Log House Plans - The wood's the thing!

Log house plans are very unique in nature because of the way the houses are constructed -- using large timber poles to construct the exterior of the log home.

Houses built with log house plans can be quite expensive to build because of the need to hire specialized builders who know about log cabins.

Log houses are beautiful in nature and you may find yourself quite content with these unique homes.

Here, we detail the four main types of wood used in log house plans.

Engelmann Spruce:

For the construction of the log walls in log house plans, an extremely popular log species is Engelmann Spruce due to the bright color and large diameter.

In addition to the visual appeal, the Spruce log has a high thermal value and low maintenance requirements. Once treated, all the species mentioned here provide exceptional long term durability for generations to enjoy.

Engelmann Spruce has a heartwood nearly white with a slight tinge of red. This wood is generally straight grain, light in weight with moderately small shrinkage.

Douglas Fir:

The Douglas Fir is a very strong wood with a rich reddish heartwood. Generally tight growth rings, straight grain, medium heavy with good resistance to mildew and fungus.

It is quite popular in log house plans.

Lodgepole Pine:

Often used in log house plans, Lodgepole Pine is yellow or nearly white. This pine has a generally straight grain with narrow growth rings. It is moderate in weight, strength and shrinkage.

But it has low resistance to decay when untreated.

The pine is also known as Western Yellow Pine, Bull Pine, Ponderosa Pine, and Rock Pine. It was so named because of its ponderous size!

Western Red Cedar:

Western Red Cedar has a reddish to dull brown heartwood. A good wood in log house plans, it is very resistant to decay.

It features straight grains with uniform texture. Cedar wood has low shrinkage, is lightweight and moderately soft. But, it has low strength when used as beams.

We have an exciting assortment of log house plans sure to bring out the log cabin lover in everyone.

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