Log Homes (Appalachian or Scandinavian)

[Woodlice]

G'day

Has anyone had any experience with building (or with companies) these type of houses in Australia (especially Western Australia)?

Please share.

The only company I have seen / heard of is Appalachian Log Homes, though they are in NSW (a long way from home for me )

www.appalachianloghomes.com.au

Thanks
J!

Edit: It is the full scribe / chink that I am interested in building.

[craigb]

I'm afraid I know nothing about them, sorry.

I am a little curious as to why you'd want to build one though.

I think that roof pitch would work great if you lived in a place that got several inches of snow a year. In WA though?

I'm not puting it down btw, whatever floats your boat.

[Woodlice]

G'day Craig

The reason I would like to build one is a bit long winded. To cut it shorter, the family and I recently spent 6 months in Norway (with my side of the family) and saw many houses of this type (and plenty of contemporary houses too.)

The feeling for them is immediate when you first step into one - and many of the houses of this type are many hundreds of years old - and look as if the wood was felled yesterday. The climate does a lot to preserve the wood over there I guess, though the houses in America (Appalachian) if they are looked after (and treated) can be in as good a condition.

There are many nice examples on oversea's websites (especially US / Canada) and many builders over that way too.

Well we fell in love with the style and we have 400ha of rolling hills in the South West of WA that we think would suit a house of this type (while we live in Perth.) From what I gather wood logs have better insulation properties than just about any other building material too, and while the climate is nothing near Scandinavian, with a bit of care the longevity of the house is certain.

J!

[fxst]

I toyed with the log cabin idea too but over here in the middle if I put 1 up I may as well put up a sign ..Termite allyou can eat ...
takes em no time at all to find it ...the saving grace is the dryness keeps em managable
Still love the idea tho for the thermal properties
Pete

[craigb]

O.K thanks Woodlice.

Did you know that you are the third (I think) wood insect on this board?

Hmm Wood Borer, Termite, Woodlice.

Oh yeah, they are all also pests (just kidding)

[seriph1]

I believe the same effect can be achieved using strawbale walling construction and a post and beam internal - unless you "must" have the logged outer. Buy a copy of owner-builder magazine if you havent already - it contains contacts for folks who build in both.

[Woodlice]

Hehe, when I joined up I was in the forum for two minutes. I didnt do any pre-reading or lurking... the first thing that came to my mind was Woodlice.

Of course, I thought about termites. I think that they can be managed with careful preparation and if I dont lapse on treatments. Little bastards would throw a spanner in the works thats for sure.

Boric acid / borate, and other wood preservatives (rather than CCA) are easy to get hold of, and do a better job at keeping termites and beetles out of wood than surface sprays. Getting off my ass to do it every twelve months isnt going to be a problem, touch wood...

Cheers for the magazine tip too.

J!

[journeyman Mick]

Borate is used to treat against borers (powderpost borer/lyctus beetle) it won't even slow down termites. I remember reading that the reason log cabin type construction was never popular here was due to a lack of suitable trees (straight and easy to cut, ie conifers).

Mick

[John Saxton]

G,day Woodlice welcome to a very active board and hopefully you will find the answers you're looking for.

Way back in the 70/80 years there was at least one buider of log/kit homes but I do not know whether or not they still exist.Unfortunately the name escapes me now, however may I suggest you contact the Master Buiders Association in Perth for any assistance?

There were examples of their houses up in the Greenmount/Helensville region and could be readily seen from the Great Eastern Hwy and had quite an appeal to them at the time.

HTH
Cheers

[Woodlice]

Thanks John, I'll check out the MBA.

I know of two companies in WA that build kit homes, and I think they are the ones that you mean. Plank built homes look rustic and all but are not really what I am wanting. Rural Building Co. is one I think from memory.

Hey Mick, whats best to treat for termites? Companies in the US use borate etc to treat for termites, as per there log built home websites.

As for suitable tree's White Cypress Pine (callitris columellaris or callitris glauca) is what ALH (see link from first post) use. I'd like to use Karri, Marri or straight out Jarrah. They grow long and straight Pemberton way. Bunnings are willing to sell logs no problems, will even deliver them.

There are websites that offer courses which are hands on but they are all over in America. Luckily enough I have holidays coming up at the end of the year, and while I dont really fancy living over with the Seppo's for any great length of time it may be worth while. Books abound too...

Well if it is a pipe dream, it sure is a nice one. The land isnt going anywhere (unless the government wants to build a highway through it) so I'll keep on dreaming and planning.

J!

[seriph1]

I "believe" Karri is considered a greatly sought after delicacy to termites.

[Woodlice]

Yeah CSIRO give it a class 4 (less than 8 years) for termite and decay -- underground. I dont know what type of rating it has exposed.

They give Marri a 8-15 year for termite and decay.

Jarrah would be my first preference. I like the other hardwoods too, though would probably only use them for trim.

J!

[craigb]

Well we easterners couldn't concieve of being able to build a log house out of Jarrah :eek:

Not unless we were really really wealthy.

[Woodlice]

Yeah, well it would be good to have it growing on the property though I wouldn't want to hack any of it down. Trust me it will still cost a lot of money to do it though I wont have to pay any of the duties / shipping etc.

The other alternative is to use the cypress / yellow pine that they have in plantations over here. The tree's are still very skinny at logging though.

I (and my family) have planted a lot of trees, mostly F. hillii, Oak and the like. A lot of wood when they are older, though unlikely to be long enough or straight. I wouldnt want to cut them down either.

J!

[soundman]

With the apetite of the ausie termite in the subtropics I recon the only way to make a log home that would last is to mould them in concrete.
It would probably be cheaper too.