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Log Home Designs – Basic Concepts

As you are getting involved in the design process, consider these basic concepts as they apply to your design:

* Shape of Log Used – the logs used in your log home can be shaped in various ways. They can be full round, D-shaped, square shaped, rectangular shaped or Swedish cope style. D-shaped logs will have one side of the log flat with the other three sides being rounded. The Swedish cope style has a portion of the bottom of the log cut out so that the log rests more securely on the log beneath it in the wall.

* Type of Log Wood – there are many wood species commonly used in log home designs. There is no such thing as a “best” wood to use, rather, each species has advantages and disadvantages. Wood types include cedar, cypress, Douglas fir, hemlock, lodgepole pine, oak, spruce, white pine and yellow pine.

If log home designs, construction and maintenance are done properly, any of these woods will provide many decades of enjoyable log home living. If not designed, built and maintained properly, none of the woods will hold up very well.

* Peeled or Milled Logs – peeled logs used in log home designs will have the bark and outer sapwood removed. This can be accomplished by hand or by the mill’s machinery. Milled logs are run through machines that will create the desired log shape when finished. The log surfaces will be more smooth and uniform in milled logs.

* Corner Systems Used – here are the four main corner systems used in log home designs:These corners are formed when one log stops where it meets the intersecting log, and the other log extends past the corner.

There are many variations involving the shape of the area where the logs butt. Usually the passing logs have a cutout into which the butt log fits.

Paying for a contractor to take care of your home improvement projects is not something you should have to do. There are many basic home improvement projects that you can take care of on your own without anyone helping you. All you have to know is what those tasks are, what tools to use, and you are on your way. Now if you’ve already paid someone to take care of improving your home, don’t fret. This just means that you’ll be able to take care of those tasks all by yourself in the future. This will save you quite a bit of money in a number of areas.

Things to know

There are quite a few home improvement tasks that you can take on yourself. For example, do you have a crack in your wall? Some drywall, a drywall knife, and matching paint will do the trick. However, it is important that you keep certain tips in mind when you are doing any home improvement task on your own.

Here are some more DIY home improvement tips that you can use:

- Remember that no matter what you do, you are going to make a mess. Make sure you have plenty of tape and plastic hanging around. This means you are going to cover your floor or any furniture that is in your line of fire. The tape is to keep you from getting paint on those areas you don’t want to paint if painting is something you’ll be doing.

- Although you are pretty sure that you can do it yourself, you still need to keep the phone numbers of professionals close by in case of an emergency. You never know what kind of problems you may come across.

- There are tons of books at your local hardware store and even on the Internet. If you’re not sure about something, simply look it up. You can find detailed instructions on how to install that new ceiling fan or light fixture.

- Always have a plan in place, but always remember that something will always come up at the last minute. You will find that certain spot within your project in which you say, ‘I need this particular piece and I don’t have it.’ Make sure that you are working on your projects with the home improvement store in your area is open. That way you can just jump in your car and drive there to get what you need. You don’t want to have to wait until the next day.

- Be sure you take certain safety precautions such as unplugging any appliances that you are working around. Also, make sure that your power tools are unplugged when you are not using them. This is especially important if you have children because children and power tools do not mix. If you are working around pipes and such, make sure that the water is turned off as well because you don’t want to risk causing a leak.

It’s easy

With the right tools and the right resources, you can pretty much do any home improvement project yourself. Only when walls have to be knocked out or foundations jacked up do you really need to look for a professional. Then again, you may find that you are totally insecure about a particular task. If you have to call an expert, that is fine. It is better to have someone who knows that they are doing working on your home than you not being sure about what you are doing. Just know that they don’t have to do everything, which means you are going to save money no matter what.