April 2012 Blog Posts (15)

Kitchens’ prominence is apparent from the existence of certified kitchen designers. After all, there aren’t planning specialists for living rooms, master bedrooms or other individual interior spaces. Clearly, kitchens deserve extra attention to create the right look.

 

That doesn’t mean you need to hire a certified kitchen designer for your log home, however.…

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Whether you're building a small, simple cabin or an expansive, ornate estate, some of the best places to find inspiration for your design are magazines that feature homes in the style you wish to emulate. While our regular publications feature a handful of home tours in each issue, they also offer advice on a lot of the nitty-gritty details of planning, building and…

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After the last few years of planning we've finally gotten to the point of applying for a building permit. When I got to the building department tonight I learned that the town has adopted the "stretch code" which is apparently a much more stringent building code that, as far as I can tell, requires a minimum of an R-38 wall insulation. I'm not sure if this is confined to Massachusetts or if it has spread nationally but it appears to me as if the log home industry has a lot to lose from this.…

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Cabins have long had a wonderful connection with the nation's park system. Whether through structures on-site or a lucky landowner who chose to build one on a directly adjacent lot, these wooded settings provide the perfect backdrop for cabins and their inhabitants' desires to reconnect with nature. 

This weekend kicks off…

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Got a carpenter bee problem? Interested in using an all natural non insecticide method of reducing your carpenter bee population and the damage they cause? I have been building and selling these bee traps locally (49264) for the past two years and have had excellent feedback with them. A repeat customer came this spring and in addition to purchasing additional traps for his parents and friends, suggested I try to find a log home specific market to offer them to because they are so effective.…

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I understand there is a new movie out, The Cabin in the Woods, just in time to celebrate our move to the cabin. I read a good review of it, but I doubt I will see it. I don't handle horror very well. Besides, there is plenty of horror at my own cabin, from infestations of cankerworms to cars covered with dusty green pollen to copperheads not happy at…

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Maybe you're not looking for advice on what kind of dishwasher to buy, or you've already figured out your financing and bought your land. If you just need inspiration gleaned from other log homes, then you won't want to miss the Best Of 2012 issue of Log Home Living that just hit newsstands this week.

This issue deviates from what you normally…

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The last Friday in April is Arbor Day, an occasion to celebrate trees. Log homes are all about trees.

I remember the first log yard I visited, seeing hundreds of branchless tree trunks stacked to dry. Then I watched some being turned into wall logs. They still implied the tree they came from.

By contrast, boards from a lumberyard, say…

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Why should you clean the exterior of  your log home?

1. Maintain the durability and appearance of your exterior finish.

2. Dust, pollen, and other airborne contaminants provide a food source for fungal growth on your logs.

3. If using a contact insecticide, dirt accumulated on the exterior…

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I'll tell you how to get rid of those bees, stand in the area where they are, and swat the hell out of them with your tennis racket, hat, or anything else that is around.  We have contests to see how many we each can hit every day.  It is fun and something to do in the country!  hahaahah

We're just about get production underway on our next issue of Country's Best Cabins, which will focus on energy efficiency. By delving into some of the recent habits and trends surrounding the concept of "being green," we discovered that one of the biggest factors in becoming more efficient is not a thing or a label or a process, but a person: you.



A change in the way you look at your consumption habits can do wonders for your utility bills. Simply operating major appliances on… Continue

Join Operation Finally Home and its supporters in welcoming the Gizzarelli Family to their new mortgage free home. Thank him personally for his sacrifice and thank the sponsors on hand for their support. (it isn't too late to get involved...www.OperationFinallyHome.org)

 

• Saturday, April 28, 2012
• 11:00am
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409…

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As the weather warms up, the trees and grass grow greener, and the springtime sunshine comes out, we're all more than ready to get outside and enjoy ourselves. If you appreciate the simple, natural beauty of a forest or a lakeshore during the spring, a cabin is the perfect place to spend your summer days lazing in the sun.…

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So, have  you noticed curious, tiny piles of sawdust around your home?

First, a bit of back story on these destructive little guys. Most Carpenter Bee activity occurs in early Spring through mid-Summer. Carpenter Bees drill an initial hole and then the bee will make a turn and excavate a tunnel along…

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