timber frame or log home? Manufacturer? (Denver, Pueblo: homes, construction, general contractor)

[frcal]

Hi, moving to CO, rural mtn. area...looking into industry experts. Any ideas? Also, alternative energy and construction companies for building So of Pueblo, Walsenburg gen'l area.
Confused of rumors of unreliable builders.

[jdavid93225]

There are a lot of log and timber frame home companies out there, as well as a lot of builders. I would suggest reading up on the magazines that specialize in this type of home, such as Log Home Living, Log Homes Illustrated, and the like. Every issue I've seen lists dealers in various areas in the back of the magazine. In your area, you can also look at listings for northern New Mexico, as that is closer than a lot of parts of Colorado. Visit the model homes and see what their selling points are, and compare one to another. Talk to the representatives and ask about reputable builders, then ask for references, if possible. Finally, I would highly recommend visiting the Log Home and Timber Frame Expo in Denver on September 28-30, 2007. Here you can meet many of the representatives of many of the log and timber frame home companies, as well as builders. You will probably also find companies representing other products like wood care items and alternative energy, as you asked about. Check out the following link for more information on the show:
http://www.logexpo.com

I don't personally have any experience with building a log home, but am considering doing so for my retirement home, and have started to look into my options. There are so many choices out there that it is almost mind blowing. There are a lot of companies out there that will tell you their product is best because it has certain features. They will give you the reasons that these features are important. Other companies will tell you why those features are not important. These things include kiln drying, wood treatment, and all inclusive packaging, for example.

[winglady]

In 1999-2000, We built a timber-frame home just east of Beulah (25 mi. SW of Pueblo) through Linwood Homes (the office in Castle Rock). We we very happy with the quality of the home and with the support we got from that company.

We acted as General Contractors (something we knew nothing about to start with), and things went reasonably smoothly with all the help from the people at Linwood. Still, it was a full-time job on our part -- I wouldn't have wanted to take on that task if I was also working a 40-hour-a-week job!