Gastineau Log Homes University

Ceiling Options – Video Transcription

Hi, this is Lynn Gastineau, and I wanted to show you some of the differences and choices that you have for ceiling materials that you can build into your log home. Most people want a wood ceiling, at least in a great room area. Although some people do choose to use drywall.

At Gastineau, we have a couple of choices for you, and I just wanted to show them to you in this video. So, this is our 1×6 tongue and groove oak, which obviously matches your oak logs if that’s what you were going to build with. The other option we sell is southern yellow pine, which we have right around the corner in our model home center. We show the southern yellow pine built onto the ceiling. The yellow pine I feel has a better connection and grain patterns with the oak, yellow pine compared to white pine has more grain. I think that it matches the oak logs much better. You have the choice of using oak or yellow pine. The oak is obviously a bit more expensive; it is up to you what you want.

Of course, you can do drywall. We have quite a few people who choose to do that as well. A lot of times they will mix their ceiling materials, in other words, they may put wood in the great room area and drywall in other areas. It’s up to you! Remember, these are custom homes, and you can build them any way you want.

Do I need an architect? – Video Transcription

Hi, Lynn Gastineau here. Another question we get all the time is, “Should I hire an architect to design my home?” The answer to that is “no”, because we have all the design capabilities here at Gastineau to help you design the home that will meet your needs and fit your property.

One thing that we have developed over the years is a program where you can literally walk through your home and see how it will be finished before it’s built. It really makes the decisions a lot easier because you can actually see what the finished home is going to look like.

A lot of our customers do know, have a good opinion, or feeling for what they want in their home. However, if you don’t, we can guide you through the design steps.

The other thing is an architect is not typically trained in the proper methods of building a log home. They may design something that is not a good idea to build in that way. We can prevent those kinds of issues.

The only time an architect can come in handy or be worthwhile is if you have very site-specific situations. Where the location is very difficult to build on, or you’re trying to incorporate passive solar, and you need to thoroughly investigate the orientation of the home. So, in those situations, an architect may be useful.

Generally, I would say “no” and we can provide you all the design services that you need here at Gastineau Log Homes.

How did you get into the log home business? – Video Transcription

Hi, my name is Lynn Gastineau, and I’m the owner and founder of Gastineau Log Homes. In 1977, Gastineau Log Homes went into business in New Bloomfield, Missouri. One of the things people always ask is, “How did a woman get into the log home industry?”, as a woman, got into the log home industry. Well, I grew up in the sawmill business. My dad had a sawmill from before I was even born. So, I spent a lot of my time in the woods, and at the sawmill, and climbing on sawdust piles. Then, when I grew up, I worked in the sawmill, running the Debarker, and other various jobs in the mill.

But I really wanted to be an architect, I thought that housing was very fascinating, and I loved it. But back in that point in time a lot of women were not in the construction industry. So, I decided to manufacture clothing instead. After college, I moved to New York City, and during that time, in the middle 70s the log home industry really took off in the United States. At that time, people were asking my parents, who had the sawmill, asking them to cut logs for log homes. My parents had always been wholesale, had never done retail business. They knew I loved construction, and they thought it was a viable business. And so, they encouraged me to move home and start a log home company.

I left all my friends in New York, took a sabbatical, said I’ll be back in a year. And here it is, I’m still in the log home business over 45 years later. It has been a wonderful industry to be a part of, growing rapidly throughout the years. It is something I am really proud of. One thing I am especially proud of is that we create homes for people that fulfill their dreams. Ever since we started this business, people have come to us and said their dream is to have a log home. To have that ability to meet that dream and make that dream come true for people is extremely rewarding. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would do it exactly the same.

How long will a log home last? – Video Transcription

Hi there, Lynn Gastineau again.

People ask me all the time, “Well, how long is a log home going to last?”

There are several aspects to answering that question that you have to learn about. One of the most primary ones is what wood species the log home is built out of. If you look back in history, there are log homes that are 150-175 years old, where they have taken the logs down and rebuilt them into a brand-new house. If you check into that, you’ll find out that about 90-95 percent of those log homes were Oak.

Oak is naturally resistant to insects because, remember, back then they didn’t have any chemicals or anything to make wood last. Also, you find a lot of Chestnut and Poplar log homes. It’s not uncommon to think that a log home will last you 150-200 years.

Compare that to the life expectancy of a frame home, and you realize you are building a home that is for generations. At 150 years, you could tear the house down, take the logs, and cut them up into boards to use because they will still be good. The life cycle of a log home exceeds that of any other type of construction.

How did the log home industry start? – Video Transcription

Hi Lynn Gastineau, I wanted to share with you how the log home industry got started because I think it’s a really interesting subject. Most businesses develop because somebody invents a better mousetrap, and then somebody else tries to sell it. However, this industry is actually a completely consumer-driven industry. Log homes started being made because consumers, people, wanted to build a home. It wasn’t because somebody had been doing a bunch of R&D and decided that log homes were a great thing to live in, and they decided to start making them and see if people wanted to live in them. That’s not how it happened. People started going to sawmills and saying, “Would you cut me logs for a log home?” Then, smart people realized that there was an industry there, a market, and they started building them. So, it’s been really interesting. I think we’re all here in this industry because we’re meeting customers’ needs, wants, and desires. It’s not because anybody came up with a great idea to start a log home company. We’re just meeting market demand and fulfilling people’s dreams, you know, making their dreams come true. And I think that is really cool.

Insurance for a Log Home– Video Transcription

Hi Lynn Gastineau, now we are going to talk about insurance. One of the questions we get is, “Can I get insurance on my log home?”. Well, the simple answer is yes. All major insurance companies provide coverage for log homes. You can obtain Builders Risk insurance while you are building, and you can get regular homeowners’ insurance when you are done. As a matter of fact, many insurance companies offer discounts for log homes due to their heavy timber construction and they recognize the inherent safety of a log home. Now, there is a disclaimer here. Many times, people will build their log homes in locations that are not conducive to insurance because there is not a close availability of fire protection. So sometimes people have issues with getting insurance on their log home because of where it is built. It doesn’t matter what type of construction they have; it is because of the location. That is something you should consider when deciding where to build your home. To check if it will have an impact on your insurance rates down the road.

Looking For Land – Video Transcription

Hi Lynn Gastineau here, and I wanted to discuss the question: How do I find land? Well, that answer is kind of dependent on where you’re at and if you’re wanting to build locally. If you’re looking for land at a distance, if you’re from Chicago and you’re wanting to build in Colorado, you’re obviously going to first check out the internet and see what kind of property is available. But one of the easiest ways I found to find land is to just drive around and look, and see what’s out there. Plat books from counties are available online, and you drive around and you see a piece of property, and maybe there’s not even a ‘For Sale’ sign on it, but you can find out who owns the property and call them up and maybe they’re interested in selling. So, I always think of the times whenever I was young and my dad was looking for timber, and we would just drive up to people’s houses and ask if they wanted to sell their timber. So, there’s no reason you can’t do the same thing with land. If you are looking locally, you know, ask your local friends. And of course then you can always use a realtor, but sometimes the realtors don’t know all the property that may be available. If you’re trying to figure out where in the United States that you want to build, then go online and start doing some research about some of the best places to live, but actually locate the land, go drive around and see what you can find.