Learning About Log Homes at Avalon Log Homes

Log Homes in America date back to the early 1600's when European settlers

fashioned simple structures from the abundant virgin forest lands of the New

World. Utilitarian in their design, these early Log Homes were long on function

and practicality but short on modern day habitability. Yet, over the years, these

primitive Log Homes and their decedents have managed to win a place in the

hearts of millions of Americans.

Though, the premise of using logs to construct the home's shell remains the same

today as it was in the Seventeenth Century, today's Log Homes have evolved

into highly efficient, structurally superior modern-day masterpieces.

Prospective log home owners will find there are two main types of log homes to

choose from-Milled and Handcrafted Log homes. Though most log home

companies feature only one type of log home, Avalon Log Homes proudly offers

both milled and handcrafted log homes.

A milled log home is the product of an automated manufacturing process that

converts raw logs into a precision milled product of exacting dimensions and

profiles. Milled log homes typically feature an interlocking mechanism that

allows manufactured logs to fit snugly when stacked. Likewise, milled log homes

allow for several different corner styles and log lengths.

Unlike a milled log home, a handcrafted log home represents the time-honored

art of logsmithing. These handmade homes are constructed using many of the

same practices as those employed by early American and European logsmiths

centuries ago. Using mostly hand tools, logsmiths cut and shape logs from

carefully selected trees so that each log fits perfectly on top of each other. As

such, the logs used in a handcrafted log home retain many of the individual

characteristics of the tree they once were and are generally more rustic looking

than milled logs.

Constructing a home using Log Siding has grown in popularity in recent years.

Unlike milled or handcrafted log homes, log siding is combined with

conventional stud framing and insulation to create the look and feel of a log

home without using full logs.

When setting out to purchase a log home, buyers often mistake a log home

materials package for all the components required to construct a finished log

home. The reality is that because there is no real standard within the log home

industry, buyers may find it challenging to conduct an apples-to-apples

comparison of competing companies' materials packages.

Avalon Log Homes offers two standard material packages for prospective

homeowners to choose from. These include a Log Walls & Gables Package and a

Standard Weathertight Shell. To simplify, this process, Avalon Log Homes has

created an easy to follow Materials Package Matrix to help prospective

homeowners understand and compare Avalon Log Home's materials packages

with others.

Log homes are constructed using a variety of tree species and no one is

necessarily better than another. Several factors, including environmental

conditions, structural requirements, homeowner preference, availability and cost

of course, often combine to create a shortlist of most commonly used species.

Avalon Log Homes offers its clients the ability to build using any species of

wood, but mostly uses the following species: Douglas Fir, Engelmann Spruce,

Hemlock, Larch, Lodgepole Pine, Ponderosa Pine and Western Red Cedar.

Common to all tree species is their susceptibility to shrink, once harvested.

Shrinkage in wood occurs when its moisture content reduces to match the

humidity of the surrounding environment. Though some species are thought to

be less prone to shrinkage than others, all wood used in log home construction

will experience some degree of shrinkage.

Though shrinkage is a natural process that often poses no structural concern to

logs in their raw form, building with logs that contain high moisture content (or

green logs) can present serious structural problems if shrinkage is not properly

accounted for. Because shrinkage can cause log walls to settle over time

(sometimes considerably), engineers and builders must take steps to manage this

settling so that is does not compromise the structural integrity or functionality of

the home.

As a proactive measure, Log home manufactures employ a variety of different

methods of drying wood to accelerate the shrinkage process prior to building.

Kiln-drying and dead standing are the most commonly used methods. Avalon

Log Homes uses the dead standing drying method, which utilizing trees that

have been killed but have not been cut down. Because the trees are generally

standing dead for a number of years, much if not all of the shrinkage has already

occurred and thus less is likely to occur in the constructed log home.

Also common to all tree species is their susceptibility to insects, weathering and

decay. As organic material, wood in its original state is a product of nature and is

subject to its laws. Once harvested, wood naturally begins to decay and without

some form of preservation will steadily decompose until it is reduced to organic

matter and is consumed by new plant growth.

Modern day wood preservatives allow us to slow this process to a near glacier

pace and thus postpone wood's demise for a good century or so. Especially

significant to log home owners whose exterior shell is exposed wood, the use of

proper preservative treatments throughout the home's lifetime will mean the

difference between a home that lasts for generations or a decaying mass of plant

food.

Log homes, if manufactured and built correctly, offer comparable to superior

energy efficiency versus conventional framed homes. Numerous independent

studies have proven that log walls possess especially high thermal mass which

makes them as energy-efficient as any well insulated frame wall and superior to

most. Unlike R-value, the traditional measure of energy efficiency, thermal mass

is a material's capacity to conduct, store and release heat over time given

significant variances in temperature. Most notable of these studies was over a

decade long study conducted by Log Homes Council (a division of the National

Association of Home Builders). This and other studies have confirmed what

many log home owners have know for years; log home stays cooler in the

summer and warmer in winter.