Thinking of building a log home in Georgia

   / Thinking of building a log home in Georgia #1  

bzimmel

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
26
Location
Buford, GA
Tractor
Kioti CK30
Does anyone know of a good way get started on this process? I've looked at various sites online. Is there anyone in the area that you would recommend for a job like this?
 
   / Thinking of building a log home in Georgia
  • Thread Starter
#3  
No, not yet. I did find 1 company that helps from land selection to full construction, but I'd probably find the property myself.
 
   / Thinking of building a log home in Georgia #4  
   / Thinking of building a log home in Georgia #5  
Are you looking at a kit type log home, or are you planning on a more traditional build?
 
   / Thinking of building a log home in Georgia
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Well, I've looked mostly at kits. For sure it's not something I want (or can) build myself. There are some pretty nice looking kits out there for 3-4 bedroom. I believe they usually say to rough park the construction is around 2-3 times the cost of the kit. Does that sound right?
 
   / Thinking of building a log home in Georgia #7  
I have one suggestion based on personal experience. This may ruffle some feathers( this is mot my intent), and I know tons of them are out there, but try not to use Pine for your logs especially in the South. There is more maintenance for pine over Cypress, Red or White Cedar & Hemlock. Every insect in North America loves Pine but pretty much avoid the others mentioned. Shrinkage, warping, checking & settling is also minimum compared to Pine. I have built two log homes in my lifetime, one out of Pine in East TX, and my current one out of Eastern Red Cedar here in East TN. The first house got termites within 5 years causing extensive damage, but I have not seen that house in person since 1986.

Pine is readily available in log form from many sources and is the cheapest. But, Eastern Red Cedar is also abundant for just a little more money. I used 6x6x8' milled logs from Grant Cedar Mill near Nashville Tn:

Lumber

You are less then a days drive away from them & and one 18 wheeler flatbed of logs will build most reasonably sized houses. Here is the thread on my Cedar log house build:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/156451-log-house-project-begins.html

Do your homework on log home construction. If you are having it build go look at some of the builders homes that have been standing for at least 10 years, talk to the owners & make an informed decision.
 
   / Thinking of building a log home in Georgia #8  
I've never built one, but I agree with old Motor above. You don't want nary wood lice in ye house. Build it high and dry too, especially if on a slab. Concrete boys just love to dig deeper and pour their mud ground level or lower. Ye don't want nary water problems either.
 
   / Thinking of building a log home in Georgia #9  
We looked at building a log home and decided it was not the way to go. We looked at a couple of models, one built of white pine and the other from PT 6x6s. The white pine was heavily checked and had lots of knots in the model home. Those knots are supposed to leak water...

The house built out of 6x6's was interesting and it was a kit. The contractor building the house ended up building our house which is stick built. He built the 6x6 PT kit house for a client and built quite a few log homes for his family and others. The 6x6 PT house was a pain to get everything aligned up. The 6x6's had a rubber spline that was inserted into each timber for water and air leakage. That spline was a pain. He said he would never do a kit log home again. He would just buy the logs and cut them as needed since it was so much faster than finding The Log that was needed for the section they were building.

Water hitting the wall of a house can lead to problems. I think this is more of a problem in a log home than stick build. Our house, which is brick, 2x6 walls, and 1 inch of rigid foam, has a 28 inch roof over hang which is partly a passive solar design element but also helps keep the rain off the walls. The way the exterior walls on our house were designed and built, make it very unlikely we would have problem with water, but the 28 inch roof over hang prevents water from hitting the wall in the first place.

I know someone who built a log home that was really pretty but he had all sorts of problems with bugs, especially carpenter bees. He was spraying for bugs all of the time and having to treat the wood from time to time. The house was nice but too much work for me.

Later,
Dan
 
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   / Thinking of building a log home in Georgia #10  
Your last sentence says a lot, Dan! I'm into low house maintenance, we just put Hardiplank on our house. Also have 24" overhanging eves. Have to keep water away.
 

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