Welcome Family to the January 2013 issue of The Oak Leaf! For new readers, this is a monthly newsletter that is sent by e-mail to those that have expressed an interest in Gastineau Log Homes. We use this as a way of communicating technical, design and industry information. For more information, check out our web site at www.oakloghome.com.
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Trivia Question: Who was the back up quarterback at Louisiana Tech behind Phil, the patriarch of Duck Dynasty? (See the answer below.)
The loft of the Seven Gables looks down into the living room plus looks out through the windows of the living room gable. The center fireplace is a focal point and a room divider. It is not structural and could be located in an exterior wall if you wish for a more open living space. This photo was taken in our model home. Come by and see us this year!
New Construction Outlook for 2013: The 2013 housing market outlook is strong. Mortgage rates are likely to remain low, lending rules are beginning to loosen, and home prices are just one year into a recovery. Demand for homes is strong and the nation’s homebuilders report that foot traffic through model unit has returned to pre-recession levels.
For buyers of new construction, the best deals of 2013 may be the ones from the winter; from before the spring season gets started. If you’re planning to build or buy a new home in 2013, consider moving up your time frame. (Above from themortgagereports.com.)
Make 2013 the year you finally get your dream home! Let us be part of your dream and by this time next year, you can be living your dream log home!
Lock in 2012 Prices before the Increase Jan 15, 2013″ Good news and bad news. The bad news is that we must have a price increase on Jan 15, 2013. The good news is that you can lock in today’s prices even if you are not going to build until 2016! Call or email to find out how you can save a lot of money on your new log home.
This custom home being built in IL uses 8 X 8 D logs with dovetailed corners. The garage is also built of solid log walls and a breezeway connects the house and garage. In this photo you can see where the screened in porch will go along the back of the breezewa
How to minimize maintenance of the exterior of your log home.
This design utilizes multiple sizes and designs of porches to protect the log walls on all sides of the home.
I really think that log homes get a bad rap in the discussion of maintenance. There are two things you can do to greatly minimize the maintenance. First, proper planning. Second, using the right product. Let’s talk about planning for easy maintenance. The more protection your logs get, the less maintenance they will require. Protection comes from porches, overhangs, landscaping, and siting on the lot. Proper sloping of the ground away from the house is critical. A minimum of 6″ in 10ft. Never let dirt or shrubs touch your log walls. With proper planning, you can greatly minimize exterior maintenance. The second area is proper products. DO NOT go to Lowe’s or Home Depot and buy what is on sale that weekend. That is the #1 mistake that log home owners make in maintaining their log home. You are guaranteeing failure and disappointment. Only use product that have been proven on log homes and recommended by a log home manufacturer. And remember that a log home has a lot LESS interior maintenance that a frame home so enjoy the fact that you will be outside!
Manufacturing Oak logs requires a skill set not found at other log home companies. One difference is that our blades have to be sharpened every 8 hours. Most Pine and Cedar companies sharpen their blades every month. This picture shows one of the certified lumber graders at the mill sharpening the blades to prepare to make another Oak log home.
Benefits of LED lighting:
LED stands for light-emitting diode which is a semiconductor chip that emits light when conducting current. LED bulbs can produce any spectrum of light which make it very universal and able to use in nearly any application. It is used in many households, whether room or kitchen, offices, landscapes and even traffic lights. The use of LED lighting has increased rapidly since the beginning of the century and is now in mass production.
It is almost safe to say that an LED light can last forever. It has over a 50,000 hour lifespan, which means 2083 days, a minimum of 6 years of energy efficient lighting if you never turn it off. In the same amount of time, you would have used 50 regular incandescent light bulbs. Basically, by paying a few extra dollars more for LED lighting, you would not only save over $400 on future lighting, you would also save at least $70 on your next electricity bill.Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of LED lighting:
A regular incandescent bulb, running on 12 hours per day, will cost about $40 a year. Since these light bulbs only run for about 1000 hours you might at least need to buy about 4 more bulbs that same year, bringing your total cost of one light fixture to about $60.
Now, let’s take a look at our Alcon Lighting LED light bulb: If we run our energy efficient light bulb for just about 12 hours per day for one whole year, our electricity bill would be around $5. Since it has then been on for just about 4000 hours, it still has another 10 whole years of lighting to go! With our not so energy efficient incandescent bulb, this illumination would cost us around $600.
Are stainless steel appliances on the way out? Whirlpool has introduced a new premium exterior finish they call “White Ice.” The combination of white finish, stainless handles and mirrored glass have a lot in common with Apple’s popular design language. And if you don’t like White, “Black Ice” is available also.
Construction Seminar Schedule for 2013:
Here is our new schedule for 2013! Note that we added a seminar in January for those of you that want to get started early this year!
Jan 19th
Feb 23rd
April 6th
June 1st
August 3rd
Sept 28th
The one day construction seminars are held at our model home center on I70 on the southwest outer road of Exit 144 in Central Missouri. Call or email to register as class size is limited!
Answer to the Trivia Question: Terry Bradshaw was the back up quarter back to Phil Richardson at Louisiana Tech in the 60’s. Phil was drafted but turned down the offer because football season interfered with duck season. Phil graduated with a year of eligibility and went on to get his masters in English. Yes, English. Don’t believe me? Check this out!
Quote of the Month: “News flash to all the young euws of America, start grinning and staring at the ground…. and shut up.” – Phil Robertson (Another quote from Phil: “Terry took the bucks and I took the ducks.”)
Isn’t this a beautiful front entrance? This is a custom hand carved door on a home in southern AR.
This home is sited to enjoy the multi-mile view from its perch in southern CO.
