Here are some tips when buying a log home:
CONSTRUCTION SUGGESTIONS
INSULATION
Save money with a Northern
Log Home. Log homes have about 20% greater
thermal mass than standard stud framing.
Think in terms of a campfire. Long after
the fire goes out, the surrounding rocks
will stay warm and cozy. That’s thermal
mass. Because of the composition of a log,
when a log home warms up, the log walls will
radiate
the heat back into the room. In the summer
the logs do the same with the cool air in
the evenings thus making the home cooler
during the day.
Floors (if not on a basement), ceilings,
around windows and doors must be well
insulated, but the logs themselves will
provide excellent insulation from cold and
heat
LOGS
The
northern country, with its snowy cold
winters and long summer days, is a region
that produces some of the finest timber in
the world. Our logs are available in Western
White Wood or Cedar. We provide a Swedish
Cope with full saddle notch corners on a
uniform round log. This construction
style provides
an airtight structural log joint. Assuring
you a quality log home that can last for
generations to come. Each log is either
standing dead or environmentally friendly’
air dried to less than 20% moisture content,
helping to reduce shrinking and settlement
after our log homes are stacked. Be aware
of what you are buying. Some companies sell
what they call a “cabin grade” log at
reduced cost. We have talked to people who
have new log homes that have dry rot. Don’t
be fooled this is a defect. You really do
get what you pay for. We make a log
like that into firewood, not a log home. We
won’t send out a log home that we wouldn’t
be proud to live in ourselves.
CHINKING
Chinking between logs is not necessary. We do recommend an insulating foam strip (we have this in stock) between each log (this fits in the cope), thereby insuring an air-tight seal that does not show.
We do recommend that caulk be applied to the corners and end joints.
FOUNDATIONS
Continuse
LOG ERECTION
We recommend logs be secured with
construction lag screws, at approximately
4-foot intervals.. Through-bolts or all-thread are not necessary with our style of log.
ROOF CONSTRUCTION
Conventional truss and frame, or open beam with 2 x 6 tongue and groove with built up roof (this style is much more expensive). Roof coverings can be of any material desired.
CONSTRUCTION
For the do-it-yourselfer ease of construction enables you to
build the home on your own. We have a very
knowledgeable construction crew that can
build your home for you from digging the
foundation to a rose on the counter when the
project is completed or you may contract construction to any stage of completion.
If you choose to use your own contractor we
will work with them during the initial
construction to ensure that your Northern
Log Home gets off to a good start.
SHIPPING
Cost is approximately $1.75 a loaded mile from Sandpoint, Idaho.
THE COST OF A HOME IS DETERMINED BY MANY THINGS
- Location: Delivered cost of concrete and materials.
- Type of soil: Excavation and septic.
- Foundation: Standard crawl space or basement. Basement square footage is the most economical.
- Style: A rancher with a trussed roof is more economical than a rancher with a loft and open-beam ceiling.
- Exterior walls: Log size and species.
- Windows and doors: Size, style and brand.
- Roofing: Composition, metal or shake.
- Heat: Wood, baseboard, forced air, fireplace.
- Finish: Carpets, cabinets and fixtures.
- Labor: Labor intensive nooks, dormers, etc.
As you can see, the cost is determined by the complexity and style of the home and the market price of materials and labor, at the time of construction.
