Log Home Design

Kansas City – Log & Timber Home Show

Log Home Design — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 07:57:08 +0000

At Cascade Log Home Design, we build everything from cozy log cabins to palatial log villas.

Come and view the fabulous log homes we have built from all over the world, and to discuss your next Log and Timber home project with us. We'd love to meet you!

Clients can select from existing log home floor plans or design their custom projects from scratch. At Cascade Handcrafted Log Homes, we offer a variety of construction styles (from Full Scribe and Chinked to Hybrid or Post & Beam Construction, Timber Frame, and more). At Cascade Handcrafted Log Homes, we choose only the best materials — premium quality logs include Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir — because better logs return their value in thermal performance, maintenance, resale, and aesthetic quality. Our handcrafted experts can advise which are the best logs to use for your particular climate.

Here is a new log home based in Lawrence, Kansas! Markus, Sean and the team are working together to get the log & timber home unloaded and set up.

You can read all about this “Williamstown” Log Home Design here.

Log Homes

We’ll deal with you directly to discuss all aspects of your log home, from the initial plans, the choice of wood and its benefits, to the construction through to the actual installation on site.

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Renovations

Customers love us because we strive to exceed their expectations; contractors love us because they can get their work done quickly once we’ve installed the log shell.

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Log Cabins

We are builders first, salesmen last and we’d love to show you what we can do. You are most welcome to drop in anytime at our yard to discuss your dream log home project in person.

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Post & Beam

A Post & Beam home uses vertical logs (posts) to support load-bearing horizontal logs (beams) with a variety of joinery options available to you, the result is a robust frame for beautiful exposed logs.

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Commercial

Over the years we have been fortunate to be part of a lot of Commercial projects. The ‘wow’ factor is intense and so is the feeling of accomplishment that we all get to share.

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Floor Plans

We can supply a multitude of floor plans for your dream log home, whether you are looking for a cozy cabin in the woods or a majestic 5,000+ square foot palace, talk to us today.

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Recent Project Photos

Log Home Design - Building Custom Log Homes since 1999
Flying Horse Ranch and Fishing Lodge - Horse Barn

Log Home Design - Building Custom Log Homes since 1999
Latewood Finished Log Home - Porte Cochere

Log Home Design - Building Custom Log Homes since 1999
Log and Timber Home - Colorado

Log Home Design - Building Custom Log Homes since 1999
Log and Timber Home - Kansas

Log Home Design - Building Custom Log Homes since 1999
Log and Timber Home - Western Red Cedar

Log Home Design - Building Custom Log Homes since 1999
Log Home - Private Office - Lake House

Log Home Design - Building Custom Log Homes since 1999
Spyglass Executive Lodge - View From Front Door

Log Home Design - Building Custom Log Homes since 1999
Spyglass Executive Lodge - View From The Deck

KCI Expo Center, 11730 NW Ambassador Dr, Kansas City, MO 64153

Looking to Build? Remodel? Or Maintain a Log or Timber Frame Home? Then don’t miss the Kansas City, MO Log & Timber Home Show being held at the KCI Expo Center on February 22-24, 2019. The Log & Timber Home Show is produced by Log Home Living, Cabin Living and Timber Home Living Magazine!

If you’re serious about educating yourself before you remodel or build your new, custom wood home, The Log and Timber Home Show is a “must do”.

Dates: February 22-24, 2019

Friday, February 22: 1pm-7pm
Saturday, February 23: 10am-6pm
Sunday, February 24: 11am-4pm

Buy Tickets

Click here to request a free quote or call 1-604-703-3452 to speak directly to Sean and he will walk you through the options available to you, whether it is residential, commercial, renovations or custom floor plans, begin the journey towards your wood-based home today.

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Lawrence, Kansas Log & Timber Home Project

Log Home Design — Sun, 06 Jan 2019 00:08:41 +0000

Late last year we had the pleasure of building a gorgeous post and beam log and timber home for a great client in Lawrence, Kansas.

The design for this stunning project was the 2560 sq. ft. – “Williamstown”.

The trusses are built from from 10 x 10 timbers, which are exposed in a high ceiling in the great room. The entire log structure was handcrafted using western red cedar logs, we carefully handcrafted with inner knee braces and supports at the Handcrafted log & timber home – log yard.

Meanwhile, back at the log & timber home site, Sean and the crew are preparing the foundations for the build.

The log home has arrived! Sean, Markus and the team are working together to get the log & timber home unloaded and set up. A BIG thanks the crane operating team at Polk Crane Service, Inc and to Jason Tanking Construction for making our customer’s dream home, come true.

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Timber Frame Homes

Log Home Design — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 05:57:05 +0000

Timber Frame Homes construction styles are similar to ‘Post and Beam’ except;

Lumber dimensions of 8″ x 8″ square are used instead of rounded logs.
The classic mortise and tenon joinery building method is used, secured by wooden dowels.
Post and beam (timbers) are exposed from inside and the frame is covered outside with plywood or insulated panels.

For example, the soaring roof trusses in old wooden churches are usually timber framed. Therefore, creating unsupported wide spans, and the lasting strength.

Timber framing has been around for centuries providing strength and longevity to it’s structure. Timber Frame Homes offer a unique style, strength and sustainable designs. A Handcrafted Log & Timber Frame Home Design built with western red cedar offer energy efficiency and awe inspiring character. These beautifully handcrafted homes truly are the results of a master craftsman.

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Handcrafted vs Milled Log Homes

Log Home Design — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 05:57:05 +0000

Handcrafted vs Milled Log Homes. What’s the difference?

A handcrafted log home, which is what we ONLY build here at Handcrafted Log Home Design, is the only “true” log home. In a handcrafted building, the log is still a natural log. The only alteration being that it has undergone removal of the outer bark and part or all of the “cambium” or inner bark layer. Because of this, each log still possess all of the uniqueness and character that nature intended it to have. Contrast to this a machine-cut piece of wood – mechanically profiled to be identical to every other piece in the building. It is no longer a log, but a factory run piece of lumber that used to be a log. Because of this, the handcrafted log building has an aesthetic advantage – each log of every building is unique and distinctly different from every other – creating a unique building every time.

The automated milling process is less expensive than hand crafting natural logs, however the cost of a finished milled product is very close to that of a handcrafted. Why is this? Surprisingly, our handcrafted homes are far easier to assemble, saving considerable crane and crew time at your site.

Milled Log Homes

The process of milling vs handcrafted can be confusing as they can look similar but handcrafted has a unique way of carefully assembled logs. A milled log is one that has been put through a saw factory, machine, or planer and has been cut into a particular shape or profile. All milled log homes are uniform in size and look almost identical on the outside.

There are a few different ways milled logs can be stacked:

Tongue and Groove – As shown below

Butt & Pass – Tightly-pinned corners, to remove the need for any notching,

Interlocking – The timber pieces lock together like a jigsaw puzzle

The logs may be flat on one side with a tongue-and-groove design. The sides of the log are usually sanded smooth, but can be left with a rougher or more natural look.

Handcrafted Log Homes

The preferred and most popular timbers at Handcrafted Log Home Design are Western Red Cedar or Douglas Fir. Once brought to the log yard for finishing, the high quality logs are either hand-peeled with a drawknife or water-peeled.

The logs are then cut to fit together, as per the design or floor plan of the log home. in a few different ways.

Scribe-fit is the most popular style due to the beautifully exposed log flares on Western red cedar. In this style, one log is scribed to precisely fit over the log below it. The scribe-fit style needs no chinking and is usually joined at the corner using a shrink-to-fit saddle notch system. Another way logs are fit together leaves a space between each round of logs that will be filled with a backer rod material and chinking. This style is called chinked. Other styles are piece-en-piece and hand-hewn dovetail.

The end result is a stunning log home that will last centuries and reducing the industrial footprint of pollution, energy consumption and waste.

If you compare performance over time and look at the character and thermal mass that is lost in creating machined logs, you can see why our homes offer better value and a higher resale. Many contractors have told us that handcrafted is often less expensive on the total project cost.

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Creating A Natural Heat Source

Log Home Design — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 05:57:05 +0000

Creating a natural heat source using “Noodling”.

Winter and early Spring can bring many cold days to the Handcrafted Log and Timber Home’s Log Yard. So how do the guys keep warm? They make themselves a fire log by plunging into the log against the grain that creates log stringy strips of wood that make excellent kindling or fire starter.

This is also known as “noodling” (click on the link to learn more) because of the stringy dry paper created by the angle of the cut. In these videos, Markus is showing us the natural paper that is created and also his version of the “Swedish Fire Log” or “Canadian Candle”.

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Log Homes In Colorado

Log Home Design — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 05:57:05 +0000

From the heights of the Rocky Mountain National Park to deep canyons carved by the Colorado River, it’s impossible to name all the stunning places in Colorado.

Handcrafted Log & Timber Home Design has built hundreds of homes across this beautiful State. Near the emerald-green national forests, with fields of vibrant summer wildflowers and the shores of crystalline lakes. To the autumn-coloured hillsides blanketed with aspens and rivers lined with cottonwoods with shimmering hues of gold and red and then of course there’s winter.

There’s nothing more peaceful than snowflakes falling silently on the branches of evergreen trees as you pass by on crisp morning stroll and end up in front of a roaring fire in your cozy handcrafted log home.

These are just a few images from inside and out, of the beautiful log homes and their surrounds, that we have built in Colorado.

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Log Gazebos

Log Home Design — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 05:57:05 +0000

At Cascade Handcrafted, we build log Gazebos that are truly wonderful works of art. With western red cedar, the log flares create a majestic, solid look that will compliment any garden, backyard setting or venue. A log gazebo is so flexible for it’s uses. Make it your new summer relaxing place with comfortable seating and entertain outdoors year round! A great place to retreat to on hot summer days, as the open design allows the breeze to flow through and unlike the pergola, the covered roof provides plenty of shade. These beautiful structures can become THAT place where you love to go and bring fun to your yard!

For these reasons they are popular in warm and sunny climates as outdoor entertaining areas. Detached from the house, a Gazebo can range in size – From a smaller one that seats 6 people comfortably with fabulous patio furnishings to much larger sizes. Cascade Handcrafted can customize a Gazebo or Pergola that suits your requirements!

Here are a few examples of the Gazebos we have built for our customers.

Enjoy the outdoors, rain or shine. It’s no surprise that Gazebos are so popular as they are the most comfortable way to spend all your time alone or entertaining!

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Colorado Log Home Project

Log Home Design — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 05:57:05 +0000

On October 11th, we headed down to Colorado to set up the logs for a stunning, western red cedar – post and beam log home. This home will boast the beautiful, unique log flares and diamond notched, full scribe building method. Not only does it have a stunning beauty, the many benefits of Western Red Cedar include that it’s a highly revered, durable wood is naturally resistant to rot, decay and insect attacks throughout the world. Almost anything you build with western red cedar will last longer and require less maintenance.

With the help of a crane and an awesome crew, we started laying out the logs and re building the structure, early morning on October 12th. The progress pictures show how smoothly the rebuild went and how gorgeous the weather held out for us. By Sunday morning we set the final wall logs and onto the roof! That’s only 3 days – There were lots of little parts and pieces but we got it all wrapped up. Can’t wait to see the finished results.

Log Home Design – Colorado

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Handcrafted Log Home Construction Styles

Log Home Design — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 05:57:05 +0000

We offer many different construction styles to create your unique, stunning log home! How your home is assembled influences its engineering, finishing, and maintenance expectations. At Cascade Handcrafted Log Homes we build a log home that will serve for centuries, with good design and proper maintenance.

Full Scribe

‘Full Scribe’ refers to a method of fitting horizontal stacked logs to build a tight wall. Each log has a long groove hand cut into its underside, so it precisely and securely nests on the log below. The corners are interlocked with notching to provide a very secure structure.’

Chinked

‘Chinked’ refers to a method of fitting horizontal stacked logs to build a wall. Each horizontal log rests on the log below; we choose the logs to fit well but there is no grooving along the bottom side. To keep the weather out ‘chinking’ – a special filler – is applied between the logs, much like a bricklayer uses mortar between bricks. The corners are interlocked with notching to provide a very secure structure. We build chinked homes periodically on request.’

Hybrid

‘Hybrid’ homes are a popular combination of ‘Full Scribed’ and ‘Post and Beam.’ We put down a few horizontal courses of ‘Full Scribe’ logs and then build ‘Post and Beam’ on top. Here is an example photo of a ‘Hybrid’ log home and a photo of the same ‘Hybrid’ log home under construction’

Post and Beam

‘Post and Beam’ homes use vertical logs (posts) to support load-bearing horizontal logs (beams), similar in idea to a kitchen table, except on a grand, more complex scale. This creates a robust frame for a home of beautiful exposed logs, leaving many options open for the exterior walls.

Timber Frame Construction

‘Timber Frame construction is similar to ‘Post and Beam’ except milled lumber (8′ x 8’ for example) is used instead of logs. This type of construction uses classic mortise and tenon joinery, secured by wooden dowels.”

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The Benefits of Western Red Cedar

Log Home Design — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 05:57:05 +0000

Not only does it have a stunning beauty, the many benefits of Western Red Cedar include that it’s a highly revered, durable wood is naturally resistant to rot, decay and insect attacks. Almost anything you build with it will last longer and require less maintenance.

Aesthetically, there really is no substitute for the natural beauty of Western Red Cedar. Imbued with decidedly crisp, yet superbly rich, tonal attribute , Western Red Cedar offers a unique flare at the end of every log, making each person’s log home one of it’s kind. Imagine – all those stunning properties packed into one beautiful building material, an architect ’s aspiration come true. The versatility of Western Red Cedar is pitch and resin-free, ideal for absorbing a wide range of beautiful finishes.

Studies have proven the environmental performance of Western Red Cedar far outweighs any synthetic products, in every way. Pre-fabricated building materials generate greenhouse gasses, western red cedar actually removes greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. Western Red Cedar is renewable, biodegradable and is sourced from the most sustainable forests. Cascade Handcrafted Log Homes selectively harvests Western Red Cedar logs for their customer’s log homes.

When a homeowner chooses Western Red Cedar over pre-fabricated products, they are building a home that is going to last centuries as wood outperforms steel, concrete and composites in the following areas;

Energy Efficiency

Western Red Cedar has a natural resistance to heat loss — radiant comfort from the log’s thermal mass and reduced energy consumption because of its tight, precise, consistent, building design system. Western Red Cedar is known as an excellent thermal insulator, keeping cool in the summer These features along with many others, contribute to an outstanding log home that is environmentally friendly.

Recycling

Western Red Cedar material can be recycled & reused; Bark can be used to create bark mulch and the off-cuts for carvings, furniture, crafts and other household items.

Ecological Footprint

A Western Red Cedar log home is a responsible option when considering environmental sustainability. This is because a log building incorporating good design and maintenance will easily last for several generations, many homes are still in service 60 and more years after construction. This time span more than allows the forest to regenerate the materials harvested to re-create and grow back. Log homes naturally don’t require as much synthetic material as conventional construction, reducing the industrial footprint of pollution, energy consumption and waste.

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