Log Homes Popular, and Not Just for Getaways

Here’s a trend that would have made Daniel Boone feel right at home.

Log homes are gaining in popularity, and not just for vacation retreats. According to the Log Home Living Institute, there were 26,093 log homes built in 2003, nearly twice as many as were built 20 years ago.

Technological advances with wood-cutting tools and computer-aided design result in better constructed, draft-free log homes, which is making them more appealing to home owners, says Jeremy Bertrand, executive director of the Log Homes Council.

Construction isn’t cheap – the labor and materials to built log homes can easily cost twice as much as a similar conventionally built home. But to many buyers, it's worth it.

Vickie Gilmore, 53, of Iowa Park, Texas, started vacationing in Lake City about a dozen years ago. When she saw how beautiful some of the local log homes appeared, she started asking residents about them.
Those questions would lead to her having her own log home built last year.

"I don't know if it's actually being surrounded by something from nature, but it's very peaceful," she says. "It feels closer to nature."

Source: Denver Post, Christian Toto (10/28/2007)