| Log cabin house plans were the earliest structures | | | | manufactured and built, log homes offer energy |
| which settlers from Europe built when they | | | | efficiency which is comparable to or superior than |
| arrived in America in the early seventeenth | | | | conventional framed bungalow house plans. Many |
| century. The abundance of virgin forests in the | | | | independent studies prove that log walls are |
| New World and the utilitarian design made the | | | | especially high in thermal mass, which means they |
| early log homes functional and practical, even if | | | | are as energy-efficient as any well-insulated frame |
| they weren't particularly commodious or | | | | wall, and in fact are superior to most of them. As |
| comfortable. Nonetheless, even today these | | | | many owners of log homes have known for |
| primitive homes of logs are popular housing | | | | years, a log home is cooler in the summer and |
| options for millions of Americans, although modern | | | | warmer in the winter. |
| log houses are much more efficient and | | | | When considering log house packages, it should be |
| structurally superior to the originals upon which | | | | borne in mind that different manufacturers' log |
| the concept is based. | | | | home packages differ considerably in the |
| Modern log home owners have two types of log | | | | completeness of the materials and components |
| houses to choose from - handcrafted or milled log | | | | included; therefore it can be difficult to compare |
| houses. Handcrafted log houses are constructed | | | | the different manufacturers' offerings. For |
| using the same time-honored techniques of log | | | | example, the choice of tree species to be used |
| smiths of previous centuries. Using mainly hand | | | | may depend upon structural requirements, |
| tools, logs are cut and shaped by log smiths from | | | | environmental conditions, availability and cost, as |
| trees which have been carefully selected so that | | | | well as homeowner preference. Although logs of |
| each log makes a perfect fit with the log beneath | | | | different species of trees dry at different rates, |
| it. As a result, the logs in handcrafted log houses | | | | the logs of all tree species shrink as the wood |
| retain the individual characteristics of the trees | | | | dries and the use of logs which are not fully dry |
| which they once were, and give a more rustic | | | | can pose serious structural problems in log house |
| look than do milled logs. A milled log house is made | | | | plans, such as settling over time. Therefore, kiln |
| of logs which have been milled to the same | | | | dried or long-dead standing logs are usually used in |
| profiles and dimensions, with an interlocking | | | | preference to newly-cut logs. Also, different |
| mechanism which lets manufactured logs fit | | | | species of trees yield logs with differing |
| together snugly. Besides handcrafted and milled log | | | | susceptibilities to insects, decay, and weathering. |
| homes, it is possible to sheath a conventional | | | | Modern wood preservatives help to extend the |
| stud-framed and insulated house with log siding, | | | | lifespan of most logs for well over a century, so |
| which gives the look and feel of a log house | | | | treated logs are definitely preferable to untreated |
| without using logs. If they are correctly | | | | ones. |