Choosing the right wood for your log home

Choosing the right wood species for your log home can sometimes prove to be hard when you don’t exactly know what you should be looking for. Log homes can be built with many types of wood, it’s up to you which characteristics you want. Here at Timeless, we can help you as you look into what it would take to build your own log home, but to start you off, here are some characteristics of wood that you should be looking for. Appearance You will have to look at and live in your log home, so it makes sense why appearance is important to a lot of log home owners. It’s one of the few things that can’t easily be replaced on a home like a roof or door can, which makes it important to people trying to choose a wood species. The appearance of wood on the exterior of a log home is bound to change over time due to weathering. To preserve the appearance that you love, you will have to preserve the wood by applying sealants. The best wood for you is one that matches your personal tastes. Resistance to Decay Different wood naturally decays differently, but no matter what type of wood you decide to build your home out of, it is highly recommended that you treat the outside of your log home with a wood preservative, regardless of the species to help keep the integrity of the logs for as long as possible. Choosing a wood species that is highly resistant to decaying will help you keep that natural look of the wood that you love on your home for as long as possible. Insulation Value The insulation value of a wood species is also called the R-Value. Much of the R-Value difference between species is small, so choosing a wood species solely on the insulation it may provide may not be the way to go. The R-Value is only one point of consideration if you are trying to make your log home as energy efficient as possible; there are many other ways and options for you to make your home more efficient than just the species of wood you are building your home with. It’s recommended to talk to an expert about what you are really getting from R-Value. Stability How susceptible a particular species is to shrinking, twisting and warping is knows as its ‘stability’ and is one of the most common concerns for log home owners. It is a factor that fortunately can be controlled by producers of logs through different techniques unique to the type of wood it is. With this in mind, the instability of a wood species is not something to worry about in most cases, as long as you are getting quality wood logs. Cost By far the most important factor, especially to new homeowners, is the cost of different wood species. It’s one of the factors that significantly varies the most between species. Some wood that may be appealing to the eye is more expensive because it isn’t local or it grows very slowly, and others may be less expensive because they are more common and easy to make into logs. Knowing what wood you can find locally will help you when it comes to choosing the wood species you want, because it will likely be less expensive. In the end, you just need to do some research to decide what wood is best for your home. Whether its appearance-based, maintenance-based, or cost-based, Timeless can guide you through the process and help you decide what works best for you. We have the best selection of log home supplies available to help keep your home in perfect condition all year long! Call us at (800) 564-2987!