Myth 1: Log homes are expensive.
Let’s put it this way: log homes are not necessarily any more expensive than any other type of home. But, as with any luxury home, the bigger you go, the more features you add, the higher the price. It is, however, possible to build a simple, yet beautifully functional log home that well exceeds your basic needs (walls, a roof, working heat and plumbing!). Your log home builder can advise you on how best to maximize your budget during the design phase.
As far as routine maintenance (washing and staining) of a log home, it’s not any more expensive or time consuming than the routine maintenance of any other type of wood frame home. All homes demand a certain level of care to remain at their best, and log homes are no different. But you won’t find yourself exerting any more effort or spending any more money in maintenance than you would a standard home.
Myth 2: Log homes are dark and drafty.
If you think back to the log cabins featured on shows like Little House on the Prairie, it’s easy to see why the myth of a small, dark, chilly log home is so widespread. But keep in mind that those cabins were intended to represent a different era (the 1800s!), and they also had a theatrical purpose: to show how tough Laura Ingalls’s life was.
A modern log home offers all the beauty and convenience of a traditional frame home. While fireplaces are used for aesthetic purposes, the new log homes are designed to be energy efficient, which means they don’t let warm air out or cold air in.
Today’s luxury log homes also take advantage of natural light and can have windows strategically placed to take advantage of the sun’s positioning. The result is a warm, welcoming home that lets in light and creates an open, spacious living area.
Myth 3: Log homes only “fit” a mountain setting.
It’s true that log homes look great in a mountain setting, because they fit the natural surroundings so well. But luxury log homes can work anywhere from a quiet country lot to a riverside retreat. Log homes need not be restricted to a mountain setting. With log home builders using more energy efficient building techniques and with more designer options available for customizing luxury log homes, log cabins are becoming very popular housing choices outside mountain settings.
Myth 4: Log homes settle, so what you see at buying time may different than what you get a year down the road.
This is an old rumor and one that bears little merit today. Logs are dried well before use, and skilled log home builders make up for minor “settling” by utilizing other techniques to minimize any major changes to the home’s exterior or interior.
Myth 5: Luxury log home builders are hard to find.
This can be true, but there are qualified luxury log home builders out there. The key is finding them.