Welcome Family to the March 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: What do you call the end of the house that looks like a triangle? (As in the photo above.) A dormer, a triangle, a cupola, a gable or a widows walk? (See the answer below.)
Oak log display home to be built in Shanghai China: This past month, we shipped the first container of materials to China for a new model home to be built by a Chinese distributor for GLH. Located in Shanghai, the 3000 square foot home will be within 15 minutes of the Disneyland currently under construction by Disney Corporation. GLH President Lynn Gastineau will be traveling to Shanghai to participate in a home show April 1 to 4.
This is a close up picture from the cabin above. It shows how the logs were left out in the locations of the future garage doors. The windows that were used here are going to be put in the basement walk out wall of the new house. Garage doors will be added here.
Do you like to sing in the shower? Kohler’s Moxie shower head has a Bluetooth wireless speaker that can sync to your MP3 player or smartphone so you can enjoy your favorite music while you shower! The wireless speaker can go for seven hours when it can be removed to recharge. The magnetic speaker pod can be removed and used anywhere in the house. Yours for about $150.
The Kohler Moxie is available in a water saving 2.0 gpm or a 2.5 rpm spray.
Good news! Housing prices went up in 42 states from Sept 2011 to Sept 2012. If you need to sell your home before you build, this is great news! Most markets are showing much shorter time frames for selling also. In Jan 2013 new home sales surged 15.6% and the supply of new homes available for sale fell to its lowest level in eight years.
A smelly question…At a recent show, the sales staff from a competing log home company was telling people that Oak logs “smell.” We found that rather amusing. Do your Oak cabinets smell? Do your Oak floors smell? Does your Oak furniture smell? Then why would Oak logs smell? We are the only national manufacturer of Oak log homes and our competitors have a hard time finding something to say “negative” about Oak. A little common sense goes a long way in figuring out what is true and what is not-so-true when talking about log homes.
People sometimes wonder about using natural wood cabinets in a log home if there are wood ceilings, wood walls, wood floors, etc. Is this too much wood for you? The natural lighting, light countertops and vaulted ceiling makes this “all wood” kitchen bright, light and inviting. If it IS too much wood for you, an alternative might be a painted cabinet.
This is a less expensive option to the triangular, trapezoid glass that you see a lot of times in log home designs. These windows are standard sizes and therefor don’t carry the hefty price tag of custom windows. Consider this as an option. Plus, these windows will open for ventilation and our windows tilt for cleaning from the inside. (If you have a ladder!)
Great advice! People ask me all the time for advice about all aspects of the construction of their home. In a recent issue of Log Home Living magazine, I read an article which included advice that I usually forget to mention. The first is that from the time you apply for your mortgage until the time that you close on your permanent loan, you should not make any major expenditures except for your construction costs. This means do not buy a new car, go on an expensive vacation, change jobs, start a new business, or change how you are getting paid. Second, is to not run up your balances on your credit cards during this time frame. A large segment of your credit score is based on the balance compared to your available credit limit. If the balance is more than halfway above your credit limit, your credit score starts to fall. Your credit score will be checked prior to closing on the loan and credit card balances can drastically change this score.
GLH has a maintenance division which can take a log home from the photo above to the photo below! We can do work just this amazing for wood sided homes also. The home above had not been stained in 25 years. If you know of anyone who needs maintenance on a wood home, give us a call. We can do the job professionally with fully insured employees at a reasonable price.
This is a modified Cumberland built in the Smoky Mountains of NC. This photo illustrates the impact your site has on the cost of construction. The retaining walls on both sides of the driveway, the rock covering the walk out basement and the rock stairs to the front door are all costs associated with the lot. In addition, this lot required that all building materials for the first floor had to go up the basement stairs. So all the logs had to be carried up the stairs. The view from the deck and porch were worth this extra cost, but this photo demonstrates the fact that your site has a big impact on the total cost.
Construction Seminar Schedule for 2013:
Here is our new schedule for 2013!
April 13th
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!
Home Show Schedule for 2013:
March 1 & 2 – Branson, MO: The Log and Timber Home Show at the Branson Convention Center
March 22 – 24 – Indianapolis, IN: The Log and Timber Home Show at the IN State Fairgrounds.
March 22 – 24 – Kansas City MO: Homebuilders Show at Bartle Hall One of our Log Cabin 2 Go park models will be the feature of the show!
Log Raisings:
Eureka Springs, AR, Saturday March 9th
9:00 am-2:00 pm – Call or email
sa***@oa********.com
for details
Open House:
Saturday March 23, 2013
10:00-4:00 pm
Dennis and Colleen Gabel from Pennsylvania Oak Log Homes
131 Oley Furnace Rd, Fleetwood, PA 19522
610-790-7447 or 610-790-7479
th*******@pa***********.com
www.paoakloghomes.com
Answer to the Trivia Question: It is a gable.
Quote of the Month: “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.” – Erma Bombeck
