Welcome to the May 2011 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.
Do you want to finish out your basement and have log home features? This walk out basement used Oak log siding on the interior to create a warm, homey atmosphere for the family room.
Trivia Question: You may ride on my back or push me around. You love to use me now but you will hate me later. What am I?
Have you seen the GLH video on You Tube? Click VIDEO. This interview of me (Lynn Gastineau) was shot in the model home center shown above. You can see interior shots as well as video of our manufacturing process. I am not much of an “actress” but there is a lot of great information about log homes!
Did you know that GLH has a maintenance department that can provide expert maintenance services for your log home? Spring is finally here and our trained and experienced staff can provide a full range of professional maintenance services for all log or wood sided homes. And yes, we will provide these services to any log home, not just one of our homeowners. So if you are a log home owner reading this, call for an estimate. If you have a friend that has a log home and they need some assistance, have them give us a call. 800-654-9253.
Do you need to build your home on pilings? Are you in a flood plain? This photo shows a custom Gastineau Log Home on 8ft pilings at the Little Assawoman Bay near Fenwick Island, DE.
The best way to build a log wall and why: GLH provides two rows of logs to encircle, or go around, your subfloor. GLH is the only company to provide this structural improvement as a standard part of our package. We feel this detail is extremely important as it allows you to bolt the log wall directly to the concrete foundation, it is much more energy efficient and minimizes air infilatration, it provides higher seismic and high wind ratings, and it even looks better! And the best thing is that it does not cost more when you consider the alternative method, which is to use a double or triple rim joist and then cover it with log siding and then have to try to insulate the rim joist. Why doesn’t everyone do it this way? Because it takes more logs in the package.
This drawing illustrates the recommended way to place the logs on the foundation of a basement or crawlspace in a Gastineau Log Homes. Click to see more of our Exclusive Construction Details.
This is a photo of our 40 acre manufacturing facility west of New Bloomfield, MO. The six buildings on the right side are our solar forced air dry kilns. The larger building on the left is where the logs are produced. The other buildings are storage buildings for finished logs and beams to be stored before shipment. The small concrete building is where wood shavings are stored until they are trucked to horse barns for bedding.
More construction details:* This is a photo during construction of a modified Caroline. It shows a lot of details that I thought may interest some of you. Note the steel post on the first floor that is under the second floor post. This is a steel post as it will be inside a frame wall. This post is engineered for the load and the uplift required. The 8 X 8 Oak post on the second floor will be exposed and the railing will be connected to it. Note that it is notched at the top for the laminated ridge beam. This structural beam is included in the package to properly support the roof structure and eliminate the need for any collar ties. The second floor gable and dormer is framed using 2 X 6’s. Log siding will complete the exterior. Note the Oak second floor beams that are installed. This is a properly engineered and constructed log home. Remember, it is not just the log walls that you are purchasing. The structural engineering of the roof is just as important as the log walls.
Use the link to see the floor plans and the front elevation of the April Home of the Month.
Construction Seminar Schedule for 2011:
May 14, 2011
July 9, 2011 (Note: this is a change. Previously it was July 16th)
September 10, 2011
October 22, 2011
Answer to the Trivia Question: A lawnmower. Did you know that it was patented in 1830 by Edwin Budding from Stroud, Gloucestershire, England? On May 18, 1830 he signed a licensing agreement for the manufacture of his invention. Just in time for the summer cutting season!
Quote of the Month: “A man does not plant a tree for himself; he plants it for posterity.”
by Alexander Smith, Scottish poet, quoted for Arbor Day, April 29, 2011.
