It sometimes seems that many new homeowners that come across a post-and-beam home or timber cabin often love the look of the timber frame but think it’s way out of their price range when it comes down to it. Perspective homeowners admire these homes when they see them on TV shows, but when it comes time to build, they settle. Many end up going with a more typical and standard flat drywall ceiling. The thinking behind this is that a custom timber frame style of home will break the bank, or finding quality home builders will be too difficult.
At Logangate Timber Homes, we are quality custom home builders that are dedicated to bringing unmatched beauty to a douglas fir home that will last for generations. Why have standard flat drywall ceilings when an expansive Timber frame-style home can be yours for about the same price? Quality home builders like Logangate Timber Homes are here to help. We are quality custom home builders that have lasted for over 50 years.
What Sets Logangate Apart: Building Materials and Experience
The professionals at Logangate have perfected post and beam construction and douglas fir homes. At Logangate, our homes feature vaulted wood ceilings supported by exposed Douglas Fir timbers to accentuate the cabin look at feel. The benefit of Douglas fir timbers is that they are stronger, more durable, and can handle higher impacts and weight loads. This means our douglas fir homes can withstand more extreme weather and are built to last longer than other wood types that may be of lower quality. There are few things that are more beautiful than a spacious timber home with expansive ceilings and drop-dead gorgeous outdoor views.
Post and Beam Professionals
The professional builders at Logangate have perfected the method of Post and Beam construction. What exactly is “post and beam” construction? This building style is often confused with timber framing in homes, but the two styling methods are very similar. Post and Beam construction refer to building home frames with large timbers that typically use steel plates to tie members together. The steel plates join the timbers rather than in a timber frame home, where wooden pegs are used to join the framing. This allows for a home to have much more clerestory space to enhance the beauty of wood. Since the natural feel of exposed wood sets the tone of your home, using premium and blemish-free Douglas Fir is important to create a perfect feel. At Logangate in our ceilings, we use a 2 x 6 T & G Douglas Fir, which is rare and, of course, matches the timbers perfectly!
Dedication To Quality
When it comes to finding quality home builders for modern post and beam homes, choosing the professionals at Logangate Timber Homes is the obvious choice! At Logangate Timber Homes, we source Douglas Fir timber materials that come from Oregon’s coast and the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest. Logangate’s partnered timber vendors are carefully selected to ensure the quality of timber is not diminished in any way, from the felling of the tree all the way to the end result of the home.
What does that mean for the homebuyers who built a home with Logangate? Our sourced materials lead in categories such as impact bending, crushing strength, and side hardness, all while featuring blemish-free beauty. To provide lasting quality, our timbers are treated with anti-stain and anti-mold treatment. After the timbers are treated, the materials are cleared and end-sealed. The result of these carefully selected and crafted timbers is a breathtaking home that is expected to last generations. Take a look at our home plan selections, and you’ll see why our homebuyers never want to leave.
Logangate’s Longstanding Legacy
At Logangate Timber Homes, we specialize in classic architecture, including mountain lodges, custom homes, lakeside retreats, and all types of timber frame structures. We design and build ground-up efficient and elegant timber frame homes. While catering to our client’s tastes, we pay special attention to specific details throughout the process. Logangate Timber Homes has been in business for over 50 years. We strive to provide our customers with beautiful, energy-efficient, affordable prefabricated homes. Manufactured responsibly and sustainably, you can feel good about purchasing a Logangate home. Contact Logangate Timber Homes today to start building your dream home!
Why Go For Eco-Friendly Cabin Designs and Cabin Kits
Since the idea of “global warming” became the topic of everyday discussion in the early 2000s, environmentally friendly initiatives have begun sprouting up around the world. Today, the climate crisis has since been rebranded as “climate change,” but the problems remain the same: long-term changes in weather patterns that are a result of human activity and carbon emissions. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. There are hundreds of thousands of environmental, sustainable, and green initiatives that are being pitched every year.
With rising home prices, the talk of “van life” and tiny homes has been widely discussed in the past few years. Many Millenials and Generation Z have gone from outfitting Sprinter vans to completely rebuilding old school buses (often lovingly referred to as a“Skoolie”). While the van life, tiny home, and Skoolie fad have more or less worn off, the idea of small luxury living persists. As millennials settle down, the desire to be a homeowner free from the stress of urban living has become a common theme, and eco-friendly cabins have become a rediscovered trend. Modern eco-friendly cabin designs can vary widely, from single-unit eco-friendly cabin kits to modern cantilevered homes these styles are a few examples among many popular choices.
More recently, uniquely designed and unusually shaped homes have become very popular in the digital era of social media and influencer marketing. Modern-designed homes like converted airplanes, lighthouses, hobbit homes, and shipping container homes have taken social spaces by storm. What these unique homes have in common is that many of them are designed around the surrounding environment to complement the scenery, allowing them to be eco-friendly in the sense that they do not disturb the natural environment without serious alterations. Taking this concept into consideration, cabin designers like Logangate Timber Homes have entered the market with eco-friendly cabin kits that are less radical than a converted airplane but are still uniquely beautiful, environmentally friendly, and super-insulating to save on utility bills and costs.
Green Building Practices That Matter
Modern eco-friendly cabin designs focus on green building practices and sustainability. This means that the materials are ethically sourced, processed, and replacement trees are planted to give back to the environment. Once the materials are cut and sent to the manufacturers, they can either be traditionally stick-built or prefabricated in a manufacturing facility. There are pros and cons to both processes, but many modern home builders are opting for prefabrication because of the many benefits that come with premanufacturing homes.
On average, building a home using eco-friendly cabin designs will take less time than a traditional stick-built house, will last longer, and will be much more energy efficient. The energy efficiency comes from the taut fitting of the home panels. The compact fittings eliminate drafts in the end product of the cabin home, which ultimately saves the homeowner a considerable amount of money from lost heat and cooling.
Eco-Friendly Cabins and Designs
When people think of cabins, they typically envision something in mountainous regions or in forested areas. Eco-friendly cabin designs often include the natural environment around the home so that the home feels at one with nature instead of conquering it. Eco-friendly in this sense means having a sustainable low-carbon footprint in the home while also keeping the impact and presence of the home minimally invasive to the area.
“Unity, a Modern Cabin”
Pedestal homes are a great way to have a large home with good square footage while having a small foundation compared to the bulk of the structure. This is often done with smart cantilevering designs to allow the home to balance over steeply sloping lots without losing any structural integrity and giving the home a unique look as if it were floating over the landscape. The clever use of a smaller foundation has the added benefit of saving on the cost of the overall home price while also minimally impacting the environment. Compared to a traditional home with a standard foundation, pedestal homes require much less digging and leveling.
When outfitting an eco-friendly cabin or home, it’s important to remember that many small actions can culminate into a big difference. If possible, try using energy star appliances, lighting, insulation, windows, and systems. Keep unnecessary things unplugged and consider the use of solar panels if you’re interested in long-term investment. All of these things can add up to make a considerable difference in both the environment and your long-term budgets!
Sustainable Living for Future Generations
As global temperatures continue to rise and climate change causes extreme and unpredictable weather patterns, it’s important to collectively play our parts in helping to slow the rate of carbon emissions. For manufacturers like Logangate Timber Homes, we build eco-friendly homes that are sustainably built and designed to reduce the amount of energy required for heating and cooling. Logangate Timber Homes are also durable and will last for generations to come.
You’ve probably seen or heard about old homes that are damaged, in a state of disrepair, or bought and flipped by independent contractors with less-than-pure intentions. Contractors who are looking to make a quick buck often find old homes that need repair and pay a significantly lower price for a greater profit margin. At Logangate Timber Homes, we have been mountain home builders for over 50 years. We are dedicated to building long-lasting homes that increase in value instead of decreasing over time; this means you don’t have to be a victim to flippers when its time to sell twenty, thirty, or fifty years from now!
You might ask, how does building a timber frame home from the ground up with professional mountain home builders make a difference in the long term? Or, why are mountain house home builders an important factor in home design? We’re here to discuss how building a timber frame home with the right builders makes for a great investment in not just your lifestyle but also as a financial and generational investment.
Experience Is Key When Picking a Mountain House Home Builder
Finding mountain home builders when building a new home can be easily done by picking the first company that comes up on a search engine, but there’s no guarantee in quality when it comes to blindly choosing a mountain house home builder. Instead, choose an experienced builder that practices building with great attention to detail, honest pricing, efficient building methods, and resource sustainability. Factors to consider when choosing a builder:
Sources of Materials: Having access to and using high-quality materials when building a home is the cornerstone of any successful build. At Logangate Timber Homes, our timber materials are sourced from certified parties, and seedlings are planted to sustain future generations. Logangate’s timber materials are carefully selected, processed, and cut to standard sizes without compromising the quality of the materials. The end result is a home that is built to last for many generations.
Previous Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is a compelling indicator of home-building success. Building a home is a financially significant milestone in anyone’s life and having a list of previously satisfied customers is a symbol of a reliable home builder. At Logangate Timber Homes, our favorite parts of the job are working side by side with our amazing customers and building them their dream homes!
Expert Experience: Experience is arguably the most important variable in this list of factors. Finding experienced professionals can be difficult in the home-building world because many home developers do not last more than a few years. Unlike other developers, at Logangate Timber Homes, we have not only survived for fifty years, but we have also thrived. Logangate has existed since the late 1960s, and we have built a reputation through our homes. Today, Logangate is one of the most trusted leaders in the home-building industry.
Why Mountain Home Builders Prefer Panelized Construction
At Logangate Timber Homes, we use a premanufacturing process called panelized construction. The panels are premade in pieces, so they come together quickly and efficiently on-site instead of traditional stick-built homes. The advantage to building a wall panel by panel in a climate-controlled factory setting makes for an end-product that is ensured the highest quality construction and a precision fit once the pieces are delivered on-site. Precision-fit panels eliminate drafts and unnecessary gaps and increase the overall efficiency of the home. Over time, this build method helps our homeowners save a substantial amount on monthly energy bills. Our kit homes are pre-built homes, and our homebuyers can create customized floor plans to their preferences.
Logangate’s Partners in Quality Materials
At Logangate, we are dedicated to providing our homeowners with the highest quality materials and outstanding, detail-orientated customer service. We strive to provide eco-friendly homes at a price that our interested homebuyers can afford. From our sustainable manufacturing to our high-quality Douglas fir timbers, T&G, and extensive experience, our homebuyers enjoy the luxury of a less-stressful home-building experience.
Logangate’s Post and Beam construction provides vaulted wood ceilings supported by the strength of Douglas fir timbers. The benefit of Douglas fir timbers is that they are stronger, more durable, and can handle higher impacts and weight loads. This means Logangate’s timber homes can withstand more extreme weather and are built to last longer than other wood types.
Dedication to Our Homeowners and the Logangate Brand
Building a timber frame home can be an enormous challenge for uninitiated homeowners. When a shoddy home is built, fixing the mistakes can be discouraging and frustrating. Why expose your dream home to that risk when you can just have it done correctly on the first try? At Logangate Timber Homes, we are dedicated to our homeowners and to the Logangate brand. We built a reputation for ourselves as an outstanding home-build company with homes all across the continental United States. Contact us at Logangate to start your journey in building your dream home today!
Why Choosing an Eco-Friendly Home Building Company Makes a Difference
We’re sure you’ve seen it everywhere, modern society seems to have placed a heavy emphasis on sustainability, environmental friendliness, and energy efficiency in the last twenty years. Environmental initiatives like the Energy Policy Act and Energy Independence and Security Act have incentivized and encouraged green alternatives. These initiatives, as well as the establishment of the Federal Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, make it easy to see that the rising average temperature on Earth is truly a hot topic. Today, you can find hybrid and electric vehicles, efficiently recycled products, and hyper-efficient homes just about anywhere you go. What do all of these initiatives and government agencies have to do with choosing an eco-friend home building company? We’re here to address the importance of sustainable living and why timber home companies like Logangate Timber Homes are dedicated to creating green homes.
The Climate Change Problem
According to the scientific community, the human-caused climate change problem began in the early 1800s, around the time of the global industrial revolution. In the early 2000s, evidence of climate change began to surface in everyday conversations, and government policies changed to mitigate the rising issue. Timber frame home companies like Logangate Timber Homes began emphasizing the importance of green homes. According to the investment research platform Macrotrends, heating oil prices averaged around eighty-eight cents in the 2000s. Today, it averages around $3.54 USD. Of course, there is a multitude of variables that influence the price of heating oil and utilities, but this increase in oil prices has created a demand for homes that are both efficient and sustainable. For new homeowners, this means choosing an eco-friendly home-building company for future generations is both a rational and necessary choice.
Eco-Friendly Timber Frame Home Companies
Classic cabin home styles like Post and Beam homes and Timber Frame homes have become popular choices in combating climate change. Modern methods of building Post and Beam homes have become streamlined and can be prefabricated in a manufacturing facility. Essentially, a prefabricated home (also referred to as a prefab home) is a pre-built home. Many parts of the home are pre-built, such as the walls, gable panels, roof panels, etc.
What makes this particular home style such a smart choice is that an eco-friendly home-building company builds your prefabricated home in intentional stages in a controlled factory setting. Building these panels in a controlled environment ensures that the resulting home will be extremely energy efficient. This is because the factory environment enables timber home companies like Logangate Timber Homes to give the home an airtight seal free from drafts, leaks, and excess spacing. While these small nuances may be invisible to the naked eye, a tightly sealed home will be apparent with the homeowner gets their first utility bill.
Building With Eco-Friendly Timber Home Companies
An advantage to using the prefabricated method is that it allows panelized construction in nearly every aspect of the home build, including the roof. This is important because roofs contribute to an estimated 25% of energy loss in warm seasons. Unlike traditional SIP roof panels, Logangate Timber homes utilize Nailbase roof panels. SIP panels, )Structural Insulated Panels) require 2×8’s/10’s inside the panels to achieve structural strength. At Logangate, our beautiful 2×6 Doug Fir T&G Decking is our structural roof deck and therefore we do not need any 2x material in our panels. Wood is a terrible insulation as it bridges heat from inside to outside.
Our Roof panels are foam to foam, no wood at all. We offer roof R-Values of R-33, R-40, or R-48.
With an eco-friendly home-building company like Logangate, we use incredibly strong and beautiful Douglas Fir Timbers for more than just the roof. Our timbers are used for the bulk of the home build. The gorgeous Douglas Fir T&G is very rare east of Mississippi. Our design process includes full auto-CAD blueprints, which allow you to customize the size, and floor plans to see a virtual build before committing to any design.
Logangate: The Smart Choice When Choosing An Eco-Friendly Home Building Company
At Logangate, we’ve been building quality homes for fifty years. We build some of the highest quality homes in a manner that is extremely kind to the environment. Plus, we will only use the highest quality products and materials while keeping our overhead down to offer our homeowners fair and honest pricing. Logangate Timber Homes is one of the best timber frame home companies in the continental US, and we are committed to green building. We practice sustainable manufacturing, conserve electricity, use renewable energy and strive toward zero waste. Start building your dream home and contact the professionals at Logangate Timber Homes today!
Why Using Douglas Fir for Building Is a Solid Idea
The use of wood for building structures dates back longer than recorded history. Archeological evidence of woodworking in humans is estimated to be over a million years ago in Tanzania. Back then, wood was a bountiful resource that people could use to build things like ships, homes, and tools. Over time, humans perfected the practice of building structures and tools using wood. Today, we have more or less perfected the practice of building homes through the knowledge of wood characteristics like strength-to-weight ratios, hardness scales, textures of the grain, exceptional durability, and more!
What does this have to do with Douglas Fir lumber? Douglas Fir trees, also known as Pseudotsuga taxifolia, are actually considered softwood that is more or less its own species. Douglas Fir may be called a “fir,” but it isn’t a true fir tree, and it can be found in North America. The characteristics of Douglas Fir wood and its wide availability are what make Douglas Fir for building so popular! In fact, Douglas fir lumber is considered to be one of the best woods for home building by many woodworking professionals. Let’s cover the wood characteristics before answering what is Douglas Fir used for and why are many homes built with this type of wood!
Strength to Weight Ratio and Durability: Douglas Fir has an average weight of 32 lbs per cubic foot with a crushing strength of 6900 lbs per square inch. This means that the wood is super durable and strong while also staying relatively lightweight; Douglas Fir is considered one of the strongest woods in the class of softwoods. Douglas Fir lumber has received the highest softwood lumber grades for its ability to bend, tension parallel-to-grain, horizontal shear, and compression. All these factors make Douglas fir lumber particularly adept at resisting harsh weather and also easy to nail and bond together. Strong and lightweight are qualities that make Douglas Fir for building a popular choice!
Not So Soft Wood: Douglas Fir has a Janka hardness rating of 660, which is a hardness scale used to determine the hardness of wood. This slightly bizarre method of measuring hardness involves embedding a steel ball into the tested wood until it reaches the widest diameter of the steel ball. For comparison, hard maple has a Janka hardness rating of 1450, and red oak has a hardness rating of 1290. Douglas Fir may be lower on the hardness scale, but there are key differences in why Douglas Fir for building is chosen for construction instead of the two aforementioned hardwoods.
Cost Efficiency and Sustainability: Douglas Fir wood, on average, costs less than other wood that is used for building. Douglas Fir trees are also plentiful in North America, and custom builders like Logangate Timber Homes source lumber from mills that value sustainability.
What Is Douglas Fir Used For?
Douglas Fir is used for building homes, boats, aircraft, and other structures. Douglas Fir is also a popular wood for use in woodworking projects since it is durable, affordable, and readily available (depending on the region/country). Logangate Timber Homes uses Douglas Fir for building for all of the reasons listed above and then some!
At Logangate, we use Douglas Fir for building because Douglas Fir is a beautiful wood that has a mild resin and woody smell. These factors, coupled with vaulted ceilings and amazing views, make for an authentic timber frame cabin ambiance that other woods cannot compete with. At Logangate Timber Homes, our post and beam construction provides vaulted wood ceilings supported by the strength of Douglas Fir timbers. As stated earlier, the benefit of Douglas fir timbers is that they are stronger, more durable, and can handle higher impacts/weight loads.
Post and beam construction is referring to the term for building home frames with large timbers. Typically steel plates often tie members together. This allows for a home to have much more clerestory space to enhance the beauty of wood. The construction style, coupled with the wood choice, equates to super durable homes that can withstand more extreme weather and is built to last longer than other wood types.
What Makes Logangate Timber Homes Different
So what is Douglas Fir used for, and why is Logangate the premier choice for a Douglas Fir timber home? At Logangate, we are proud of our reputation as one of the trusted leaders in the industry. We’ve earned our name because we build amazing dream homes at fair, honest prices, even in uncertain economic times. One aspect that sets Logangate apart from the slew of other builders out there is that we build unique houses that look and feel like forever homes our customers can be proud to live in. Our homes are gorgeous and offer a lot of flexibility to customize the size and floor plan. Many of our satisfied customers tell us that their new home makes them feel like they are on vacation all year long!
Are you looking to build your Douglas Fir timber home from the ground up with Logangate? Contact Logangate Timber Homes to start your journey today!
Similarities to Building a Flood Proof House and a Mountain Home
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), coastal flooding has become more frequent, and non-coastal areas have begun experiencing unusual changes in extreme weather. As climate change continues to persist, predictable weather patterns have become something of the past. As new homebuyers search for their perfect homes, it is a good idea to build a home that will be more resistant to extreme weather conditions, particularly flooding, as sea levels continue to rise.
Characteristics that make a flood-proof house resilient can be transferable to homes in different environments, such as houses built in steep mountain lots. Building a house in either terrain can be an overwhelming task for new and seasoned homeowners alike. Understanding the criteria for a great home is key in deciding how to choose a home builder that fits your personal taste and needs.
Similarities of a Flood Proof House to a Mountain House
First, let’s cover the characteristics of a flood-proof house and how it compares to a home designed for mountain terrain. Floodproof homes are typically found in coastal areas that experience heavy rains or are in flood-prone areas. While homes built in flood plains are typically thought of as “bad” places to live, there are some advantages to living in coastal flood-prone areas. For example, many residents who live in flood prone areas enjoy amenities such as easy access to oceans, rivers, lakes, or other natural bodies of water.
Floodproof homes are typically built on stilts or are raised several feet into the air to keep the structure off of the ground in case of flooding. At Logangate Timber Homes, we offer elevated homes that are similar to stilt homes but are also vastly aesthetically different. Logangate elevated homes are built on foundations that are raised above ground level to protect against flooding. Being elevated, the home will incur less damage in the event of a flood. An added benefit is that this smart building style is a lot more affordable than pouring an entire slab foundation.
Using this building technique allows Logangate elevated homes to be built in practically any location or terrain, no matter how difficult it may appear. Before the perfection of elevated homes, home designs for mountain terrain were entirely contingent on the surrounding landscape and what the builder has to adjust for the sloping terrain. Today, limitations on home design for mountain terrain have reversed, and homes can be built anywhere if the right home builder is chosen.
How to Choose a Home Builder
Choosing a home can be an electrifying and exciting process. Surfing the internet to find a great deal, good location, and amenities can take hours of research, exploring, and consulting with a real estate agent. While these processes are often thought of as rites of passage for homeowners, why choose a home that is going to be built by a cookie-cutter company or an already-built home that someone else has lived in? According to the US Census Bureau, roughly 1.3 million homes were completed in 2021. The census report does not distinguish between high-quality custom homes and identical home builds.
At Logangate Timber Homes, we believe in quality over quantity and encourage interested new homeowners to consider building a unique house that our customers can call home. When choosing a home builder, there are some variables that stand out: customer care, builder experience, building quality, and overall cost are key factors that stand out.
Customer Care: It’s always a good idea to pick a home builder that cares about the home more than the homeowner. Many potential new homeowners are deterred by the added time, stress, and unexpected costs and delays associated with building a home. That’s why choosing a home builder that cares about customer experience is a good builder to trust. A trustworthy builder is one that isn’t just a “yes” man; building a home requires an open dialogue between the professionals and the homeowner. This segues to our next key variable: builder experience.
Builder Experience: Experience is a key variable that can’t be taught; it comes with time. Experienced builders are worth their expertise because it will indirectly save you more time and money in the long term. Experienced home builders are more likely to have accurate cost estimates and often produce better quality homes.
Build Quality: This key variable is the cornerstone of any successful home-building company. Unlike cookie-cutter homes, having a premium quality home that stands out among the rest is a feeling that can’t really be described! When homeowners see and feel the quality of a house, it truly becomes a home.
Overall Costs: Cost is the biggest variable that new homeowners contend with when deciding how to choose a home builder. New custom homes cost more on average, but green building techniques can help ease the financial pain over time. Homes that are built to be energy efficient can potentially save hundreds in energy costs compared to other homes. Premanufacturing the home off-site and having it delivered for final construction is another great way to save; as modern technology continues to improve, premanufacturing has become more common and more affordable.
Build with Logangate
Whether you’re looking for a flood-proof house or a mountain home, Logangate is the premier choice. Each and every one of our homes are built with the environment in mind. You will feel comfortable living in the interior environment of the home, and by building your home in our sustainable manufacturing facility, you are helping the outside environment.
Benefits to choosing a Logangate Timber Home:
A timber frame home built by Logangate will stand for generations, providing housing value that lasts.
Timber frame homes are versatile. A timber frame house plans to suit both modern and classical architecture.
A timber frame home is spacious. The entire structure rests on the frame so your interior remains open and airy, giving you more living space.
Timber frame homes are beautiful. The timber framework is fully visible from the inside, adding warmth to your home décor.
Timber frame homes are warm. Insulation panels surround the timbers, making your home thermally efficient.
When building a modern house on steep terrain in the mountains, it is important to understand that homes are not a one-size-fits-all kind of investment. Steep city terrain, like the buildings found on Bradford Street in San Francisco, CA, has the luxury of established infrastructure that seldom has natural challenges like trees, large boulders, etc, that impede its construction. In mountainous urban areas, most new homes don’t have the luxury of having established resources to make the building process easier. For this reason, building a house on rocky terrain has historically been extraordinarily expensive or nearly impossible.
Today, building a modern house on steep terrain has become more commonplace in mountainous areas or steep lots due to the marvels of modern building practices. Here are our picks on things to know when building a house on rocky terrain in rural mountainous areas. We’ll cover plot locations, block foundation vs poured, ways to reduce the overall construction cost, and how Logangate Timber Homes builds green homes.
Picking the Perfect Plot
Mountains or beaches? There’s a reason why this is a popular icebreaker prompt that people ask each other when learning about the other. Roughly 25 million Americans currently live in the Mountain States (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming), so it’s safe to say that mountains are a strong contender! Most mountain dwellers will say that they enjoy the peace and quiet that comes with living in rural mountain areas. When building a house on rocky terrain or on steeply sloping terrain, using modern building techniques such as cantilevered construction and pedestal foundations can allow you to build in land lots that were previously thought to be too difficult or impossible. Pedestal homes save on foundation costs, which leads to the next topic: block foundation vs poured.
Block Foundation VS Poured: Which Is Better?
Block foundation is the practice of using cinder blocks that are mortared together. Cinder blocks are concrete masonry bricks that are used for building residential and commercial structures; these blocks are typically made of sand and cement but can be made with alternative materials. Block foundation typically has greater vertical weight accommodations compared to poured foundations.
Poured foundations are exactly as described: they are poured concrete structures. These can be poured as walls, as flat foundations, or in whatever shape is necessary for the structure. Poured concrete structures are typically easier to waterproof and are cheaper than their blocky counterpart due.
For a steep terrain home, there is no outright “best” option. The options will be limited to external variables such as lot size, steepness/angle of the intended lot foundation, budget estimates, and more. For this reason, whatever foundation you are leaning towards, the “best” option is to hire an experienced and professional contractor who can advise the pros and cons of each option when choosing to build a modern house on steep terrain and how to reduce the cost of the overall build.
Saving on Cost Doesn’t Mean Lowering Quality
Unlike traditional flat-built homes, building a brand new home in the mountains can seem like an overwhelming task, a big factor being the cost of the home. This is where the genius of Logangate Timber Homes comes in. Traditional stick-built homes require dramatic and devastating changes to the plot in order to bring the home to building codes and standards.
This is because steep terrain requires extensive leveling and clearing land to allow for stable ground to be flattened. Doing this can easily eat away your build budget and will leave you with a half-built home. At Logangate, we have perfected designing and building cantilever homes that won’t destroy your home budget.
Modern cantilever homes are homes that are built with beams that are anchored only on one end. This allows for overhanging structures without having to have external bracing, giving your home a clean, unique look. Foundation savings can be realized with this approach. Cantilever homes are a clever way around restricted footprints and building on steep terrains. They also come in extremely handy whenever a good panorama needs to be captured. The resulting buildings are both visually and spatially exciting – almost surreal structures of excitingly frail equilibrium.
Green Homes That Give Back
The most significant modern housing achievements aren’t in smart technology or smart home devices. The most significant modern housing achievement is the development and implementation of certified green building practices. Building green homes is a Logangate specialty, our homes are built with panelized window, roof, and wall systems that are designed to be ultra energy efficient. Because Logangate Timber Homes are built in a climate-controlled manufacturing facility. Our panels are tight-fitting, which translates to a reduction in the amount of lost energy after the home is finished.
Timber Homes Built With Careful Detail
At Logangate Timber Homes, we are experts at turning dreams into reality. While catering to our client’s tastes, we pay special attention to specific detail throughout the whole process. We strive to provide our customers with beautiful, energy-efficient, affordable prefabricated homes. All of our homes are manufactured responsibly, sustainably, and with great attention to detail. Start building your dream home with Logangate, and contact us today!
It’s not a secret that people love living near bodies of water. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 127 million Americans live in coastal counties! Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows when it comes to living near bodies of water; inclement weather and flooding is a problem that coastal-dwelling Americans have to contend with. But what does this have to do with living in a modern mountain home? Many people who live in mountainous homes erroneously believe that mountain homes don’t flood. While many steep mountain homes are unlikely to flood, flooding can still occur if homes are built near mountain streams, rivers, or lakes. With climate change continuing to change the landscape of the world, extreme weather patterns have become more frequent, and floods have become more common in unlikely places. At Logangate Timber Homes, we have created modern solutions to mountain flood zone house designs that look incredible without sacrificing safety or style. Let’s take a look at modern flood zone house designs, A-frame on stilts, small foundation homes, and which is more suitable for mountainous areas!
Homes on Stilts: A Frames And Mountain Pedestals
Stilt homes are also known as “piling homes.” Simply speaking, a piling home is a home that is built on raised piles that serve as a foundation for the home. The poles resemble stilts that the home sits securely on top of. This type of construction typically rests 10-12 feet off the ground to safely allow for high tide if the home is located in a coastal county or on a flood plain. The main reason a piling home is built is to protect against flooding. These homes are typically vacation homes that appear to almost hover over the water.
Piling homes have been around for thousands of years; some pre-historic pile dwellings date back to 5,000 BC! Pre-historic people built these types of houses for much the same reason as in modern times: to stay dry in an area surrounded by water. Another great feature is that this type of construction keeps out unwanted pests. It’s also convenient as the space underneath the house can be used as storage or workspace.
A-frame homes were a home construction trend that was most popular in the 1950s and 70s. These unique homes fizzled away as trends shifted. Today, these homes have made a comeback as tiny homes become increasingly popular among Millenial and Gen-Z populations looking for smaller homes with more land for pets to have and explore. Pedestal homes are a popular building practice where homes are built on a raised pedestal foundation, typically in a steeply sloping landscape. Pedestal homes have increased in popularity since the 2000s as modern building practices have made producing pre-manufactured homes become more streamlined. So are A-frames on stilts better than having an A-frame on a pedestal? A-frames on stilts are currently more popular in flat forest regions and in coastal areas. This is because A-frames on stilts are suitable for flat areas that can be raised. Many modern variations of these closely resemble tree houses. The drawback to these building styles is that it typically requires a flat lot for the a-frame to sit on. Due to the design of the home, the size of the lot would dictate the side of the home.
Why Pedestal Homes Are Preferred in the Mountains
Small foundation homes like pedestal homes are great for steeply sloping mountain lots. Getting a home with a scenic mountain view for an affordable price used to be nearly impossible. At Logangate Timber Homes, we perfected building small foundation homes and building in sloping landscapes. This style of building has a smaller foundation that the main structure cantilevers over, usually on all four sides. This smaller foundation allows you to build your dream home in harder-reaching areas that would be too cumbersome or costly to build a regular foundation. Plus, you have a smaller footprint on the environment with a pedestal home as less of the ground is disturbed to build your home. You can buy cheaper land with beautiful views that were once thought too difficult to build on with a pedestal home.
How do pedestal homes tie into our topic on mountain flood zone house designs? Flood zone house designs usually include elevated living space to protect the home and the valuables within. Logangate pedestal homes achieve this through smart cantilever designs and a variety of floor plans for homebuyers to choose from! What makes flood zone house designs different from traditional home designs is the extra variables that come with weatherproofing. Coastal homes that are built on stilts may be flood-resistant, but extreme weather conditions seem to have been increasing as climate change continues to persist.
For mountain homes that are built near flood zones such as near lakes or rivers, having a Logangate Timber Home can make a difference between catastrophe or complete calm.
The Conclusion and Solution
At Logangate Timber Homes, we have made it our life’s work to provide you with a beautiful, energy-efficient dream home at an affordable price. We specialize in building homes in hard-to-build areas like mountainsides and flood plains. We have a variety of prefabricated homes that can be customized to fit your needs, style, and budget. Logangate Timber Homes is committed to delivering premium quality homes at a fair price that you will love to live in. For more information about Logangate, contact us today!
Prefab homes are gaining popularity. Those looking to save building costs by researching alternatives typically start by asking: what is a prefab home? Understanding how prefab homes work, including their advantages, limitations, and available prefab home options, will help you determine if buying a prefab home is the right decision. This article will answer those specific questions and provide an overview of the considerations for buying prefab unique timber frame homes.
What is a Prefab Timber Home?
Prefab, which is just a shortened version of the word “prefabricated,” simply means that home was manufactured off-site in separate sections and shipped to the final location for full assembly. There are two primary types of prefab homes: modular and kits. All modular homes are, by definition, prefab. However, all prefab homes are not necessarily modular. Modular homes are usually about 70% built when delivered to the home site and often use a light steel frame construction with cheaper building materials. Quality, high-end prefabricated timber homes can be beautifully crafted and feature stunning designs.
What is a prefab home compared to a mobile home? There are several key differences between mobile homes (often called “trailer homes”) and prefab homes. As opposed to a trailer home, prefab homes are not completely assembled before delivery. Prefab homes also use an entirely different manufacturing process and significantly higher quality materials. High-end prefab builders like Logangate Timber Homes actually use real lumber for an authentic look and feel. While trailer homes are constructed on a chassis for easy transportation, prefab homes are usually built on stronger foundations (including poured cement or block foundations), giving them much more stability and resilience to severe weather.
What is a High-End Prefab Home?
Non-modular, high-end prefab homes are typically made with higher quality materials and more reliable construction techniques. This greater attention to quality results in more durable, sustainable, customizable, longer-lasting, and attractive homes. You can see examples of unique timber frame homes built by Logangate here:
How do Prefab Homes Work?
Prefab homes are built at the manufacturer’s location and shipped in pre-assembled portions to the final home site. These portions, often called panels, are specially engineered to fit together easily and precisely. Before the building process even begins, the manufacturer should partner closely with you to assess your preferences, needs, budget, and timeline.
Although some people with the proper tools and knowledge do opt to errect prefab homes themselves, most buyers use a local general contractor or construction company to complete the assembly of their unique timber frame homes. A general contractor or similar resource will also be needed to help with projects like plumbing, electrical, and interior finishing. The typical time required for a complete prefab home build is approximately six months to one year depending on location.
Because prefab homes are offered in standard kits, the manufacturing process for the entire house can be standardized without sacrificing quality. Customization options also mean that your home will be a unique timber frame home that will incorporate excellent materials and construction methods, like the renowned post and beam design. The post and beam construction method, used by Logangate Timber Homes, has been relied on for centuries due to its strength, stability, and unique ability to showcase the natural beauty of timber.
Advantages of a High-End Prefab Home
There are significant advantages to choosing a high-end prefab home. Whether or not these advantages apply to you depends mostly on your specific tastes and overall budget. Five of the most widely applicable advantages are listed below:
Prefab homes are often chosen because they are faster to construct and require less labor and materials than custom stick-built alternatives.
Prefab homes can be less expensive than traditional homes. In comparison to the cost of building a high-end traditional home, which can easily be $400 per sq foot or more, high-end prefab homes can cost as little as $250 per sq foot. Additionally, prefab homes have little to no cost variance during their manufacturing and assembly. Because the material costs are predetermined, and the homes are specifically designed for easy assembly, the total building costs can be precisely estimated and controlled. Lower building costs can allow homeowners to focus on getting a dream property that suits their needs.
Depending on the manufacturer, high-end prefab homes are often more sustainable and environmentally friendly than traditionally-built homes.
Many manufacturers offer customizable options for their prefab homes, allowing you to personalize aspects of the home to your liking.
Most prefab home manufacturers provide all the drafting services you will need. You will save thousands of dollars since you will not have to hire an architect.
The strength and durability of high-end prefab homes are often preferred in locations known for severe weather, or for hillside locations that would make traditional building difficult.
Prefab Home Limitations
What is a prefab home limitation? There are some limitations to what a prefab home can offer buyers, especially if budget is not a primary concern when building. Some important limitations to consider include the following:
While prefab homes offer a significant range of flexibility and customizable options, traditional homes can truly be built with 100% custom specifications tailored precisely to the homeowner’s preferences. These preferences can include unique architectural layouts, one-of-a-kind carpentry flourishes, or other special features that require the help of experienced designers and contractors.
Traditional and Prefab homes have stronger resale value than modular homes as they are often the first option home buyers seek.
Any quality prefab homes will still require access to all of the same utilities required by traditionally built homes, including gas, electricity, water (city or well), and things like a driveway and walkway, etc. The cost of adding these amenities and utilities will likely be higher in a rural setting.
When to Consider Buying a Prefab Home
With custom home building often entailing a long and costly process, many buyers are wondering: should I buy a prefab home?
Most prefab home buyers share some traits in common, including the strong preference to avoid long, stressful building timelines, a strict budget, a focus on sustainable living, and the desire to live on a larger or more rural property that is less developed. Concerns about exceeding your budget are especially relevant now as the cost of building a custom home is the highest it has been in recent years.
Another key consideration for if now is the time to consider buying a prefab home is if you have purchased a piece of property and want to either replace the current dwelling unit or start from scratch. Prefab homes can be an easy way to accomplish either of those goals for your next move.
If you’re considering a timber home for your family, you are about to embark on a home investment that is unique, breathtaking, and beautiful. One unique timber home style to consider is the pedestal home. The pedestal home is an incredibly unique and beautiful type of timber home. The main structure of your home actually cantilevers ten feet from all four of its sides. Just as the name suggests, a cantilevered home uses beams that are only anchored on one end. This allows for structures to hang over without having to have external bracing. The foundation is very small and that doesn’t cause very much of a site disturbance which helps to preserve the grounds in the area. With the grounds in their pristine and natural conditions, the beauty of this particular timber home is hard to beat. Because the pedestal home is literally on a pedestal above environmentally sensitive sites such as flood plains, marshes, and steep slopes, the sky is the limit on where you are actually capable of building. You will also love the fact that you will save tens of thousands of dollars with the smaller, pedestal foundation. This opens up so many possibilities that it’s no wonder this unique home is a viable solution for those that know about it.
What is a Chalet Home?
A chalet home style, also commonly referred to as a Swiss Chalet house, is a style of home architecture common in the Alpine region of Europe. A chalet home style is typically made of timber and includes a gently sloping roof and overhanging eaves. The overhanging eaves are great for providing protection from the elements and rough weather as well as providing a beautiful architectural style. Swiss Chalet homes were introduced to the United States in the mid-1800s by architect Andrew Jackson Downing. Because of their mid-European roots, these homes are fantastic choices for mountainside residences or fit for any other uneven landmass. The design is frequently used for vacation homes but is fantastic for year-round living as well.
Benefits of Chalet Homes
What is a chalet home benefit? There are numerous benefits to owning a chalet house. The house’s fairly simplistic construction with basic materials and an uncomplicated design means chalet houses can be built more affordably than homes of a similar size. The floor plans are very flexible, with plenty of opportunities for customization with the overhanging eaves, windows, and exposed architecture. Common unique features that can be added to a chalet home are carved rafters and ornamental shingles. Chalet home style comes in numerous sizes as well, depending on your needs. Our traditional chalet home floor plans start at 600 square feet but can go up to 4000 square feet with the addition of a single wing or two wings to construct a Grand Chalet home. Chalet homes typically have a lot of windows that allow for copious amounts of natural light and a beautiful view of your surroundings. Due to the A-frame design, the ceilings in chalet homes are very high, with a lot of open space for an open and cozy home. Chalet home style offers a very sleek and elegant aesthetic while maintaining the warmth and coziness of a Logangate Timber Home.
Premium Quality, Luxury Prefabricated Homes by Logangate
So, what is a prefab home by Logangate? Our homes are customizable, high quality, affordably built, and resilient houses that are designed with comfort and style in mind. At Logangate Timber Homes, we don’t compromise on our buildings and value client satisfaction above all else. At Logangate, we don’t just build average cookie-cutter houses; we are dedicated to building homes with heart and care. Start building your dream home today and contact Logangate now!
Why Post and Beam Construction Is Popular in Mountains
Post and beam construction has existed since the European Middle Ages, depicted in paintings, and some even stand in Europe today. In greater North America, there are some post and beam construction homes that are still standing from colonial America. Today, post and beam home designs are becoming more prevalent and modernized with technology and advanced techniques that give them a modern look without sacrificing the post and beam charm.
Let’s dive into why post and beam homes are popular in mountainous areas and regions, as well as a brief comparison of timber frame homes. The timber frame building method is a popular building method that lasts equally as long as the post and beams. The two construction methods are very similar, so let’s first take a look into what the difference between the two is.
Post and Beam VS Timber Frame, What is the Difference?
Timber homes can be either post and beam construction or timber frame, with the main difference being how the timbers are connected to each other. Post and beam construction typically uses decorative steel plates to tie members together. Timber frame, on the other hand, uses centuries-old building techniques that are connected by mortise and tenon joints and secured together with wooden pegs, typically made of strong material like maple or oak. Oak pegs are traditionally used for their durability as well as their availability.
The beams of both techniques of these homes are fully exposed to the inside. The timbers allow for a home to have much more clerestory space adding great amounts of volume to a room and highlighting the beauty of the wood. Many cabin homebuyers appreciate and love the beauty of the exposed framing in both build styles, and you can’t go wrong with either style.
Post and Beam VS Timber Frame: the Pricing
Timber frame homes are typically much more expensive than post and beam log home designs. The primary reason for this is that precision cutting and fitting the joints is very labor intensive and requires skilled labor to be done correctly. The second reason is that timber framing requires a cost increase for the extra timber. At Logangate Timber Homes, we utilize post and beam home designs to achieve a beautiful end product without breaking the bank or over-extending your intended budget.
Post and Beam VS Timber Frame: Similarities
Timber frame cabins and post and beam home designs both typically feature expansive wood vaulted ceilings instead of traditional drywall ceilings. Wood vaulted ceilings mean no popcorn ceiling, which is a vehemently opposed tragedy that was popular between the 1950s to the 1980s. So when you choose timber frame cabins or post and beam log home designs, you’re actually choosing timeless elegance that won’t go out of style.
Post and Beam Construction in the Mountains
Now that we’ve covered the two build methods, why are post and beam framing so popular in mountainous or hilly regions? The answer lies in its sturdy construction practices and how homebuyers love the traditional feel of open timber homes. Many mountain homes and lodges begin with a strong foundation on a steep lot. In a traditional home building project, the sloping grade of the lot is a very difficult problem to solve. Today, professional contractors often use a combination of pedestal homes and cantilevers to build the home around the natural landscape with minimal disturbance to the site. Building homes in this manner means preserving the natural beauty of the mountainous landscape. Another option is our Horizon plan. On steeper lots you don’t want a deep house plan, meaning from street side to view side. The deeper your plan the taller and taller your back foundation the more costly. The Horizon is only 22’-24’ deep and the width grows and shrinks in 6’ increments.
Logangate’s Mountain Home Building Process
Logangate Timber Homes are designed and built with affordability, style, and reliability in mind. Our homes begin with materials that are directly sourced from long-time partners. Partnering with lumber distributors saves on time and cost, which trickles down to the homebuyer. Additionally, our homes are manufactured in parts of a whole in an off-site climate-controlled manufacturing warehouse. Building homes in sections (also known as prefabrication) saves on the cost of materials, allows for greener and more energy efficient homes, and faster build times.
Reputation for Building Affordable and Reliable Homes
At Logangate Timber Homes, we hold a core value of building quality homes at an affordable and fair price for our clients has kept us going for over 50 years. At Logangate, we are proud of our reputation as one of the trusted leaders in the building industry. We’ve earned our reputation by building high-quality, gorgeous timber homes throughout the continental United States at a fair price with an emphasis on our client satisfaction. We believe everyone should have the home of their dreams, and we are committed to delivering post and beam home designs that will exceed expectations and be a pleasure to call home for generations to come.
Whether the property will be an investment home, a vacation home, or a forever home, homebuyers love the look and feel of a mountain lodge or cabin. Post and beam homes embody that spirit that homebuyers look for, and many look no further than Logangate Timber Homes!
Logangate Timber Homes is custom home builder in Asheville, North Carolina, specializing in building beautiful Modern Post & Beam Homes, Pedestal Timber Homes, Chalet Timber Homes, and Timber Frame Cabins. We have over 50 years of experience building panelized Timber Frame Homes that can be found all over the nation and are particularly popular in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. We are dedicated to designing beautifully crafted affordable Timber Frame Homes.
