by Michelle McNeal

When pioneers first settled in the west, they built homes out of the material that was available — trees. These log homes were primitive, with dirt floors, simple holes for windows, and mud chinking between the logs to keep the drafts out. The owners of these homes built them to last because they planned on staying forever. Most log homeowners today feel the same. Today, log homes can be simple or elaborate, large or small; but whether rustic or refined, log homes hold a beauty all their own.

For 15 years, Cal and Bonnie Williams have lived in the log home they built with the help of family and friends. "We just love it. We want to stay forever," says Cal of their rustic dream home. Cal and Bonnie talked for years of owning a log home when their dream piece of land came up for sale near Hopedale. With 18 acres and two ponds, it was perfect. "We got a really good deal and once we had the land everything kind of fell together," says Cal.

In order to make an educated decision on the type of home they wanted, the Williams' spent some time in the library researching log home builders and buyers' guides. Once they picked the company, the type of log they wanted and the floor plan they desired, the Williams' ordered their log home kit. They chose lathe-turned, kiln-dried, 10-inch logs. Kiln-dried logs helped Cal eliminate spacing between logs.

"When they stack green logs, there are actually spaces completely through here and there. So they chink, or fill, these sections, which blocks the wind. But in our part of the country, where humidity levels go up and down, those logs will continue to move. A four-inch gap is left over every window and door, and they use a trim board so you can't see the wall moving up and down. I didn't want to get into that," says Cal. The Williams' home is made of whole logs that are rounded at the top and have a Swedish cope, or curved indention at the bottom. The pieces match each other and set upon each other tightly.

It took the Williams' nearly a year to plan and complete their log home. Cal remembers, "The plans just showed the basic construction of the house and we received the logs cut at different lengths. Bonnie's sister kept an inventory of the logs and we would measure our course and plan ahead to keep all of our cuts one foot long or under. The rule of thumb was that you didn't waste any more than you had to."

As a Certified Arborist and Manager of Vegetation and Safety at Corn Belt Energy, the Bloomington-based electric cooperative, Cal is very familiar with a chainsaw. "I was very confident with my cutting ability. If I hadn't been, I would have been more nervous when making the cuts. One of the things I'm most proud of in my home is the cuts in the gables. There's no trim up there, that's how straight I was able to get those cuts."

The Williams' worked through three feet of snow and very cold nights to complete their home, and family and friends were irreplaceable help. "I didn't have to hire any help, but if I had, I wouldn't

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have been able to hire any better than the people who came out to help us. It was very rewarding to see. People would come out whenever they had a little time to give us a hand," remembers Cal. For future generations, Cal wrote the names of everyone who helped, as well as the date of completion, under a windowsill.

But this winter, it's this generation that's staying warm and cozy in the home, which Cal says is energy efficient. He installed a geothermal heat pump last summer and says his heating and cooling costs were normal before and are minimal now. Though the house has no traditional insulation in the walls, Cal made the ceiling R-34 and says the logs have a thermal quality to them that traps and stores energy. The cold air doesn't radiate through and the inside of the walls stay warm, he says. With no gaps between logs or above windows or doors, Cal says his home is just as energy efficient as a regular "stick-built" home.

He also says his home is no more prone to termites, fires or other conditions that people often worry about with log homes. For maintenance, Cal sprays on a sealant to the outside walls every five years.

For Cal and Bonnie Williams, their log home is also their rustic retreat from the world. It's a beautiful, old-fashioned home.

Brian and Trisha Anderson built their dream home just last year. Their home resides on a slightly wooded lot in a subdivision near Rushville. Though still a log home, it is very different than the Williams' homestead described above. The Andersons chose to build their home as a regular stick built home and then added logs.

This means the outside walls are regular two-by-six stud walls surrounded by eight-inch pine split logs. The logs are hand peeled for a rougher texture and left notched at the ends to give the whole log appearance.

"Logs aren't like vinyl siding that you can just put on and go off and leave for 20 years. There is some maintenance to logs, but not so much that I can't handle it," says Brian, who chinked the outside of the home himself this summer. "The logs in here did shrink a bit so I didn't chink them until this summer."

Another aspect of the log home "settling" process is called checking. "The first few weeks we were in here and had the heat on, the wood started to dry. It was all nailed and screwed solid and nothing could give so it would crack loudly. It sounded like a firecracker in here. But it's a normal process," says Brian. And the splits from the checking adds additional character.

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The interior wood will also darken over time. "It's the ultraviolet light that does it. I took a picture off the wall yesterday and noticed it had darkened quite a bit. But the lighter spot will catch up," he says.

Brian also says the large beams in the great rooms of many log homes serve a structural purpose. "Because the roof trusses aren't made like normal trusses, these beams are here to hold the house together. Huge bolts go through the logs to keep the roof in line." The floor of the loft serves the same purpose in the rest of their home. Brian and Trisha varnished the interior of their home themselves to save costs.

"Construction is definitely more expensive because it's more labor intensive and it takes a lot more time to handle the logs and cut them than it does to install vinyl siding," says Brian. It took about six months to complete the home. Brian found a contractor experienced with log homes and says the process went very smoothly.

The log home company the Andersons chose had a complete kit that included everything from the basic logs and stones for the fireplace to the faucets and lights in the bathrooms. "That way we didn't have to go to a million places. We're not big shoppers.

You start out with a certain amount of dollars and so much is included in that. If you wanted to get a better quality of cabinets, they took that off your credit amount," says Brian.

A Lineman for Adams Electric Cooperative in Camp Point, Brian had the knowledge to do all the electrical wiring on the home himself. He advises that unlike a traditional home, you can't easily add outlets later in a log home. "You have to plan ahead for outlets. They're cheap to put in initially so go ahead and put them in," he says.

The Andersons took more time in planning and building this home because they plan on staying forever. "At first it was difficult getting used to the openness of this house. But now I walk into other houses and they seem closed in because the ceilings are low," says Trisha. "We love it here."

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Log homes are available in any size and floor plan you can imagine. Traditionally, they contain cathedral ceilings, a great room (dining, kitchen and living room together), and a loft, but homeowners can choose any design they like.

The logs themselves are available in different types of woods, shapes and sizes. They can be air or kiln-dried wood that is pretreated or natural. A builder can use whole logs as the Williams' did, or split logs on a traditionally framed house like the Andersons built. The logs can be just on the outside or both inside and out. They can be round or rectangular or somewhere in between. Logs can be ordered with just rough cutting done or with all precuts made. Just about anything the homeowner wants is available.

The cost of a log home may be more than a traditional home because of increased labor, but if you're able to do all, or some of the labor yourself, you can really reduce the cost. One Web site (http://loghomelinks.com) we found estimated that the average cost of log homes in the country is approximately $90-$110 a square foot, turnkey, not including a basement. A search of dealer Web sites revealed kits ranging in price from $5,000 to more than $100,000 and most suggested homeowners should budget somewhere between two to three-times the price, plus land, to estimate the turnkey price.

If you want to learn more about log homes, check out your local bookstore or library or start searching the Internet. A good Web site to get you started is www.loghomeplans.com. Many of the log home companies in Illinois are listed on the site, along with basic information on different types of log homes.

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