Looking for information on building Log Home

Looking to find a cost for having one built?
Best companies to build it?
Best company to buy a package from?
Any Do's or Dont's

Do get cypress if you can afford it.
What part of the state?

Northeast GA Banks county

Joe I have heard that they are hard and expensive to Insure, Because just a small fire in part of a wall can cause the home to be a total loss. Not sure that is true but I have heard that through the grape vine.

A buddy used these folks, he was happy and recommends them.
http://www.cypressloghomes.com/tours/tours.htm

http://www.northgeorgialoghomes.com/

Freddie Pethel is the owner great guy. We have been doing the stone work on his homes for years.

Not trying to get in your business but a word of advice. I built for years and we had several customers that kept us busy just upkeeping log homes. They are a hassle in my opinion and I would stay far away. I know a few people that specialize in just yearly maintenance on them. I personally would go with a stick built home with a board and batten siding or even log siding as opposed to full logs. Just my opinion.

What jigman says! We almost went that route but decided to go post and beam framing mixed with stick walls. Tounge and groove walls on the idside, board and batten on the outside. No hassle dealing with logs and I would look into what Dana pointed out as well.

Go through Cherry Log or any other log home community on a weekend night and you will be able to see light through the log gaps.
They are beautiful and the one I built was an experience. The next time we built a stick built with log siding. Much more efficient and easier to find someone that would build it. Check out Conner Homes in Ellijay. They build a good home.

j_seph said:

Looking to find a cost for having one built?
Best companies to build it?
Best company to buy a package from?
Any Do's or Dont's

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Use the square logs or at least flat on the outside. Wood bees are less attracted to them.

Make sure you use a solid stone/concrete foundation and set it a good foot and a half to 2 feet out of the ground. Less problems with insects and rot.

Use a ground barrier around the base and gravel. Keep landscaping back from the house ten feet or more and plan for good drainage away from the house.

What ever over hang around the house they plan for the roof, add at least 6 inches more.

WATCH IT GET BUILT, and make sure they fill every crack and cranny with foam or something sealing every opening. Make sure all those electric outlets are where you want them because it's a total pain to add more or to move them. Same with the laundry room set up. Make sure it's set up for that drier to be with the back against an outside wall.

Make sure all vents are accounted for, kitchen, and bathrooms.

Get the INSIDE treated and sealed just the same as the outside. Black mold can be a problem with a lot of log homes, I've seen more than one have a problem with it.

JMO, the less landscaping plant decoration baloney to mow around the better.

It's a myth there are naturally resistant species of logs. A wood bee will drill in to pressure treated lumber. Then the real demo team comes in, the wood peckers. They are after the wood bee larva and they'll peck a hole as big as your fist in about 10 minute or less if they are left alone. Use permethrin in a tree and shrub sprayer to prevent wood bees in the spring and asian lady bug in the fall.

Log homes need a stain, sealer, paint what ever you want to call it about every 7 to ten years. The UV rays are the most damaging thing to the logs. When the stain is gone, that's when it starts to rot.

If you want the log "look" but keep the cost down, go with a log main floor, high almost A-frame style roof second story and a rustic type of siding or barn wood look stick construction on the second floor.

My advice is NEVER build ANYTHING in a forest setting that has ANYTHING other than steel, rock, or concrete exposed on the outside. Metal roof, poured concrete footing or basement is better and stone exterior up to the roof.

I do cabin maintenance full time. I would take a joy ride and look at the cabins. Most cabins will need staining every 2-3 years regardless of what you might be told. If you wait till it looks like it needs staining you have waited to long. Cracks will develop making it near impossible to seal. The carpenter bees will hit the facias logs main beams and everything in between. And then the woodpeckers will have a field day. Also the fling squirrels love wood cabins. Average stain job hired out runs around $6-7,000. Keep in mind doing that every 3 years. And now for the bad......if you don't get a good builder you will have bats and squirrels for pets, rotten wood in 5 years or less, screws backing out of tin and the list goes on. Non stop maintenance. But they are pretty when there new. But those cabins have allowed me to build my house with cash. And needless to say I used hardie board.

all of the above mentioned issues are FACTS......I built a log home about 12 yrs ago and have had ALL of the issues above plus some.....it is a beautiful house but a pain to keep up. I'll most likely be trying to sell in next few years. I was young and dumb at the time I made the decision and wished I'd asked more questions about them before I jumped in head first.

here is only pic of my house I could find.

Derek said:

here is only pic of my house I could find.

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Well if you can only have one picture, that's the one to have. Nice looking place and the snow makes a very nice backdrop for a log home.

I used to hunt Montana and Idaho every year. Highway 93 comes out of Missoula and down through Lolo, Hamilton and Darby. Along that 40-50 mile stretch of road there must have been 2-3 dozen places, at least, that assembled and sold log home kits.

I never knew they were so hard to maintain.