April 2017 Blog Posts (10)

One of the worst smells that you could get in the home is when the sewer system backs up, preventing everything from the toilet flushing properly to the sink draining as it should. Before the problem gets that bad, you can do a bit of maintenance to ensure that the system stays open and flowing smoothly. Once you find a method of keeping the drainage system…

We meet the crew, and suddenly, everything has changed

The day after the log home show (Sunday) I had to fly to Chicago for work. Monday I got a call from Craig Ringler, a colleague of Ron’s. He was interested in our project and wanted to get together to talk. We picked a time after I returned from Chicago, and agreed to meet at a Rock Bottom Brewery about halfway between where each of us lived. John and I showed up half expecting them not to, despite the fact we’d…

Time to Build

Finally, all the obstacles to getting our build underway were falling aside. We had a floorplan in mind and a budget and started calling around. Five of the six area builders that did log homes never responded to multiple phone calls and emails. I hadn’t mentioned our budget, so for all they knew, we could have been planning a million-dollar mansion. The one that did call back said he couldn’t possibly start our build for 18 months. We started calling…

The Years Go By

Over the next few years, we visited often, enjoying having the barn there to store a cooler, chairs, and tools to let us work on the next build project…seven sections of buckrail fence. Because the ground is so hard and uneven, a buckrail fence seemed like the easiest and most attractive fence to build. It is very horse safe, too. We found a wood products company that custom-cut notched fence posts to the height you wanted and bought the bark-on posts…

Our first year

That first year we owned the land, all we wanted to do was to keep going out to Colorado to visit it. Each trip the first thing we did when we got up the mountain was go “on walkabout” and hike the entire perimeter line (panting; it’s at 7000 feet above sea level). Although this land is just shy of 5 acres, to us, who lived on small plots our whole life, the fact that we could walk to the back edge of our Ponderosa pine forest and look towards the road…

As a homeowner, you are probably well aware of the sticky ocean spray residue that can coat your windows as well as how professional window cleaning can safely remove this coating for a brighter, clearer ocean view. However, what you may not be aware of is the other surprising benefits that…

The maintenance you'd have to do on your shingle roof can take a lot of time and energy. It costs money to have someone else do it, and it costs a whole lot more to have it inevitably replaced. If you're going to replace your roof, then try replacing it with metal. A metal roof requires little to no maintenance and ultimately lasts longer than normal shingle…

One of the most common plumbing problems is burst pipes. There are many things that can contribute to this disaster; however, the most common is freezing temperatures. Pipe failure can come with age, damage, or misuse too. Over time, the pipes can break down and cause holes that will burst. The damage it causes is epic. It can leave you with a flooded home, no water,…

A log cabin home is a traditional building style. At home in the woods or on a mountain side, these homes look great when built in a natural setting. As you start planning the construction of your log cabin home, you might be wondering which kind of wood makes the best door. Keep these four species of tree in mind when considering the door for your new log…

The plumbing is one of the most important parts of buildings and determines how easy it is to wash dishes or take a shower. Unfortunately, the pipes can begin to wear down and deteriorate over the years. When you want to maintain the system and allow it to run well, there are a few signs that you may need…