FAQs
Below you will find some of the most commonly-asked questions from Old Country Log Homes’ customers and our responses to them. If you can’t find the answer to your question, simply contact us.
- What kind of technical assistance can I expect from Old Country Log Homes?
- What is the average cost per square foot to build a log home? And is it more expense than building a traditional home?
- What are the deposit requirements, and how does the payment process work?
- Is homeowner's insurance—in particular, fire protection—more expensive for log homes?
- There are a lot of log home companies and all of them tell me about their quality. Why should I buy from you?
- Will I have any problem building one of your log homes myself?
- Why Air-Dried Cedar Logs?
What kind of technical assistance can I expect from Old Country Log Homes?
We have extensive knowledge of new designs, and features for your log home. We will work with you and your contractors to construct your log home. If you would like to visit our corporate office in Maine we can arrange for you to tour the mill.
What is the average cost per square foot to build a log home? And is it more expense than building a traditional home?
A lot more labor and material is involved in a log home. In most conventional stick-built homes, you are using 2X framing with insulation, sheathing, house wrap and vinyl siding. In log construction, you are using solid logs stacked horizontally, with caulking and lag screws. Each row has to be carefully set, level and square. Rows have to be pre-drilled for electrical outlets, as once the wall is constructed it is very hard, if not impossible, to go back for electrical runs. Typically, we tend to see items that would be upgrades in conventional homes are considered standard in log homes. These include hardwood or tile flooring, custom cabinets, counters such as granite or siltstone, 6-panel solid core interior doors, and high performance, low-E windows. Even interior walls and ceilings are usually tongue and groove with beams and limited sheet-rock, instead of complete sheetrock walls in conventional stick-built homes. Most designs have cathedral/vaulted ceilings in some part of the home, reverse gables, roof pitches of 10/12 or more, porches, sun rooms, etc. Because of the weight of our homes, most footings are required to be deeper and wider than in a stick-built home. An average log home construction price in our area can range from $150 to $200 per sq foot and up, depending on material upgrades and area in which you are building.
What are the deposit requirements and how does the payment process work?
We will sit down with you to discuss your plan. A price quote will then be obtained from the plan. If you are satisfied with your price we can then proceed to your first set of preliminary plans. Having these preliminary plans will enable you to get estimates from contractors, etc. If from this time you would like to proceed to full construction blue prints, a 10% deposit is required. The remaining balance of the home is due the day of delivery.
Is homeowner's insurance—in particular, fire protection—more expensive for log homes?
As in the case of most things, education is the key. The more insurers and lenders know about the log home end product, the better it is. I have not found my insurance costs or my clients to be any higher for a log home than a conventional home priced the same. Log homes had made history by surviving heavy storms, tornados, and even Hurricane Katrina, with very little or no damage.
There are a lot of log home companies and all of them tell me about their quality. Why should I buy from you?
As log homes have become more popular each year, more log home companies have come into the market, supplying green logs, air-dried logs, and kiln-dried logs. Some companies offer just the log and timber portion of your home package, while others offer weather tight packages--adding to the log and timber; trusses, sub floors, roofing, windows, doors, insulation, and joinery material like butylog and lag screws. Still other companies offer finish packages with materials such as soffits, fascia, interior and exterior trim, interior walls and ceilings, decks and porches, etc. Sound just a little confusing? We at Old Country Log Homes want to offer you the best in overall product, service and support.
First, let's look at product. Old Country Log Homes represents Katahdin Cedar Log Homes, which first started in 1973, milling to drafting, material take off and shipping departments, Katahdin Cedar Log Homes is here to help supply you with one of the most complete packages in the industry.
Next, we want to look at service and support. We can be reached via phone or e-mail anytime and assist you with any questions you may have. We have years of experience working with customers, helping to design their new homes. We can also support during the new construction. If you, yourself have questions while building or your contractor may need assistance they can also call Katahdin directly. Katahdin has your plans right in front of them and can assist with any on site questions. We can refer a number of quality lenders and contractors.
We also offer one-on-one appointments at our home for you to come visit. We will discuss your future plans and will provide handouts, etc. The Katahdin corporate office in Maine, offers a mill tour explaining everything from beginning to end.
Will I have any problem building one of your log homes myself?
It all depends on your skill level. We make our homes as builder friendly as possible. Pre-cut, pre-drilled, lettered and numbered makes building easier. We also provide a detailed construction manual.
Katahdin uses Northern White Cedar exclusively for construction of its log homes. For us its a good choice since Maine's Aroostook County, where our mills are situated, holds one of the largest stands of Northern White Cedar in North America. It is an abundant, sustainable and naturally renewable tree.
Natural resistance.
Cedar produces a chemical that is naturally resistant to rot and mildew, and acts as the tree's defense against insects. This means that cedar provides a long-lasting material for your log home that requires less maintenance, no harmful insecticide treatments and sustains its natural beauty over the life of your home.Less moisture.
Cedar naturally has less moisture, so our logs can be air dried, reducing the carbon footprint needed to produce high-quality log stock. Pine requires kiln drying using primarily carbon-based fuels to kill any insects, to "fix" the resin, and to remove the extra water content to produce a usable log.Katahdin is able to produce a log that has an average of 12-14% moisture content at time of shipping, making it the driest log in the industry. A drier log also has a big impact on applying stain and topcoat. Katahdin Cedar Log Homes are ready to stain once the exterior construction is complete, saving you time and money, as well as maintaining the beauty of your home from the start.
Sustainable forests.
Unlike Northern White Cedar, plantation grown pine requires intensive application of fertilization and toxic insecticides to produce harvestable logs. In addition to the petroleum-based additives, pine plantations use a lot of fuel to maintain these trees until harvest.Northern White Cedar is able to regenerate forest growth without human interference and because of its natural oils needs no insecticide to protect it from damage. Katahdin recently has been able to document the responsible harvesting of Northern White Cedar from nearby forests through the Forest Stewardship Council and is the only log home manufacturer presently SmartWood Certified by the Rainforest Alliance.
Better insulation.
Cedar's superior insulation properties give homeowners an advantage in lowering heating and cooling costs, thus reducing lifetime fuel consumption.Northern White Cedar has an R-Factor of 1.41 per inch of thickness -the highest of any species used in log homes. For a six-inch log wall, that translates into an average R-Factor of 8.46 before any additional insulation is applied to the structure. Pine has an average R-Factor of 1.12 per inch or only 7.26 for a six-inch log wall.