The Merced Log Home by Avalon Log Homes

See this Gravitas Series plan at http://www.avalonloghomes.com/floor-plans/the-merced

The Merced is an adorable 1784 square foot 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a main level Owner's Suite. The open loft with a full shed dormer on the upper level would make for a great office space or play area. The four sided wrap around porch and screened porch almost double the living space for outdoor dining and entertaining and relaxing.
From the soaring ceilings, elevated windows, and refined design of the commanding fireplace in the great room overlooking the very dramatic back view scene. The large gourmet kitchen has abundant cabinets and countertop space with eating bar. The master bath offers walk-in shower, as well as a spacious walk-in closet and dressing area. There is masterful sense of styling and sophistication clearly evident in The Merced design which you will appreciate more with each passing year.

MAKE YOUR LOG HOME DREAM A REALITY

This article will serve as a guide on how to achieve that dream of owning a log home. Before you start searching for a log home company, there are several things to you should think about: what features you desire in a home, the log species and profile that you like, and how much of the building you are willing to do as well as a price range you are willing to spend on your log home (built to completion with or without land included.

The first step in making your dream home become reality is to choose a log home company. Easier said than done because there are hundreds of log home companies competing for your business. We researched about fifty different log home companies before we made our decision and yes it was time consuming but you need to find the company that best fits your needs. To narrow down the list of companies to choose from, decide on the log species (i.e. White Pine), log profile (i.e. round), size of logs, type of logs (kiln-dried, dead standing, air dried, green), and the building system that you like the best. Another way to narrow down the list is to tour log home models built by different log home companies and, if possible, tour the log home mills themselves. Now you need to submit a sketched floor plan of your dream home to the companies that you have chosen and obtain a log home package cost estimate that includes a shipping estimate. When comparing price quotes from these companies make sure you are comparing "apples to apples", meaning each companies log home package is slightly different than the other. Choose the package that best suits your needs and price.

The second step is to decide how much "sweat equity" you are willing to put into your home. The more that you are able to do yourself means the more you will be able to save in labor costs. How much does it cost to complete a log home depends on the labor rates in your area. Most log home companies can quote a turnkey price (completely built home, ready to move in) as well as just the log home package price. Research different labor rates in your area as well as building materials that are not included in your package and compare these costs to your turnkey price given to you by the log home company. Ask your log home company if they can provide a list of area contractors. Being your own general contractor also saves money by subtracting about 10%-20% off the cost of building your log home, however you have the headaches that go along with that job. If you decide to be your own general contractor, you will need to develop a cost estimating worksheet with a breakdown of all the costs associated with building your home.

Is the price of your dream home still within your budgeted range? If the answer is yes, then you can move on to obtaining financing. If the answer is no, then there are some areas where costs can be reduced provided that you are flexible. You may opt for more "sweat equity", choose a smaller diameter log, reduce the size of your basement, or settle for less square footage to bring your price down. It is typical when building your first home that adjustments need to be made in order to fit your original budget.

Finally, your cost estimating worksheet is done and you have your blueprints, now you are ready for financing. There are quite a few lenders out there that specialize in log home financing which is slightly different than traditional stick built financing. Again use the resources of the log home company you have chosen, they should be able to provide a list of specialized lenders as well as help you with the financial paperwork. Do your homework before approaching a lender and the process will run smoother. Most lenders offer a construction loan for up to one year and then required you to re-qualify for the mortgage loan after your home is completed. Another option is a "One Time Close" loan which combines the construction and permanent financing into one easy loan. One Time Close loans are nice because you only pay closing costs once and usually only qualify once for the loan. These loans are usually given at a slightly higher interest rate during the construction loan period and can be "rolled down" at the time that the permanent loan starts. When financing your loan, be prepared to have a down payment of 5%-15% of your loan value and in most cases you may use the value of your land as your down payment provided you own it free and clear. Once financing is approved, you can begin building your dream log home.

Now you can let the seed grow into a beautiful log home that someone else will admire. Keep in mind that the process of building your own log home is time consuming and Murphy's Law does apply, but the end result is rewarding.
See this and other log home articles by Steve Ryan at loghome.com

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Borates for Custom Log Cabins

Borates for Custom Log Homes
By Greg Steckler

Let’s talk for a bit about borate treatments for your log home or cabin. If you’ve never heard of them, you are probably asking, why would I want it? Well, do you hate the thought of termites of all kinds eating at your house? How about Carpenter ants, Old House Borer beetles, powder beetles, and post beetles? Finally, how about Brown Rot, White Rot, mold, mildew and other wood decaying fungi? I didn’t think so. You know, borates can and do kill all the above insects and organisms. Sound a little more interesting now? Let’s get started.

What is borate? Disodium octaborate tetrahydrate, or DOT, (no not THAT DOT, this one
really works!) is a borate salt compound that is formed from a union of boric acid and borax. This is the most common form of borate used in log home treatments. Various name brands of water based borate solutions are available, such as Armor-Guard, Timbor, Penetreat, Board Guard, and others. There are also several glycol based solutions, such as Bora-Care and Shell Guard. Finally, there are oil based and solid forms of the product, sold as rods that can be inserted into logs in your log home and provide long term protection.

How do borates work? Borates are toxic to both insects and fungus species. One way the borate works is that it disrupts the enzyme system of the insect and destroys the
microflora in the stomach of the insect, thus disallowing food digestion. Borates also affect the enzyme system of fungi. Finally, the active ingredient is a contact toxicant to fungus.

How do I apply it? First of all, it’s important to realize that the borate needs to soak as far into the wood as possible. There can be no stain or other finish on the wood when the borate is applied. The best way to prep for borate is to cob blast the wood, making it even more porous. Every borate manufacturer has different methods of application and a special focus on what their product will do. Let’s look at them as groups, and not brand names.
First, you have your glycol based treatments. These are marketed more for termite and
other very long term applications. Check out www.Nisuscorp.com and
www.permachink.com for more info on each of these. Typically, these are mixed with warm or hot water and spray applied to saturation. The glycol is very good at pulling the active ingredients deep into the wood, where only saturation with water will remove them.

Second, there are water based solutions. You’ll buy these as a powder in some size pail. So many scoops to the gallon, and again, you are spray applying these onto the wood surfaces you want to protect. Protection is good near the surface, about a quarter inch or so. A hard rain will wash it off, which is why you need to coat the wood soon after with a stain/sealer.

Third, there are borate rods. Cobra Rods and Impel Rods are the most popular. These
rods are made for high risk areas of your log cabin, such as log ends that get a lot of
splashing water on them, or protrude out past the overhang. A hole is drilled, the rod inserted, and a plug tapped into place. If the log gets wet, the borate will diffuse into the surrounding wood, protecting it from rot.

Finally, taking into account that many borate treatments are applied specifically for the purpose of protection log homes, which will require a sealing stain treatment anyway to lock in the borate, there are a few companies working on a penetrating oil based application of borate, which will allow other ingredients such as base color pigments to be introduced deep into the wood as a conditioning step, after which a positive curing top coat is applied to “lock in” the borate.
While borate solutions are very good for pretreatments before staining the wood on your house, they only help prevent mold and mildew from forming UNDER the stain layer.
They do NOTHING about mold or mildew on the surface of the stain. Only a periodic
cleaning will remove that mold or mildew, and borate treatments should never be viewed or presented to a consumer by a restoration contractor as a way to avoid regular maintenance.
Originally appeared in the column, The Log Home Corner and reprinted here by
permission from the author, Rich Littlefield.
Rich Littlefield has been in the log home restoration industry for almost a decade. In addition to using almost every commercially available stain in the area, he has developed a stain system that addresses concerns found specifically in the Southeast geographic region. He has given restoration and maintenance seminars at various log home shows and manufacturer sponsored events. He also offers maintenance seminars and plans for Home Owners Associations, commercial complexes, and individuals. Finally he is fully involved in consulting, evaluations, and offering restoration services and supplies.

See this and other articles at http://www.avalonloghomes.com