A log house, is a building built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. The logs used in the construction may be squared, round or designed in different shapes, either handcrafted or milled. The weather condition of an area plays a vital role on the type of log to use in the construction. Logs from , coniferous trees, such as pine and spruce are widely used in large areas of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia and the Baltic States since they are widely available in those regions. Moreover, people in Europe, Balkans and the Alps use the logs of the coniferous trees are also used to construct buildings. However, in warmer and more westerly regions of Europe, where deciduous trees predominate, timber framing was favored instead. The main categories of milled logs include D-shaped logs, square logs, full-round logs, and Swedish Cope logs. The D-shaped logs, for instance, are flat inside and round on the outside, while the full-round milled logs are fully round inside and out unlike the Swedish cope logs that are round inside and out, with a half-moon-shaped groove on the bottom. The logs houses are constructed using different approaches. The main methods include the Scandinavian Full-Scribe is naturally-shaped, smoothly-peeled logs which are scribed and custom-fitted to one another while the In the flat-on-flat method, logs are flattened on the top and bottom and then stacked, however, Milled log houses are built with a groove system that assists in aligning one log to another and creates a system to seal out the elements.
The following are the reasons why log and timber buildings are better that the brick buildings. First and foremost, the logs used to build the houses are renewable resource, therefore the building will have a solid green lineage. If you want your house to last for many years, then log constructions are ideal for you. The logs provide good thermal insulation in the home; therefore, one does not need to install an additional heating system. Log homes are safe during stormy weather. Log house are considered better for people living in cold regions since the log walls are able to collect and store the sun’s energy during the day, then radiate it back into the home in the evening. The building and taking care of a log house seems to be expensive when one first hear all the numbers, however, the building of a log cabin is no more expensive than the building of a brick house, furthermore, it is faster to build the log home hence the building expenses will be less. Using high quality materials as well as employing experienced professionals to build your log house are key factors that will make it to last for many years.