LOG HOMES, LOG HOME DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
& THE TECHNOLOGY OF LOG HOMES AND THEIR PROTECTION AND
INSTALLATION
By Rand Soellner Architect
Rand
Soellner AIA / NCARB 828. 743. 6010
Log
Homes have interested people in the United States since the European
discovery of the continent and the subsequent pioneering-settlement
era over the last several hundred years. At present (2005) there are
a multitude of log home fabricators and a tremendous interest in log
homes from the public. The treatment of log home materials, their
protection, aesthetic expression, methods of installation, use in
floor planning and structural organization all impact the value and
enjoyment of a log home design. |
There
is something appealing in the massive proportions, warm colors,
chunky textures and permanent-look of a log home. My experience has
been that the large visual proportions of some log home designs
substantially exceed the structural requirements of the building or
home. One of the mistakes I have seen some folks make is to use
little sticks of wood, like 4x4's, to support portions of homes and
in some instances, portions of log homes. Even though these smaller
pieces of lumber accomplish the structural job, they are not settled
visually. I call this effect: "Holding up and elephant with
toothpicks." Builders, in particular, seem to have difficulty
with this issue in log homes and other structures, as they are
trying to help their clients economize. While this is an admirable
objective and I am sure much-appreciated by their clients, the
result is severely damaging to the aesthetic perception of the
building. See my website for examples of my more muscular treatments
of this situation. I performed an analysis of this on a front porch
of a log home design with the cooperation of one of the log home
builders with whom I work, and he was surprised to find that the
difference between my large timber way of supporting it compared
with the least expensive method using tiny sticks that were visually
unappealing was about $3,500. The appraised impact of these larger
members was approximately $75,000 in increased value. A good
investment, there!
 |
A "log"
home can have all-log walls, just some log posts, or a
combination of thereof, which will impact the cost of the log
home. Some of the log homes we create are hybrids, utilizing
real log walls and some have a material we invented: Faux Logs,
which is being demonstrated on the Falcon Cliff Lodge in
Cashiers, North Carolina. Whichever type of logs you decide to
use, it is important to treat them chemically to prevent them
from damage from rain, snow and insects. How do we accomplish
this? The best solution is to use pressure-treated wood.
Unfortunately, it is expensive to move big logs around and
difficult to find facilities large enough in which to treat
large posts. Often it is easiest to harvest logs from the site
or nearby and often these logs may be of white pine or other
softwoods, which means it is susceptible to damage. It is
important to have the bark removed promptly, because insects
love to burrow in under it where they are protected from the
environment, while they munch away on your wood. One of the most
economical treatments to use on log homes when pressure
treatment is not reasonably available, is to spray or paint the
debarked logs with boric acid. Terminix tells me that powder
post beetle larva cannot handle it in their digestive tracts and
that it also assists in making the wood unappealing to
carpenter ants and boring bees, all creatures that can make
mincemeat of your wonderful log home design. |
Some people have looked
at my log homes and asked me: "How did you ever get these
enormous logs into place here on this cliff face, so high off the
ground?" Well, after spending years with builders who do this
for a living every day of their lives, you learn a few things. Large
cranes help a lot, as do people who are experienced in setting logs.
Make no mistake, this is mountain-man-sized-work, and is nothing the
inexperienced should try. Only use people whom are experienced at
putting together log homes and heavy timbers. Proper scaffolding
provides elevated platforms on which to work to set the logs in
place.
Many people seem surprised to find that log homes
do not deliver as great an "R" insulation value as they
had supposed. For instance, fir, pine and other softwoods typically
have an "R" value per inch of thickness of about 1.25.
This means that the typically 6" thick wall log has an "R"
value of 7.5. Compare this with the R-15 found in Rand Soellner
Architect homes' 2x4 walls, or the R-19 in our 2x6 wall homes. In
other words, some people wish to achieve a much higher R-value using
frame construction with a log-look. Our faux log treatment solves
this problem. We also work with clients who want real log walls,
sometimes using double-wythe walls to achieve this goal.
Log
homes will continue to be of interest into the foreseeable future
and we receive calls from around the world to design log homes.
Please give us a call if you have any questions.
To discuss
log home design, log home architecture and log home design-build,
please contact Rand Soellner, Architect at: 828-743-6010 or
828-269-9046 or e-mail us at:
randsoellner@earthlink.net
Our website is: randarch.com
This article
will be of interest to people looking for information on:
log
home architects
log homes
log home designers
log home
engineering
log home construction
log home design-build
log home architecture
log homes in the United States
American
log homes
modern log homes |
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