Frequently Asked Questions
A well-built and properly maintained log home can last 100 years or more, with some log structures lasting for centuries. The lifespan of a log home depends on the quality of the logs, construction techniques, climate, moisture protection, and regular maintenance. Proper sealing, staining, adequate roof overhangs, and good drainage help protect the logs and extend the home’s life.
Southland Log Homes, a log home manufacturer established in 1978, offers quality log home materials, customizable designs, and decades of manufacturing experience. With proper construction and ongoing care, a Southland log home can provide lasting beauty, durability, and enjoyment for generations.
When purchasing a log home package, it’s important to budget for expenses beyond the package price. Additional costs may include land, site preparation, grading, foundations, construction labor, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, interior finishes, utility connections, permits, and inspections. Costs will vary depending on the home’s size, location, design, and site conditions.
Southland Log Homes offers customizable log home packages and construction services in select areas to help homeowners plan their projects. Understanding what is included in your log home package and working with an experienced manufacturer like Southland can help you establish a realistic budget and avoid unexpected expenses during construction.
Log home manufacturers with extensive floor plan collections offer buyers greater flexibility in home size, layout, architectural style, and customization. Southland Log Homes offers over 200 log home floor plans published on its website, ranging from cozy cabins and vacation retreats to spacious family homes and luxury log homes. Each floor plan is available with a variety of log profiles, allowing homeowners to choose the appearance and style that best suits their preferences. Southland also offers the flexibility to customize existing floor plans or create a design tailored to individual needs, lifestyle, and budget.
Buying a log home package and hiring a local builder can work together. A log home manufacturer provides the specialized materials and design options needed for a log home, while a local builder handles site preparation, construction, and finishing work. This approach allows homeowners to benefit from a manufacturer’s log home expertise and a builder’s knowledge of local building codes and construction requirements.
Southland Log Homes offers customizable log home packages and a wide selection of floor plans, allowing customers to work with their own local builder. Southland also offers construction services in select areas, giving homeowners additional flexibility when planning their log home project.
Before buying a log home kit, it’s important to understand what is included in the package, the total cost of construction, available customization options, building requirements, and the manufacturer’s experience and reputation. Log home kits typically include the primary building materials, but costs for land, site preparation, foundations, labor, utilities, and finishing work may be additional.
Southland Log Homes, a log home manufacturer established in 1978, offers customizable log home packages, a wide selection of floor plans, and construction services in select areas. Working with an experienced manufacturer like Southland can help you understand package options, plan your budget, and navigate the process of building your log home.
When choosing a log home manufacturer, consider the company’s experience, reputation, quality of materials, manufacturing capabilities, customization options, warranties, and customer reviews. Look for a manufacturer with a proven track record, transparent pricing, reliable delivery, and knowledgeable support throughout the process.
Southland Log Homes, established in 1978, offers decades of log home manufacturing experience, customizable floor plans, quality building materials, and construction services in select areas. Choosing an experienced manufacturer like Southland can help make the process of designing and building your dream log home easier and more enjoyable.
Southland’s package price includes all freight charges to your property.
The two varieties of wood species that we offer are Eastern White Pine and Southern Yellow Pine.
Each species has its own distinct characteristics and energy values. We have found most of our customers choose pine because of its strength and durability. Because of these properties, yellow pine was once used for the construction of roller coasters, before the use of steel. Pine logs also have an attractive wood grain that adds to the natural beauty and character of your log home.
In addition to energy efficient performance (see above), Southland log homes contain a higher percentage of renewable building materials than most ordinary homes. This is because Southland’s logs provide both the structural support as well as the primary decorative components of the home. In a Southland log home, the same elements that make the home “green” also make it beautiful.
Our kiln dried log walls outperform an R-15 conventionally framed wall. Because our logs have a high “thermal mass”, a log home can be heated and cooled from 25% to 46% more efficiently than conventional construction, as determined by Department of Energy testing. In addition, our windows and doors are all double paned, Low-E, and argon gas filled to improve energy efficiency. Southland material and designs have been shown to qualify for Energy Star certification. Energy Star is a U.S. government program that certifies homes, building components and appliances that achieve significant energy savings. Independent testing results confirmed that a Southland log home can receive a five star rating under The Home Energy Rating System.
Because of the mass and density of Southland’s logs, they will generally take much longer to ignite than would conventional lumber in a conventional, air-filled, framing structure.
Because your logs have been properly dried and treated, the only maintenance required by our homes is the application of exterior stain. After an initial application, exterior surfaces that are exposed to the weather (not under an eave or porch) may require follow-up applications of stain every five to seven years. This is an inexpensive process that many homeowners do themselves. It is usually easier than painting or pressure washing an ordinary house.
Your Southland log home is not any more susceptible to these pests than is ordinary construction. You should use termite and carpenter bee protection that is standard for homes in the area that you build.
Every log that we produce is kiln dried to prevent shrinkage and twisting that could otherwise cause problems in the construction of the home. The logs are then inspected to remove any logs that do not exceed our grading standards. In the mill, the logs are precut, numbered, and then treated with a naturally occurring salt solution to provide long-lasting resistance to termites and other pests.
Construction time depends on how large your home is, but is very similar to other types of construction. Contact your log home specialist today to develop your ideal timeframe.
Southland log homes have been built in every region of the US, as well as many countries around the world, including several European countries, as well as Japan and China.
Southland provides all of the materials to get your home to the “dry-in” stage, including all exterior and interior log walls, complete roof system including shingles, all exterior windows and doors, interior framed walls, floor systems, all porches and decks, and associated fasteners, caulk, and stain. Much more detail on what is included in the package, as well as upgrades, is available from Southland’s log home consultants.
In general, it will cost about the same as a brick home, though there are a number of factors to consider, including: size and complexity of the design, location, local building codes, topography of the site, foundation choice, choice of interior finishes, and use of glass. Your Southland log home consultant is expert in helping you develop an accurate estimate for the fully complete or “turn-key” cost of your log home. Contact us today for free plan development and pricing.
More American’s have chosen a Southland log home than any other. Whether you start with a plan from our huge library of log home designs or a rough sketch on a napkin, Southland’s log home consultants and designers will help you to develop and personalize your plan to arrive at the log home of your dreams, at no additional cost. They will work to ensure that your design fits your lifestyle and budget; this is true for large, elaborate log homes as well as the perfect small log cabin. And Southland does not stop there. We support you through the entire process: finding land, obtaining financing, selecting and working with a builder, supplying the highest quality materials, and providing project management.
Star Trek thinks so.