If you are just getting started considering your log home and how you want to look, it is important to know that there are different kinds or styles of log homes – some large, some small, some made with half-logs, some built like Tinker Toys… For a style known for its association with simplicity, there are an awful lot of choices when deciding what kind of a log home you want.
On the most basic level, there are two kinds of log homes: there is the milled log home and the hand-crafted log home. A milled log home is produced by automated machine cutting of the logs according to specifications set forth before hand. It is a little easier and allows for more stylized variation. The logs are often cut and set in such as way that there are only very small gaps because they were measured in order to avoid those gaps. Like Tinker toys with more precision. The area between the logs are still often filled with caulking because it is one of the better ways to keep any of the elements from coming inside.
A hand-crafted log home is far more time-honored classic, with a traditional of logsmithing developed over the centuries – the styles of building these homes go back to the days when Europeans, and eventually Americans, had to build their own homes by hand. Each log is cut with hand tools and measured so that they can be set perfectly on top of the other, and they are put into place by hand (or hands, since you usually need help). Like Tinker toys, only with the same kind of precision. Caulking is needed even more for this kind of log home. These homes tend to have a more rustic, individualistic, and natural look rather than that manufactured or mass-produced appearance.
A new type of log home has been made possible by technology: log siding has been growing in popularity over the years, with the more rustic look on the exterior of the home while the interior looks machine-cut and clean. Basically, the log is cut in half. Standard forms of insulation like caulking and stud framing complete the look of a log home without using the entirety of the log.
None of these three types of homes are better than the others. Each type has its strengths and weaknesses and its own individual look. And incidentally, it is a matter of great debate, but none of these kinds of homes are more or less expensive than the other after all is said and done. Full log homes tend to be more expensive than standard homes and log siding homes (and roughly equivalent to a custom standard home). But they also tend to save the owners energy expenses over time in comparison to standard homes and log siding homes, especially in terms of heating and air conditioning. In the end, it all depends on what your own preferences are for your log home.
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