Ever since the Daniel Boone television show played on my parent’s black and white television set, I have been in love with log cabins. I’m not really sure if it is the rustic look, the homey feel, a combination of both or if I played with Lincoln Logs too much, but regardless of the reason, I find a log home very appealing.
Cons of a Log Cabin or Log Home
Until researching log cabins, I had a very romantic view of owning one. You know the one – warm, cozy fireplace reflecting on big wood logs that NEVER need attention because they are big trees!
Hmph…Boy was that part of that vision dispelled quickly when I read about the maintenance required. So to help you make a well thought out choice for your home construction, here is a realistic list of the negatives to building and owning a log cabin or log home:
- Termites, beetles and carpenter ants will make their homes and/or feed on the wood
- Carpenter bumble bees. woodpeckers
- Cracking and popping when the logs are new
- Complicated to wire with electricity
- Western cedar logs are better and more expensive
- Full log homes have no insulation – It is really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter without conventional systems in place
- A log wall is a solid mass and since there is no insulated space, R-Value does not apply correctly
- When the logs shrink, you have to keep caulking between them
- Shrinkage can be from 1/2 inch to 3 inches or more
- They have to be stained/sealed every 3-5 years to protect the wood; to fight moisture buildup or prevent the wood from drying out to avoid the logs from decaying or splitting
- The stain/sealant is expensive
- It is often hard to sell a log home
Pros of a Log Cabin or Log Home
Although my list for the negatives of owning a log cabin or log home was substantial, there are some definite positives about owning one too:
- Split white pine is relatively inexpensive
- 1/2 log home is extremely insulated
- 1/2 logs are anchored to regular studs, thus shrinkage is not a problem
- Easier to get financing for a 1/2 log home
- Log walls are natural sound insulators
- The inside walls can be finished with wall board to enable surfaces to be be papered or painted
- “Greener”
- Prestigious and beautiful aesthetic appeal
- Energy efficient with conventional heating and air conditioning in place – 2.5% to over 20% more energy efficient if built and caulked properly compared to an identical wood-frame home
- Cozy,”warm” and relaxing
Owning a Log Cabin or Log Home
After taking all of the above into mind, I have to say that having a log home may not be maintenance free, but it is still a romantic choice.
Upon further reflection, I also think I figured out another reason why I love log homes.
My grandfather worked in or owned a lumber and building supply company during most my life. Gran-Gran was a whiz with numbers and could calculate things in his head that would boggle most people. Many weekends and summer vacations I would be with him as he tallied up all the lumber in the warehouse…in his head.
Do you think I was impressed back then? Heck yeah and I still marvel at his wonderful mathematical brain. Gran-Gran gave me the confidence to not be intimidated of numbers. Hours spent playing with the adding machine and pretending to keep records in the ledger books, inspired me.
So on those walks through the warehouse, not only did Gran-Gran leave an indelible impression on my young mind, but the smell of all that lumber permeated every cell in my body. The earthy, clean smell of wood is intoxicating to my senses. Nothing can compare to the feel and look of lovingly polished wood in a piece of furniture or as part of a log home or log cabin.
Romantic? Yeah. I’m still totally enthralled with a log cabin and still have a lovely image of being stretched out on a big fluffy rug in front of a blazing fireplace in the middle of a cozy log cabin home.
Once a romantic…Always a romantic.
Photos courtesy of:
The Great American Adventure
Southland Log Homes
The pics are so convinving, what a gorgeous way to live! Seems like the Half Log home is a win-win pretty much!
I miss living in the log cabin we had in Sunriver, Oregon which is a gorgeous place. One thing I do not miss is cleaning it! There was always dirt and dust everywhere (dog, cats, kid, husband) and although we had a good wove stove in it, we were COLD in the winter. Especially in the mornings when we'd first get up. There's a few more cons for you! 🙂
I grew up in Virginia Beach, VA. A Navy brat (and now a Navy wife). One of my father's close friends and "uncle" to my family talked non-stop of building a log cabin out on some land in North Carolina once he retired. No kids and no wife, he did just that. Coolest thing about spending the weekend out there was reading in peace, the smell, and being able to see the stars (he also had an awesome telescope hooked up to his computer). Given how with zoning you have to usually build in a rural area, I don't think I could make the jump and give up my high speed internet. Maybe one day as a vacation home on a lake, with a sail boat. But not to live in all the time (you know, after my book sells tons… LOL).
Great blog, loved the pictures.
Dont know if it is subliminal romanticism or just the Dan'l Boone mentality….I've always thought log cabins were wonderful!
Found this post whilst looking for other log cabin info but must say, some great pictures on here…I particularly like the picture of the log cabin covered in snow….looks really cosy and warm inside!
Thanks for stopping by. I love these pictures. I think log cabins really look like “home”
I love the variations in styles from T&G to the Logs. It gives it a unique look by mixing it up. The different tones of color also add to the beauty. Looks like different possibly some different stains.
I love, love, love log homes! Nothing like them!
I want a log home but without the maintenece! I have a gorgeous 3 ac in Smokey MTNS 3 mi from entrance to National Park. before the market crashed I bought it andneedless to say I fell in love with my 25 MTN peakes from my ridge but I gave way too much for my land so now I have a room in my bearn and ride up in my John Deere and stare at the view> MMMMMMMMMMMMM!
I heard there was so much maintenance necessary for a log home. I had no idea it took so much work. I was really turned off by the way the bees like to put big holes in the logs. Ugh! However, your view sounds aaaaamazing!
Hi Red,
We’ve lived in our log home (6″x8″ log) since 1977, erected along the beautiful St. John River in New Brunswick, Canada. We’ve enjoyed it’s comfort and uniqueness. We are not located too far back in the woods (only 20 minutes from our capital city) and we have enjoyed our pool for nearly 30 years. As far as maintenance, staining occurs every 8 years and Sikkens is our choice for stain. Inside, we will finish the logs for the second time before we sell and retire to the city (not looking forward to the move, but some day we have to move to the next stage – elderly living). We love our log home and by the way, it was our first and only home. Thanks to our inspiration when we were young and adventurous!
Regards,
Curt
That’s awesome Curt!!!! I would love to see pictures. I bet it looks so beautiful!
Staining every 8 years isn’t bad at all. What about bees and hornets drilling into the wood? I heard that is really bad.
Hi red,
My fiancée and I are looking to buy our first home next year and we would love it to be a log home!! (We live in England and it seems a lot harder to do and rarer to do)
Curt, your comment made me feel very hopeful about our first and only home being a log cabin!! I think they are magical and beautiful and the perfect setting for children 😀
I really hope we can make it happen!
Regards,
Eloise
I hope you are able to build a log home too! What a lovely dream come true!
Hello,
I love this article regarding log homes but more importantly, I am intrigued by the log home sitting in the fog, the one with the rock at the base. It is so beautiful which of course is why I have to ask, do you know where that picture originated? I have been trying to locate that home design for a few months now. So any help that you may have would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
James
I have no idea where the cabin is in that fog picture. It sure is beautiful!
I think it is the aesthetic appeal to why I love my log cabin so much. It just has a different feel to it. I don’t mind the occasional maintenance or repairs because it is unique. I think those who love the feel don’t mind.
Log home is cottage. Does it have to be heated through winter?
I appreciate this article about the things to know in regards to a log cabin or home. It is good to know that the split pine used in building purposes is fairly inexpensive. It would also be nice to have walls as natural sound insulators. Something to consider would be to hire a professional for regular maintenance and repair purposes to keep the wood in good condition.
Hi Sherry! Is white pine is a good log home for places like illinois. I love the idea of log home and planning to have one. Is it also possible dry wall in some areas then its not too much log on inside.
I have nooooooooooooooooo idea! LOL
One of the main benefits of a log home is that it is eco friendly. It is very quick to heat up compared to a bricks and mortar home.
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help.
I learned a lot about log homes by reading this article. Thank you for explaining how these type of homes can help you to know how to have a fun place to to get away from the world. I hope this article can help us to know where we should invest our money next.
Some beautiful examples of log home here, really enjoyed your post
We are currently considering rural acreage with a beautiful log house built in late 1999. It has been inspected thoroughly and has been well maintained. I am so pleased to have found this article, as it gave me a deeper insight into pros vs cons.
I must say I enjoyed your article. Thanks Madgie
I build custom log homes in Big Bear Ca. Nominal size of our logs, which we cut and mill ourselves is between 25 and 36 inch diameter. Logs act like thermal mass batteries, and a properly built and chinked wall of our diameters will have an equivalent CERT R value of over 55. That is far better than even a walk in freezers insulation. In -8 degree weather, one of our smaller homes(1100 sqft) it is kept at 65 degrees with only a small boxwood stove.
The Scandanavians, and Japanese developed techniques over the centuries which modern builders have ignored in favor of making the exterior log surfaces look shiny and “pretty” for the public that has been led to believe that log homes should look like a Chris Craft hull. Chris Craft from the 30s to 50s were sealed and varnished to look glossy and slick, and caused the wood to be unable to release its moisture. We have restored numerous of these craft with wood rot so extensive from only a decade of immersion, due to wood decay caused by moisture.
Log homes are the same. once you put an impermeable stain or varnish over logs, you have doomed the wood to accelerated decay. As the wood checks and cracks the surface sealers, moisture wicks in and cannot escape, giving a fertile environment for molds,fungus, and other decay mechanisms to start breaking down the cellulose fibers.
Now you are stuck forever having to reseal and chase cracks. Also, almost all contemporary log home designs and builders purposefully fail to give enough eaves overhangs due to budget constraints, or copying other incorrect log home design, as that is what they think looks good ( just like every exterior picture shown above in this article). This allows rain to hit/splash onto the wood and I guarantee every one of the pictured homes have serious rot and structural issues within a decade or two, especially around the upper dormer window boxing.
We constantly are asked to repair these homes, designed by architects and builders who have no clue or care that the exposed surface designs guarantee failure of those logs after only a few decades.The especially bad designs have main roof beams exposed and sticking out from under roof eaves. The end grain cuts of logs are a natural water wick (how the living tree naturally transports moisrure) and we have seen major structural roof log beams with 70% decay failure, up to 6 feet in, under the roof.(Castlewood Estates, BBC, 4500 sqft home we repaired, built by a “high end log home designer”)
The proper way to have a maintenance free log home is to do a one time treatment with Borax/ferric sulfate solution, which soaks into green wood to create a chemical change to cellulose which becomes a barrier to wood consuming insects and fungi. Then the wood is burned/heat hardened, and the char layer sanded off to reveal the hardened sub surface. Since it remains permeable to moisture wicking, logs attain and maintain permanent equilibrium to ambient dry humidity levels. The heat treated borax/ferric sulfate wood attains a high acidic PH 2hich bugs hate, and mopd/fungus cannot live in. The char treated wood also is a natural fireproofing.
The wood attains a natural rustic/historical look, which literally can remain untouched for the life of the house. The wood naturally weathers at the rate of about a quarter inch/century, if exposed to sun and wind, and can remain forever if kept shaded (Japanese temple logs in Nara are over 2000 years old and still look new).
If you choose the ancient way of log finish, and build out moisture barrier eaves(minimum of 40″ overhang per 8′) you will have have literally permanent maintenance free exterior.
Feel free to comment or ask questions.
All the best,
Paul
Rose ironwood Forge, Eden Mountain Homes
One of my civilians is taking his family skying this winter, and he is looking for buying a timeshare. My wife and I suggested ho to rent a cabin. He will be glad to know that a log cabin is more energy-efficient, and easier to finance it.