When someone is thinking about Luxury Log Homes almost always they are thinking a large square footage, something very unique, and a handcrafted log home. Milled log homes can be built to be just as large as a handcrafted home, but with much less character.

If one wants to buy top of the line custom boots, very seldom would they pick up a catalog and order a pair or purchase them off of a store shelf. Instead their attention would turn to a custom shoe maker, or a handmade leather goods craftsman. I would think that hand stitching would be a sought after trait and top rich grain leather that is 100% calf skin would be a must.

And so with a luxury log home people want individualism, character, big lovely logs, hand made log trusses, and sweeping stone fireplaces. Other items that we see incorporated to transform a floor plan from the ordinary to the extraordinary are log gazebos, twisting log spiral staircases, high vaulted ceilings, grand entryways, and log and stone porticos. And of course, let I should forget- balconies. Balconies are honestly one of the most useless of all spaces, but they absolutely add a WOW factor to any log home.

Attention to detail is of upmost importance. Customers searching for log homes that are far from usual tend to ask an endless parade of questions, not be so concerned with pricing, and often substantially increase the total square footage of a floor plan in order to incorporate all of their desires. Any future log home owner who has done some research asks about the Scandinavian Full Scribe Method or over scribe. For clarity let me explain what these mean. Scandinavian Full Scribe refers to how a log stacks. Full Scribe homes do not need chinking. Instead the master craftsmen mark and cut each log so that it fits one over the next. “Full scribe” means that the log has a channel cut into the bottom of it. Why is this important? This is important because it makes the logs cleave tighter together as they settle.

The alternative in handcrafted log homes to the Scandinavian Full Scribe is the chinking or ‘chinker’ style homes. This is where the top and bottoms of the logs are sawn flat and then stacked up. Then between the logs caulking and chinking are stuffed in to seal the home. Let me let you in on a secret. A chinker home only requires about half of the labor and a fraction of the skill that is required to build a Full Scribe home. Also if you don’t like bugs in your home and drafts, then the chinking style is not for you. By sawing of the logs flat on the tops and bottom then the home owner is truly relying on only some caulking to seal the home from the outside world. The Full Scribe provides log on log overlap one row to the next. This overlap is also referred to as a Swedish Cope.

Have you ever thought about the corners of a log home? Corners are another area where hand crafted log homes can be set apart. The very worst is a butt and pass corner. This style has every other log sticking out on the corners. This leaves the logs exposed to the weather and allows snow and rain to lie on top of them, accelerating the decay of the logs. A much better method is the full saddle notch. This is where the end of each log is visible on each side of the corner. Now let’s look at the corner itself. A regular saddle notch leaves the top of the round fully round. This is also called a Norwegian Water Cut because water can lie on the top of the top row of logs. But another alternative to this, which is also much lovelier, is called a ‘saddle notch with a scarf cut’ or a ‘diamond saddle notch’. This is where as the log approaches the corner, the top of the log is cut into a partial diamond. Then the bottom is left rounded, and the underside of the log is fashioned with the Scandinavian Full Scribe. There are two benefits to this style. The first being that there is nowhere for water to rest on top of the log at the corner, and the second is this style is just plain lovely. And the third style of corner is the full diamond cut notching pattern. This is where the top and bottom of the log has a scarf cut resulting in a diamond pattern.

Log species also plays a role in the hallmark of a true Luxury Log Home. Handcrafted log homes can be made from Lodge Pole Pine or Englemann Spruce and reflect the craftsmanship of the handcrafts, but many homeowners choose something else. Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar are the log species that are most commonly chosen for the most luxurious projects.

Douglas Fir is an extremely strong wood species. It has been used for train trestles, bridges, and even small aircraft. It has a lovely honey color to it. The log tapers less from one end to the other, so if a homeowner wants to be sure all of his logs are wide not only at the bottoms but also at the tops, then Douglas Fir is a good choice. But the very top of the log home world is the Western Red Cedar.

Western Red Cedar is a very slow growing tree which means that the wood is extremely stable and straight. It checks or cracks much less than does any other species. It has natural oils which make the bugs run and also protects against decay to the logs. Red Cedar has an extremely lovely red color that can not be gained from any other species.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when choosing a luxury log home is to fall into the gnarly wood look. In reality these logs are the lumber that top companies will not even purchase. It has lots of character, I’ll give you that, but it is very lacking in structural integrity. I have personally heard a top log home professional refer to a gnarly home as “Living in a pine cone…”—not much quality but lots of pokes!

An excellent alternative for those who want the very rustic look is to choose just a few gnarly logs and use them as character logs. Only a few can be incorporated to still give the desired effect. Also the inclusion of flair posts gives a more rustic appearance. This is where the bottom of the log is left intact so that the fluted spreading of the tree is retained with the log. This gives loads of character to the home.

The heart of  luxury log homes do not rest on a budget. Instead customers look to reflecting their grandest ideas through the reality of their custom log home. They add features, like extra trusses, when they are not needed structurally, but they make the home look lovely. One truss over the great room may be all that is needed, but a homeowner upgrades to include four handcrafted log trusses, making the great room cathedral ceiling come alive. Custom log home owners might add a private log spiral staircase encased in a turret just because it looks so neat and they have to have a spiral somewhere in the home. So when your turn comes to build your luxurious custom log home, be sure to search for a company who can supply everything in this article.