Log & Timber Home Living magazine is the ultimate guide to log, timber and hybrid homes. Expect expert advice on everything from floor plan design to materials and maintenance, as well as inspiring home tours, decorating ideas and more!
It’s nearly impossible to find a log or timber home without a fireplace. A custom wood home and some sort of fire feature are practically synonymous — even in warm-weather climes, like Florida and Texas. Great room, dining room; indoors, outdoors; rugged, refined; wood-burning, gas — your options are many. This issue showcases the variety of ways you can feature fire’s mesmerizing beauty into your log and timber home plans — and in more ways than just your hearth. We begin with our resident builder Dan Mitchell’s honest and surprising take on masonry wood-burning fireplaces (hint: they’re gorgeous, but there may be more cons than pros). From there, we explore ideal fireplace design ideas for log and timber houses, followed by a glowing roundup of the hottest high-tech, wood-burning alternatives…
For more ideas, log on to loghome.com/rustic-decor or timberhomeliving.com/furnish…
Even in the peak of summer when the days are much longer, there can be a sense of “losing the landscape” when night falls. After all, many log and timber homes are built in areas without street lamps or even rural dusk-to-dawn light poles. While this lack of light pollution makes for a magical stargazing setting, creating evening ambiance around your property can showcase a lush lawn or garden in a whole new way. Plus, you can boost your safety in the process. Keep these seven key ideals in mind: 1 Be gentle. Incorporate soft touches of light instead of harsh floodlights or an overabundance of lit areas. That means assessing the best features of your landscape and installing lighting that emphasizes those areas. Be strategic, and choose the plants…
An open, wood-burning fireplace is steeped in nostalgia. The ambiance that a massive hearth and roaring fire produces in a log or timber home takes us back to another, simpler era. But actually owning one of these beauties is not what it seems. I liken it to having a Model-T Ford. It was once the most popular form of transportation — cutting edge for its day. But cars have come a long way in terms of safety, fuel economy, functionality and upkeep. So while the Model-T is cool to own (if you have the discretionary funds) and may be fun to take for a spin every now and then, it’s not something you want to drive and maintain regularly. Masonry wood-burning fireplaces are much the same — an antique —…
pro Flexibility when it comes to size, including the dimensions of the firebox opening con Cost — A masonry fireplace will almost always cost more (often 3x more than prefabricated models) in materials, construction and foundation reinforcement pro Unlimited design and material options con Interior heat loss through the firebox/flue/chimney; not the most efficient heat source pro Nostalgic choice for log and timber homes (lodge look) con Chopping/buying, storing and fetching firewood pro The aroma and ambiance of a wood fire con Maintenance — Annual checks for creosote, regular chimney cleaning and ash removal after every fire burned…
Is firebrick different from standard brick? Yes. Firebrick is a dense composition of silica, alumina, titanium and ferric oxide, while standard brick consists of clay, shale and other materials fired into a durable ceramic product. While all bricks are more resistant to fire than other materials, firebrick can withstand temperatures up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit for extended periods of time, making it the safe choice for masonry fireplaces.…
