Building A Log Home

Although living may be a bit more efficient inside in traditional housing, a modern home with all of today's conventional trimmings doesn't quite allow us to enjoy nature the way that log homes do. Modern homes are really built for communal living - complete with a residential plumbing/sewer system, paved streets, shopping centers, and a piece of the electrical grid. But in order to function the way that they're built to function, nature sometimes becomes an inconvenience and is often cleared away to accommodate for easy travel.

Some people try to incorporate nature into modern living with things like gardens, plants, and animal features. And this is fine for environments that provide ample space for this kind of lifestyle. However to return to nature - true nature that is - there's nothing like a log home plotted in the midst of a deep wooded area.

Log homes completely assimilate nature into one complete lifestyle without the need to artificially grow plant life or attract animals. Log homes put the homeowner in the unique position of enjoying these things right from the living room window.

Definition

A log home is a house built of wood - usually in a wooded area. Distinguishing a log home from the many different types of others is that it's constructed with actual tree logs. Like traditional homes, a log home is built from a foundation and it's built with walls, doors, and a roof. All that's needed to start is a constructor well skilled in home construction and logging!

History

Log homes are synonymous with colonial living, but some groups of Native Americans built log homes long before Columbus set foot on North American land. They were used for the same reasons that colonial families built them, however unlike the log homes of the past that we're familiar with, Native American log homes housed several families at one time - even housing an entire community in some cases. As the European population increased, the need for faster, easier, and cheaper construction methods grew and the log cabin was replaced with stone, mud, and brick type homes.

Current Usage

Today, very few homes are built with logs. In fact, it's a real treat to even find one. Still, they haven't lost their appeal because more and more people are building homes in this style.

In fact, modern versions of log homes can be quite surprising. They certainly offer more than the one-room houses available in the early 15th to 17th century. Today's log homes are built with multiple rooms, attics, high porches, large glass windows, and more. Because they fit into the 'natural' decor of rural living, they demand a lifestyle that appreciates a little bit of 'living in the rough' or those who just want to get away from suburban and city life.

If you enjoy having access to nature's own live entertainment, mountain views, and expansive lakes, then perhaps a log home is appropriate for you.

Application

Your construction company can help you design a log cabin that works with you, your family, and the environment in which you want to live. The important thing to remember is that you want to create a balance between your dependency upon modern conveniences and the natural gifts that surround you. You don't want to clear out a plot of wild land for example just for the sake of having a twenty-foot driveway. On the other hand, you don't want to build a log home in an area that's hard to access without a backpack or mountain picks either!

After you and your construction company design a log home that works for you, the both of you can start discussing the type of wood that's appropriate and whether you want the wood exposed in the home's interior (which by the way adds tremendous appeal).

Construction of your home will begin with pre-milled logs or actual tree trunks placed atop a perimeter of rocks. (The rocks prevent the logs from rotting on the ground.) And construction ends with stuffing gaps within the stacked logs with smaller pieces of wood and then Plastering the home's interior. Welcome home.