. In addition to wanting to make sure you choose the right color, you’ll also want to pick a product that performs to your expectations, both in terms of initial application and future touch-ups. Also, consumers have become more conscientious about environmental issues and actively opt for ecofriendly options. But for most, longevity is just as important as going green. Staining a log home can be time-intensive, and because of that, owners want to complete the task as few times as necessary while still keeping their logs in top-top shape. Fortunately, there are a few ways to ensure that the product you chose will be…

With the pace of life these days, I suspect that with the little bit of leisure time you have, the last thing you want to do is spend most of it maintaining your home. And in all honesty, many people who would love to own a log home are hesitant to take the plunge because they’ve heard log homes have a reputation for needing a lot of attention. The truth is that every type of home must be maintained. For a log home, the key to minimizing that maintenance time is understanding not only what you should do, but what you shouldn’t do. Over the past 23 years, I have worked with more than 300 homeowners in my design/build business. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly…

Growing up on the south side of Chicago, I knew nothing about Vermont and even less about log homes. My only experience with the latter was when my dad gave me a set of Lincoln Logs. I loved the interlocking logs, the chimney and the green roof. My dad, like many of us, always wanted a log home. I inherited this desire from him. A few decades later, I was living in New York City and had a vacation from my job at CBS Sports with no specific plans for my time off. So, I drove my old motorcycle to southern Vermont to see the state for the first time. I ended up in a cool little town called Wilmington. As I rode around, I saw some chalets, some timber…

When Zach Parmeter walks into his job as a sales advisor at Wisconsin-based Golden Eagle Log and Timber Homes, he knows he’s going to spend much of his day fielding questions from potential clients: Why choose a log or timber home? How long does the process take? How much will it cost? The answers come easy for Zach — in part because he grew up in the business. (His dad is Jay Parmeter, co-owner of Golden Eagle.) As a child, Zach’s parents didn’t snag a babysitter when they needed to head to work; they brought him and his sisters along for the ride. That meant Zach spent much of his childhood at his family’s custom log and timber home manufacturing business. “We were just always here,” says Zach with a…

When Dean and Debbie Chase first started to draw up plans for their dream home, their original design idea didn’t include a single log. “We were 90 percent through with our design, and then we changed it in the ninth inning,” recalls Dean. “We started thinking about it more and more, and we decided a log home would be perfect.” The couple’s property played a key role in dictating their final home design. The 60-acre wooded setting in the hills of Vermont seemed a natural fit for a rustic home, and they knew that the spectacular views of the nearby White Mountain Range would be beautifully framed by large expanses of glass and log walls. So, after sitting down again with builder Cooper Leland, the couple tweaked the design, and…

When it comes to log home planning, the stain color you choose is as much a design element as how you orient your kitchen or where you place your master bedroom. Fortunately, there’s a huge range of color options from which to choose, from classic honey brown to rustic-modern gray. It’s important to be able to convey the shade you’re seeking when you speak with a log home producer or supply store. Use this primer as your guide. HONEY/GOLD Honey has been the quintessential log home hue for decades. It offers enough pigment so that the walls have color but is light enough for the wood grain to shine through. It’s also one of those shades that adapts well to a variety of log home motifs and harmonizes with a…

We’ve been in business since 1986, guided by a single commitment - to provide the finest quality log homes for a fair and honest price. We call it value, our customers call it more bang for their buck. Quality Processing Quality begins with the careful selection of suitable trees and continues with the meticulous grading and drying process. Using our state-of-the-art Yates planer and SII dry kilns our craftsmen produce the highest quality timbers in the industry. It’s your assurance of precision-milled, strong, stable logs and the resultant piece of mind. Quality Design Although quality is most evident in the logs and timbers we select it is stressed in every aspect of our operation. For instance, we have experienced designers that will meet with you and transform your ideas into…

For many people, part of the joy of owning a log home is the satisfaction of tackling the improvement projects that pop up themselves. Others don’t want to touch home maintenance with a 10-foot pole, opting to hire handymen instead. If you fall in the former category, it’s just as important to ensure your own well being as it is to keep your home safe and sound. Here are a few of the most common injuries suffered by DIYers and how to avoid them: Falling off a ladder. For starters, make sure you use a ladder that’s the proper height for the job. Far too often, people try to make do by stretching on a 6-foot ladder when they need a taller one. Next, make sure the ladder is on…

Every log cabin homeowner has had those “what if” thoughts. What if conditions become so dry that a wildfire starts near my cabin? What if the rain is so relentless the lake outside my doorstep begins to overflow its banks? What if tornado-fueled winds threaten to destroy everything I’ve created? Those extreme scenarios are tough to think about because there’s nothing you can do to prevent them from happening. That’s the bad news. The good news? There are ways you can use your landscaping to minimize the damage that extreme weather can cause and still have an attractive yard all at the same time. Here are a few tips for using your outdoor resources in a way that can lessen a natural disaster’s impact on your log home: • WILDFIRES:…

“You can’t go back home to your family, back home to your childhood …” wrote famed novelist Thomas Wolfe, “… back home to places in the country … back home to the escapes of Time and Memory.” Pulling a bass out of the same pond they fished as kids and roaming the 50-acre property that surrounds it, Tom and Scott Tobias have a different take on returning to your roots. Both brothers remember spending lazy days on the rural property, which belonged to their grandparents and was located just 15 miles from where they grew up. It was their family’s go-to spot for summers and long weekends. It was also a place where trees touched the never-ending sky; pond water seemed clear and inviting; and foxes, raccoons, deer — and…

The story of this Blue Ridge mountain retreat begins with a love of the road. Harley Davidson riders Don and Brenda Gantner were bored with the flat ground and unrelenting sun of their native South Florida, so they decided to ride north for the cool canopies and winding roads of North Georgia. They fell in love with the area and rented various cabins there for years. By the time they were ready to build, they knew exactly what they wanted. While flipping through The 2016 Best Log & Timber Homes of the Year, the Gantners laid eyes on the Wild Turkey Lodge, a manifestation of their cabin dreams. “The name of the company first caught my eye,” Don says. “‘Modern Rustic Homes’ — that’s just what I want.” He drew…