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Our logs were milled for uniformity, and shaped so that they don't need chinking. Some homes do need it, but not all do.
Construction of a log home requires different building skills than for a regular home. We hired a builder who specializes in log homes. Our electrician has also done wiring for log homes besides ours - wiring a log house is different than wiring a regular house.
Nobody has mentioned the insulation issues. Wood is a lousy insulator and sheathing a log house either inside or out removes the appearance of a log house. With all of the seams it's not a particularly good air or weather barrier either. You're probably better off building a traditional structure and log-siding it if you want something that is going to perform well.
Log homes certainly look cool but they're not very practical.
"After you settle into a log home you embrace the unkempt-ness of it all."
Regarding casual - we also have peg racks throughout the house. For jackets (by the entryways), for towels in the bathrooms. Some might say it looks sloppy, but a log house lends to relaxed and casual. And that often does mean a little dust on the walls!
Peg racks ...............well aren't we fancy-smancy
Nobody has mentioned the insulation issues. Wood is a lousy insulator and sheathing a log house either inside or out removes the appearance of a log house. With all of the seams it's not a particularly good air or weather barrier either. You're probably better off building a traditional structure and log-siding it if you want something that is going to perform well.
Log homes certainly look cool but they're not very practical.
I supposed it is like comparing a wood sailboat with a plastic sailboat. If practicality is your main objective then a modular home is probably a best choice.
I'm not an engineer but there is more to their efficiency than simply their seams. I believe that the mass of the logs plays a part in the equation too.
I am married to an engineer. Yes, the mass of the logs is what makes a log house so energy efficient. For that reason, we opted for 10 inch diameter logs instead of 8 inch logs. As long as the house is sealed, you can't beat a log house for energy efficiency. The county inspectors that checked our house as it was being built commented on that.
Our house is cool even on the really hot summer days. It's hard to accurately compare to our previous house which was not a log house, but we are using less wood to heat our log house. It also holds the heat inside better.
Log houses are incredibly practical. But of course they aren't for most people.
I am married to an engineer. Yes, the mass of the logs is what makes a log house so energy efficient. For that reason, we opted for 10 inch diameter logs instead of 8 inch logs. As long as the house is sealed, you can't beat a log house for energy efficiency. The county inspectors that checked our house as it was being built commented on that.
Our house is cool even on the really hot summer days. It's hard to accurately compare to our previous house which was not a log house, but we are using less wood to heat our log house. It also holds the heat inside better.
Log houses are incredibly practical. But of course they aren't for most people.
But for a 10 inch thick wall and a LOT of timber you're getting an R-value in the 8-20 range, less any seams that open up. In a colder climate that isn't great since you could achieve R40-R60+ for properly sealed and insulated stick built. It's a bit misleading to say logs are energy efficient - they're not. They have some unique properties but insulation value is not one of them. Wood is a thermal bridge so real energy efficient construction keeps it completely isolated from either the inside or outside of the building envelope. On log home it IS the building envelope. You can't isolate it without covering it completely, at least not without splitting the logs down the center and putting a solid layer of insulation in between the halves.
Your building inspectors probably see a lot of 'barely built to code minimum' work, so a well built log house is likely better than that.
But for a 10 inch thick wall and a LOT of timber you're getting an R-value in the 8-20 range, less any seams that open up. In a colder climate that isn't great since you could achieve R40-R60+ for properly sealed and insulated stick built.
I know that when they talk about the R value for insulation in a wall, they are usually just talking about the R value of the insulation and leaving aside that something like 15% to 20% of the wall is the sticks, which, if remember science, is made of the same thing as logs.
In other words, are you comparing a theoretical maximum with a lower figured based on actual experience?
I know that when they talk about the R value for insulation in a wall, they are usually just talking about the R value of the insulation and leaving aside that something like 15% to 20% of the wall is the sticks, which, if remember science, is made of the same thing as logs.
In other words, are you comparing a theoretical maximum with a lower figured based on actual experience?
Only if it's designed such that the sticks create a thermal bridge. If you have 10" total thickness, that's more than enough to eliminate thermal bridging. Figure 1/2" (R.5) siding over 3" polyiso (R18) 2x6 stud with 6" bats (R24) 1/2" (R.5) drywall would put you around R43, slightly less with the 2x6's but with them inside the polyiso they'd be warmer than the inside surface of a log wall. Replace the bats with closed cell to get up to R60.
Real world R40 is overkill in most of the US, but even R30 compared to R10 logs is a big improvement especially with an air and vapor barrier - something you can't have on logs.
The reduced R from studs is probably negligible when you compare to the gaps between the logs and whatever they're filled with, more so if they don't stay sealed.
We're building a hybrid timberframe cabin in North Idaho; originally we wanted a log cabin (because we're such romantics!) but our builder advised against it, for exactly the same reasons listed above: it settles, it is hard to insulate, and so forth. But we are actually planning to build a small log guest cabin, just for fun, when the main cabin is done. We want to sit on our porch and look at a log cabin!
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Cannibal! j/k 
) but our builder advised against it, for exactly the same reasons listed above: it settles, it is hard to insulate, and so forth. But we are actually planning to build a small log guest cabin, just for fun, when the main cabin is done. We want to sit on our porch and look at a log cabin! 
