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