It’s the right time to buy real estate. I know that from personal experience. Last year, I bought a foreclosed four bedroom two bath house in Marietta GA for $36,000. The previous owner had a $108,000 mortgage on the property. It was in reasonably good shape. I replaced the windows and gutters, added some kitchen cabinets, repainted and it is now renting for $900 per month. I’ll wait for real estate to rebound before selling it. Why not take advantage of the current foreclosure to acquire your log cabin vacation/retirement home?
I was inspired to write this article when I read an article in the Atlanta paper about a couple that did exactly that. The log cabin was located in Blue Ridge GA which is appropriately located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. They had rented cabins there previously. They loved the town and surrounding mountain and forested area. The couple had been looking to purchase a log cabin as a vacation home for around six years. The article didn’t mention the final price but they found the right cabin for the right price. They are now spending weekends fixing it up.
Even if you’re not ready yet to move to the mountains, if you’re considering retiring to a log cabin, now is the time to buy. The timing is right but what if you don’t have the money? In addition to the investment property, I also bought some land in the north Georgia mountains through my self directed IRA. The property is owned by the IRA and I suffer no tax impact until I take control upon retirement.
Another option is to rent out the cabin until you’re ready to retire. There is a solid rental market for log cabins. With prices so low, you can charge rent to cover the mortgage, taxes and maintenance. My sister and her husband own a summer home up north. They vacation there for two weeks in August. They rent it out for the remainder of the summer. Even with a relatively short vacation rental season, they make enough money to afford the mortgage. You keep the eventual property value increase and have your retirement log cabin when you’re ready.
As the adage goes, ‘buy low, sell high.’ Prices for foreclosed log cabins are very attractive. Like I said already, now is the time to buy.
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The Log Cabin
Monday, August 16, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Log Cabin Flooring - Bamboo
If you’re concerned about the environment, you should be aware that bamboo is a renewable ‘green’ source of flooring for your log cabin construction. China, Indonesia, Viet Nam, the Philippines and Korea are the major sources of bamboo. As an environmental aside, pandas don’t eat the species of bamboo used for commercial products.
Solid hardwood is commonly used for log cabin floors. While a hardwood tree may take 100 years or more to mature and is destroyed when cut down for flooring, a bamboo plant remains alive and requires around 6 years to re-grow to a harvestable length. Bamboo actually grows one to three feet a day during its peak growth period. Even though it is officially categorized as a grass, bamboo exceeds a number of hardwoods in ‘hardness.’
Bamboo plants stalks are cut down and the outer green layer and shoots are removed. The remainder is boiled and ‘purified.’ Its natural color is light blond. The bamboo may also be pressure steamed to produce a darker ‘carbonized’ color that accentuates the grain pattern. However, this carbonization process reduces the hardness of the bamboo about 10%.
The bamboo logs are then sorted into ‘A’ and ‘B’ grades. Strips of similarly graded bamboo are first placed together either vertically or horizontally. Then they are glued together and high pressure is applied to form ‘blocks’. The blocks are then milled to form the final flooring planks.
Besides the natural blond and darker carbonized colors, the natural planks can be stained to produce a variety of other colors. You can choose the best color to complement your log cabin walls. Like hardwood boards, bamboo flooring is available in unfinished or finished options.
The Janka Hardness ratings for bamboo are 1380 for natural bamboo and 1180 for carbonized bamboo. The rating of natural bamboo is actually higher than red (1290) and white (1360) oak.
Bamboo flooring is typically tongue and groove manufactured. It can be nailed or glued to a subfloor. A floating option is also available to do it yourself handymen. It can be installed over concrete with a vapor barrier for a floating floor. There are also moisture barrier adhesives available for glueing down the bamboo flooring.
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of bamboo flooring is the cost. It can be up to 50% lower that solid hardwood floors. I will certainly be investigating bamboo flooring when I make a choice for my log cabin construction.
Solid hardwood is commonly used for log cabin floors. While a hardwood tree may take 100 years or more to mature and is destroyed when cut down for flooring, a bamboo plant remains alive and requires around 6 years to re-grow to a harvestable length. Bamboo actually grows one to three feet a day during its peak growth period. Even though it is officially categorized as a grass, bamboo exceeds a number of hardwoods in ‘hardness.’
Bamboo plants stalks are cut down and the outer green layer and shoots are removed. The remainder is boiled and ‘purified.’ Its natural color is light blond. The bamboo may also be pressure steamed to produce a darker ‘carbonized’ color that accentuates the grain pattern. However, this carbonization process reduces the hardness of the bamboo about 10%.
The bamboo logs are then sorted into ‘A’ and ‘B’ grades. Strips of similarly graded bamboo are first placed together either vertically or horizontally. Then they are glued together and high pressure is applied to form ‘blocks’. The blocks are then milled to form the final flooring planks.
Besides the natural blond and darker carbonized colors, the natural planks can be stained to produce a variety of other colors. You can choose the best color to complement your log cabin walls. Like hardwood boards, bamboo flooring is available in unfinished or finished options.
The Janka Hardness ratings for bamboo are 1380 for natural bamboo and 1180 for carbonized bamboo. The rating of natural bamboo is actually higher than red (1290) and white (1360) oak.
Bamboo flooring is typically tongue and groove manufactured. It can be nailed or glued to a subfloor. A floating option is also available to do it yourself handymen. It can be installed over concrete with a vapor barrier for a floating floor. There are also moisture barrier adhesives available for glueing down the bamboo flooring.
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of bamboo flooring is the cost. It can be up to 50% lower that solid hardwood floors. I will certainly be investigating bamboo flooring when I make a choice for my log cabin construction.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Log Cabin Flooring - Solid Hardwood
Your log cabin is made from solid wood logs. Solid hardwood flooring complements and adds to the traditional look of your log cabin log walls. As the name suggests, the flooring is cut from a solid piece of log.
The harder the wood, the longer lasting and less susceptible to wear and ‘dinging’ it is. There is a hardness index (Janka Hardness Scale) that measures the relative hardness of different wood species. The chart below shows this rating for various popular flooring choices.
White Ash 1320
American Beech 1300
Paper Birch 910
Black Cherry 950
Cypress 1375
Douglas Fir 660
Hickory 1820
Hard Maple 1450
Red Oak 1290
White Oak 1360
Brazilian Cherry 2350
Hardwoods can be laid down in several styles. Most commonly, they are laid out in linear strips that are 2 ¼” or 3 ¼’ wide. Planks are wider pieces than are also linear but up to widths of 4” and higher. The narrower width strips provide a more formal look while the wider widths are more country looking and log cabin oriented. Finally, hardwood can be put down in a parquet style in which the pieces of wood form a repeated geometric design. The hardwood boards are manufactured in lengths between 1’-7’. The boards are ¾” deep.
Solid wood flooring is available in either unfinished or prefinished versions. Unfinished wood must be sanded and covered with several coats of finish after being installed. The finishing process takes several days to a week to complete. Prefinished hardwood has already been factory finished and is ready for use immediately after installation.
Solid hardwood flooring is sensitive to moisture. It is not recommended for placement over concrete, below ground level or over radiant heated floors. You can sand and refinish it up to seven times during its 80 to 100 year lifetime.
Hardwood flooring pieces are given a grade based on their appearance. Higher graded pieces have better uniformity of appearance. The grades in order of quality are:
Clear grade – has most uniform color, lack of blemishes and knots
Select & Better – has very uniform color, virtually no blemishes or knots
Country or Exclusive – differing color, small pinholes and tiny knots
Traditional, Antique, Character – light and dark color, pinholes, knots and small checks
Tavern or Cabin – light and dark color, pinholes and knots are quite evident
It sounds like from the grades that log cabins should automatically fall into the bottom grade ranking. To be honest with you, I agree. I won’t mind seeing knots and checks on my log cabin walls nor on my floors.
The harder the wood, the longer lasting and less susceptible to wear and ‘dinging’ it is. There is a hardness index (Janka Hardness Scale) that measures the relative hardness of different wood species. The chart below shows this rating for various popular flooring choices.
White Ash 1320
American Beech 1300
Paper Birch 910
Black Cherry 950
Cypress 1375
Douglas Fir 660
Hickory 1820
Hard Maple 1450
Red Oak 1290
White Oak 1360
Brazilian Cherry 2350
Hardwoods can be laid down in several styles. Most commonly, they are laid out in linear strips that are 2 ¼” or 3 ¼’ wide. Planks are wider pieces than are also linear but up to widths of 4” and higher. The narrower width strips provide a more formal look while the wider widths are more country looking and log cabin oriented. Finally, hardwood can be put down in a parquet style in which the pieces of wood form a repeated geometric design. The hardwood boards are manufactured in lengths between 1’-7’. The boards are ¾” deep.
Solid wood flooring is available in either unfinished or prefinished versions. Unfinished wood must be sanded and covered with several coats of finish after being installed. The finishing process takes several days to a week to complete. Prefinished hardwood has already been factory finished and is ready for use immediately after installation.
Solid hardwood flooring is sensitive to moisture. It is not recommended for placement over concrete, below ground level or over radiant heated floors. You can sand and refinish it up to seven times during its 80 to 100 year lifetime.
Hardwood flooring pieces are given a grade based on their appearance. Higher graded pieces have better uniformity of appearance. The grades in order of quality are:
Clear grade – has most uniform color, lack of blemishes and knots
Select & Better – has very uniform color, virtually no blemishes or knots
Country or Exclusive – differing color, small pinholes and tiny knots
Traditional, Antique, Character – light and dark color, pinholes, knots and small checks
Tavern or Cabin – light and dark color, pinholes and knots are quite evident
It sounds like from the grades that log cabins should automatically fall into the bottom grade ranking. To be honest with you, I agree. I won’t mind seeing knots and checks on my log cabin walls nor on my floors.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Log Cabin Flooring - Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is another option for your log cabin construction. A laminate is a material that is manufactured by joining two or more layers of material together. The layers are combined with adhesive and heat and/or pressure. Laminate flooring was originally designed by a Swedish company named Pergo. It was introduced to the USA by Pergo in 1994. It is now the fastest growing flooring choice in America
Laminate flooring is made of four layers. The top or wear layer is typically made from cellulose paper that is soaked with melamine plastic resins. This produces laminate flooring’s durability and scratch resistance. The second or design layer provides the image that shows through the wear layer. It is made from cellulose paper that has a photograph or a print copied on it. The image simulates the look of wood, tiles or stone.
The third or core layer is made from a type of particle board and provides the bulk of the floor. The final or stabilizer layer is usually made the same as the top layer. The identical top and bottom layers help to prevent movement within the core layer.
Ease of installation is a major benefit of laminates. Like engineered wood, laminated flooring can be installed over your log cabin's plain or radiant heated concrete. Most laminate planks are made with tongue and grooved sides that allow them to be ‘clicked’ together. A foam or board underlay is applied to the application surface. A vapor barrier combination underlay product should be used over concrete. They are commonly installed as floating floors.
Laminated flooring is water resistant and therefore a good choice for your log cabin bathrooms, kitchen and laundry room where moisture is a potential problem. It is also durable and suited for high traffic areas.
The final benefit of laminated flooring is cost. It averages 20-25% lower than solid wood. If you install the laminate flooring yourself, your savings will be more.
Log Cabin Flooring - Engineered Wood
If you’ve decided to install wood flooring in your log cabin, you should consider engineered wood as an option. Although the word ‘engineered’ sounds somewhat less than real, engineered wood flooring is indeed constructed from all wood components. It has become increasingly popular as worldwide sales of engineered wood has eclipsed solid wood flooring sales.
Engineered wood consists of a 1/16” to 1/8” top layer of finish wood on top of layers of non-finish plywood. For additional strength, the grain of the plywood layers runs crossways to each other and the finish layer. This makes the flooring more stable and less susceptible to warping. Unlike solid wood, engineered planks can be glued to a concrete subfloor, installed over a radiant heat floor or installed as a floating floor. The plywood base withstands moisture that can cause buckling and rippling. I will definitely use it to cover my log cabin basement floor. The top layer is also pre-finished so that it is ready for use upon being laid.
Since the top layer is real wood, engineered flooring is available in the same species as solid hardwood floors including hickory, oak, maple and walnut. There also a ‘green’ option, bamboo. Bamboo has a distinctive grain and is technically a grass. The bamboo plant is not destroyed when it is harvested and unlike trees, it is a renewable resource.
Engineered wood can be placed in areas with light moisture. I have engineered wood installed in my first floor half bath and despite occasional water spills, it has held up well. Although I have seen it installed in the kitchen and full bathrooms of log cabins, I personally prefer the look and better water resistance of tile.
Having experienced engineered flooring in my current residence, I can attest that it is susceptible to scratching and ‘dinging.’ Unlike laminate flooring, it can be sanded to renew the surface. However, depending on the thickness of the finish layer, it can only be sanded one to three times. It is advisable to hire a floor professional specialist to do the sanding due to the limited depth of the top layer.
The cost of engineered wood is comparable to solid wood. However, if you glue down or use floating floor option, you can save money by installing it yourself. I will probably put down my own basement floor.
Engineered wood consists of a 1/16” to 1/8” top layer of finish wood on top of layers of non-finish plywood. For additional strength, the grain of the plywood layers runs crossways to each other and the finish layer. This makes the flooring more stable and less susceptible to warping. Unlike solid wood, engineered planks can be glued to a concrete subfloor, installed over a radiant heat floor or installed as a floating floor. The plywood base withstands moisture that can cause buckling and rippling. I will definitely use it to cover my log cabin basement floor. The top layer is also pre-finished so that it is ready for use upon being laid.
Since the top layer is real wood, engineered flooring is available in the same species as solid hardwood floors including hickory, oak, maple and walnut. There also a ‘green’ option, bamboo. Bamboo has a distinctive grain and is technically a grass. The bamboo plant is not destroyed when it is harvested and unlike trees, it is a renewable resource.
Engineered wood can be placed in areas with light moisture. I have engineered wood installed in my first floor half bath and despite occasional water spills, it has held up well. Although I have seen it installed in the kitchen and full bathrooms of log cabins, I personally prefer the look and better water resistance of tile.
Having experienced engineered flooring in my current residence, I can attest that it is susceptible to scratching and ‘dinging.’ Unlike laminate flooring, it can be sanded to renew the surface. However, depending on the thickness of the finish layer, it can only be sanded one to three times. It is advisable to hire a floor professional specialist to do the sanding due to the limited depth of the top layer.
The cost of engineered wood is comparable to solid wood. However, if you glue down or use floating floor option, you can save money by installing it yourself. I will probably put down my own basement floor.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Log Furniture for your Log Cabin
If you like a log cabin for its rustic look, then you should consider log furniture when furnishing it. Each piece is unique and distinctive and provides additional natural charm to the inside the log cabin. Although more commonly used in lodges and ski and vacation cabins, there are any number of log furniture pieces that would enhance the appearance of any home.
Just like the cabin itself, log furniture can be hand crafted or machine manufactured. The manufactured logs still retain the natural wood look. The wood can be either peeled of bark, or skip-peeled where the inner bark of the log is not removed. The skip-peeled pieces are more rustic looking. The wood used is typically pine, white or red cedar or hickory. Log furniture is constructed for a long life. Unlike other furniture, it can take abuse without the appearance of having done so.
Due in part to its durability, I plan to furnish at least the recreation room in my retirement log cabin with log furniture. The grandchildren can have their way with it. The second possibility would be one or more of the bedrooms. For example, I recently saw a log bed plan (finished bed shown below) with the foot board configured as the back of a bench seat. I was intrigued to say the least.
The cost of log furniture varies with the level of handcrafting and type of wood. You can find some great buys on the internet. If you’ve got some woodworking experience, you can cut the price considerably by doing the construction yourself. You can buy plans online very cheaply. You’ll have to provide your own woodworking tools and wood. Unfortunately for me, I missed the high honor roll one semester in middle school thanks to my miserable woodworking performance in shop.
Despite my I would seriously consider buying a kit. I can follow good instructions with no problem. As another example, I’ve seen a red cedar queen size bed kit available on sale for under $400 with free shipping. They provide you with wood, instructions, screws, etc. All you add is some less than skilled labor.
You will find a wide variety of styles and looks. Just like choosing your log cabin plan, I would recommend taking the time to shop around for ideas before buying.
Just like the cabin itself, log furniture can be hand crafted or machine manufactured. The manufactured logs still retain the natural wood look. The wood can be either peeled of bark, or skip-peeled where the inner bark of the log is not removed. The skip-peeled pieces are more rustic looking. The wood used is typically pine, white or red cedar or hickory. Log furniture is constructed for a long life. Unlike other furniture, it can take abuse without the appearance of having done so.
Due in part to its durability, I plan to furnish at least the recreation room in my retirement log cabin with log furniture. The grandchildren can have their way with it. The second possibility would be one or more of the bedrooms. For example, I recently saw a log bed plan (finished bed shown below) with the foot board configured as the back of a bench seat. I was intrigued to say the least.
The cost of log furniture varies with the level of handcrafting and type of wood. You can find some great buys on the internet. If you’ve got some woodworking experience, you can cut the price considerably by doing the construction yourself. You can buy plans online very cheaply. You’ll have to provide your own woodworking tools and wood. Unfortunately for me, I missed the high honor roll one semester in middle school thanks to my miserable woodworking performance in shop.
Despite my I would seriously consider buying a kit. I can follow good instructions with no problem. As another example, I’ve seen a red cedar queen size bed kit available on sale for under $400 with free shipping. They provide you with wood, instructions, screws, etc. All you add is some less than skilled labor.
You will find a wide variety of styles and looks. Just like choosing your log cabin plan, I would recommend taking the time to shop around for ideas before buying.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Log Cabin Landscaping - The Cabin Perimeter
When deciding what to plant around the perimeter of your log cabin, first determine the size of the landscaping you want to plant. Second, similar to trees and groundcover, research which plants will grow well in your property’s habitat and fit your desired size. Besides online and nursery research, you can also walk around your local area and locate plants that are appealing to you. Take pictures and find out their names.
There are two reasons for not planting large plants and bushes around the immediate perimeter of a log cabin. The number one reason is to ensure that your logs have room to breath and access to airflow, thus deterring lengthy exposure to damaging moisture and the advent of mold and mildew. There should be a three to five foot distance between the plants and the log wall. You will need to allow for growth when determining the proper planting distance. You will need lots of room
The second reason is my own personal preference. I love the natural look of the logs. That’s why I’ll be building a log cabin. I don’t want to block the visual beauty of the logs, especially on the front. I once bought a house that had an attractive stone covered front that was mostly blocked from view by the evergreen trees that had been allowed to grow unchecked. I eventually cut down the trees and replaced them with smaller plants in order to uncover and showcase the stone.
The only exception to this rule could be on the rear sides of my log cabin. Due to the property slope there will be considerable exposed cement basement wall. I do have the option of covering the wall with log or stone siding. If not, I can plant some evergreens that will eventually hide the cement.So in the front, I will be planting some shrubs whose height can be controlled by annual trimming. I once planted a row of Korean boxwoods on the side of my house in Connecticut. They filled in nicely and ended up about three feet high. I have determined that these plants will do well in the mountains of Georgia. I will also plant some perennial and/or annual flowering plants in front of the boxwoods for some color contrast. A boxwood hedge (that needs a trim) is shown above.
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