Tour a Rustic Riverside Retreat in Pennsylvania

Stunning Custom Log Home Overview

You'll want to take a look around this gallery of this custom log home in Pennsylvania. Surrounded by forest this stunning log home has everything you need to live the life of your dreams. Inside you will find a great room with logs and log beams throughout, a stone fireplace, high ceilings, and plenty of windows to let in the natural light and surrounding views. The open floor plan has a chef's kitchen, dining area, and bar countertop with seating perfect for entertaining a large group. Outside there is a covered patio where you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the views. You'll fall in love with everything about this luxury log house design, especially the kitchen with its large kitchen island, and wraparound cupboards/kitchen top which provide all the prep space you'll ever need. This luxury log cabin building has a few outdoor porches complete with log furniture to enjoy.

Energy Efficiency of Modern Log Homes

There is plenty to love about log home designs. For starters, log houses are energy efficient. Unlike your great grandfather's log cabin of long ago, log house designs today are highly energy efficient. In the past, logs were installed green with the facing side hewn and the top and bottom natural round logs. Chinking made with mud, clay, and straw, often as wide as the logs themselves, was mortared in-between the logs. Constant temperature changes with freezing and thawing and the logs drying caused the logs to shrink and twist making them inflexible, mortar-like chinking crack and pull away from the logs, creating large gaps and therefore, drafts.

Advancements in Log House Construction

Today log house construction has changed as the logs are not only air-dried but also kiln-dried before they are milled, which makes for very little shrinkage or movement after they are put in place. Unlike in the past, the logs are screwed together with long 1⁄4 inch screws every 30 inches or more and what's more the logs is tongue and groove with a continuous double gasket system. The tongue and groove keep the logs aligned while the long screws hold them snug on top of each other and the expandable gasket assures that they stay tightly sealed so that no air can come through.

Health Benefits of Living in Log Homes

Log homes are also more healthy. In the last 75 years, 1000's different chemicals have been introduced into people's lives. In construction alone, there is a long list of chemicals that get used in making building materials for new homes, not to mention the chemicals that get used directly in building the homes such as glues, finishes, and caulking. As contaminates get trapped inside, people can get ill. Poor air can lead to or accelerates asthma, allergies, respiratory illness, and more. Building with logs is an investment in your health.

Durability and Longevity of Log Homes

Log homes are long-lasting and durable. Log homes perform well during wind and hail storms if built properly. Right after Hurricane Katrina, several log homes weathered the storm when everything else was wiped off the map. A log house construction can give you peace of mind.