• How do they wire a log home?
• Aren't log homes susceptible to termites?
• What is chinking?
• Do log homes cost more to build?
• What are the differences between white and yellow pine?

How do they wire a log home?
Wiring is one of the main construction elements that distinguishes a log home from a traditional framed building. The internal wall partitions between rooms are handled like any other building, but the external log walls present a bit of a challenge.

When building a log home, you must know ahead of time where your outlets and switches are going to go. Your local town codes will mandate how close together the outlets must go, but it is a very good idea to plan for extras; you really won't know how you are going to use your rooms until you've moved into them. And you don't want to retrofit if you can help it.

Once you've determined where the outlets are going to go, the builder will mark an X on the decking to correspond with each outlet, switch, and exterior light fixture. The first course is laid, and the builder will drill a hole completely through the log and the decking. The second course is laid and a hole is drilled through the second log to meet the first hole, and so on. They stop at the height of the outlet.

Once all your courses are laid, the electrician will come back and router out a square hole in the log to meet the vertical hole. Then the wires are snaked from the basement.

Alternatively, if the outlet is near a door, the builder may choose to notch the logs along the frame then drill a hole horizontally through the log. If you've got a great room with furniture in the center, you could put an outlet in the floor and hide it under the couch. These outlets come with a cover so you can close them up when not in use.

If you've forgotten an outlet or juncture box, at this point you'll have to resort to wiremoulding or channels. I've seen this frequently used in ceilings, where the builder didn't consider a ceiling fixture until after the tongue-and-groove was installed. Oops!
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Aren't log homes susceptible to termites?
Many of us have heard horror stories about log homes that are totally infested with boring insects. But we usually don't hear the whole story. What about neglect?

Termites thrive in a damp environment; they dehydrate when exposed to the air for too long. If your logs are kept dry, they won't be a tempting target for wood-boring insects. On the other hand, if you have a spot where a gutter is leaking onto the logs, or your door frame leaks, watch out! That damp spot is the point of entry for insects and wood rot. Also, keep your air conditioner from dripping near the foundation; this is another potential trouble source.

With new construction, before you apply the stain it would be wise to spray the logs with a borate treatment; when added to water, this powdered insecticide is designed to soak into the logs and protect them against insects and wood rot. After the borate treatment has dried (and before the rain washes it off), apply your stain which is toxic and will also protect your logs from insects. To be extra sure, there are additives you can add to the stain that contain insecticides.

If a log home has gone several years without being re-stained, the best solution is to remove the old coating by corn-blasting the logs (similar to sand-blasting, but with ground corn kernels), then treating with borate and re-staining. Trying to apply borates to already stained logs is considered ineffectual.
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What is chinking?
Chinking is the broad white band you see between log courses. Your walls look like they are striped. Historically, chinking was applied to a log home in order to keep the wind from howling in between the logs. When cut by hand, logs are sometimes scribed so that an upper log is shaped to match the contours of the log beneath it. This creates a tighter fit. However, not all logs are scribed; some just rest atop the log below, creating large gaps in the uneven surface.

In the old days, chinking was a mix of clay, sand, lime, mud, thatch - you name it - but it is now an acrylic compound which expands and contracts with the wood. Chinking is the hallmark of a handcrafted log home; milled log homes are usually not chinked unless the owner decides to do so for aesthetic purposes.

Many milled log homes are actually caulked with an acrylic product designed for log homes. The caulk literally comes out of a caulking gun, and creates a neat, finished look; the bead is very narrow, and often blends into the walls. The joinery system is so tight that this step is not mandatory, although in the long run it does help seal out any drafts.
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Do log homes cost more to build?
In a nutshell, Yes. I would venture to say that a log home will cost about 25-30% more than a framed house.

There are a couple! of reasons for this: first, even if you have a "kit" delivered from the manufacturer, the house is still built completely by hand and stacked one log at a time. Some log homes come with conventional factory-built trusses for their roof system, but by far, most modern log homes do not because with a cathedral ceiling, there is no room for an attic (hence, no truss). Of course, trusses made from logs, whether structural or decorative, add a significant cost to the roof structure.

Most roofs are built completely by hand. Also, depending on the manufacturer, there is often plent! y of chain-saw work on site; from resizing the window holes exactly to fit, to cutting the gable and dormer ends, to even cutting an arch on an inside full log wall, your builder better be handy with a chain-saw. All this amounts to tons of labor costs that an ordinarly house will not incur. Secondly, log homes tend to use tongue-and-groove ceilings and walls, an added materials expense over sheetrock. Thirdly, the higher log courses will require on-site machinery to lift and place the logs, which also adds to the cost.

When it comes to renovating an existing log home, the biggest challenge is trying to match the log type, shape, and joinery system. You can find many log home restoration experts on the internet who specialize in repairing and replacing rotten logs; they often will take on a whole restoration project. They also specialize in cleaning, stripping, chinking and maintaining logs.

For more resources, you might want to check out the Log Homes Council web site: http://www.loghomes.org/, which has been overlooking the industry since 1970.
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We are planning to build a Log Cabin near Memphis, TN using milled 8 inch (round on both sides) logs. We are wanting to use pine. What are the differences between white and yellow pine.
The choice of wood species for a log home is a topic that we can discuss forever and never come to a satisfactory conclusion. I would venture to say the consensus is that there really isn't a perfect species for a log home. Given the superior quality of today's stains and sealers, any species will perform well if treated properly.

With that as a given, the hardness and density of wood species is of great concern in the flooring trade. If you have a big dog with long nails, the harder woods will resist scratching and pitting. Wood density is measured by the Janka Hardness Scale, which determines the PSI needed to embed a steel ball .444 inches wide to half its diameter in the wood. At the top of that list is Brazilian Walnut (or Ipe), with a rating of 3684.

Yellow pine, usually marketed as Southern Pine, encompasses many species, including Heart Pine (true old growth pine) at 1225, Longleaf Pine (870), Slash Pine and Loblolly Pine (690), Ponderosa Pine (700). White Pine, which usually comes from the north and east, is much less dense, rated from 380-420. There are some log home companies who use North American Red Pine (or Norway Pine) which is rated at 1630.

The best advice I heard was to build your log home out of trees that grow in your region. The native species are already acclimated to your environment.
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