Hearthstone's Blog 2012

Activity in Texas

2012-01-25T09:18:00.000-08:00

Through the years, we have been fortunate to do lot of work in Texas.

Here are a few links for interest:

Boot Ranch Development

Ough Custom Log Home

Texas Hill Country Home

Gholson Home

Call 1-800-247-4442 for plans or additional homes that might be in your area.

A friend in the Wall Street Journal...

2012-01-19T05:52:00.000-08:00

The Yankee King of Cowboy Boots (WSJ article link)

Video Here, Navigate to the 1:10 part for a look at the Hearthstone boot Charlie Dunn made years ago.

Also, here is an old Gallery of Charlie Dunn....

Home Show Season Kicks off in Atlanta

2012-01-19T05:36:00.000-08:00

Atlanta Home Show 2012

Visit us in booth #213 to see our photo display, plans, and catalogs. There are many exciting things going on in the Spring of 2012. Visit with us to discuss your plans, get all of your questions answered, and pick up literature.

Link to E-Letter

Great Winter Photo

2012-01-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

Winter is a great time to start planning for your new Spring project. New porch, new addition, or a brand new home attached to an old one. Give us a call....1-800-247-4442.

Lee Miller Video - Austin, TX

2012-01-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

Fall 2011 Happenings and Update

2011-10-26T05:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.hearthstonehomes.com/eletter/fall_2011.html

For some of you, it’s been a while since we’ve had direct communication.This is not by design, but rather by necessity. The days have been long andour employees, crews and vendors have been stretched thin in 2011. We’revery proud of the hard work and sacrifices all of you have made to make this2011 a success in such a lousy building environment. We thank you!

How much does it cost to build a log home?

2011-10-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

A. COST AND PRICE QUESTIONS

How much does it cost to build a log or timber frame home?
Are log or timber frame homes more expensive than conventionally constructed homes?
OK, building really cool homes costs a lot of money. I love the log and timber frame homes, but I have a budget I have to live with. How do I economize and still get a Hearthstone home?
Which costs more — a log or timber frame home?
How do Hearthstone’s prices compare to other log or timber frame companies?

A/1. How much does it cost to build a log or timber frame home? | The short answer:That is as impossible to answer as the question: “How much does a car cost?” But, still, it’s a question that is on everyone’s mind, so we’ll take a stab at it. All of this conversation is highly speculative. The only way to know is to get detailed architectural plans and get quotes or estimates from qualified builders. Don’t use these numbers for serious planning. Get real quotes, or at least highly educated, detailed estimates.
For many reasons (see the “MORE DISCUSSION”, a highly recommended part of this answer), Dollars per square foot is a terrible way to estimate the cost of a home. But, we all do it. It’s especially misleading when there are a lot of open spaces, vertical design opportunity, porches, basements, limited “head space”, etc.
Having said all that: you might expect to spend $170-250 per square foot for a nicely-appointed log or timber frame home in a medium-construction-cost area. It will probably be close to the same price of a very high quality, one-of-a-kind, truly custom conventionally constructed home with an equivalent amount of architectural “wow factor” and personal appeal.
MORE DISCUSSION:

A/2. Are log or timber frame homes more expensive than conventionally constructed homes? | The short answer: The shortest, but not-very-useful, answer is yes. A square foot of a log wall is more expensive than a square foot of 2x4 wall. A square foot of heavy timber, highly insulated cathedral roof with a wooden decking ceiling is more expensive than a square foot of 2x4 truss roof with sheetrock ceiling and fiberglass insulation. That is true no matter who manufactures the logs or timber frame. If it is simply shelter you want, then conventional is cheaper. But, that's an apples and oranges comparison.
If you want to try to do apples to apples (or at least something close), try to consider whether you get any aesthetic, or spiritual, or just feel-good value of a log or timber frame home.
What is that value worth to you? If you had to build a conventional home with the same amount of attraction, ambience, architectural wow factor, creativity, personal expression, sense of family, etc. — would you have to add expense to that simplistic evaluation of conventional construction cost? You also get to do interesting things (for example little lofts) in the vertical dimension with a heavy timber roof system. If you tried to duplicate that in a conventional home, it would cost a lot.
If you truly want a log and timber frame home, it is likely that you would have to spend more than you think on a conventionally-constructed home to get sort of some "value-equal". With log and timber frame construction, you basically get a great deal of satisfaction simply from the walls and roof. Using conventional construction techniques, then doing extra things to create equal personal value drives the cost up to the same ballpark as a log or timber frame.
MORE DISCUSSION:

A/3. OK, building really cool homes costs a lot of money. I love the log and timber frame homes, but I have a budget I have to live with. How do I economize and still get a Hearthstone home? | The short answer: We at Hearthstone have helped thousands of people with this question since 1971. First of all, there’s no magic wand. We can't make the costs go away and neither can anyone else. But there are things we can do to help. They include:

Build as much as the home as you can afford with our systems, then build things like garages, or non-essential parts of the home, conventionally.
Efficient design: once again, we can’t perform miracles. But, if you are already working with a design that you like, there may be some inherently expensive, or wasteful, parts of your design that we can help you with.
Build a smaller house. Of course, we all can use a bigger, and bigger, and bigger house. But, do we need it? We can help you work on that. This solution is full of caveats, however. The most common regrets we hear from customers are (1) I wish I had done it sooner, and (2) I wish I had made it bigger. Also, understand that small houses can have a high cost per square foot — because frequently some of the most expensive things are still there: a fireplace, a kitchen, the same number of bathrooms, the same entry way, etc. Having said that, however, there is still a chance, with our design and practical experience, we can downsize your home and reduce the cost — and keep most of what you want.
Build a smaller house with a future addition already designed into the current construction.
The best solution, financially: buy a FasTrack Hearthstone home. We have a selection of plans that are heavily discounted with one condition: you don’t change anything. All the design and engineering is done, and there is no customization expense to us. You, however, can still turn it into a highly customized home by how you outfit the home. Another big benefit: we can deliver these homes very quickly.

A/4. Which costs more — a log or timber frame home? | Most timber frame homes cost more than most log homes. But, once again, that’s a short — and not terribly helpful — answer. There is a pretty big range of price points in log homes. There is a range of price points in timber frame homes as well, but not as big a range. The vast majority of log homes built are milled, “production” homes. The highly hand crafted log homes — built from massive logs, and with hand crafted roof systems, etc. are likely to every bit as expensive as a timber frame home.

A/5. How do Hearthstone’s prices compare to other log or timber frame companies? | Another short, but not very useful answer: We cost more… sort of… until you try to compare apples with apples.
The various independent log home publications have said over and over that their research shows that regardless of the price of the log package, the finish costs — to the same quality and appointments — aren’t much different from one manufacturer to the next. The biggest reason is that the appointments and specifications (number of fireplaces, finished flooring, window and door quality, etc.) make up most of the cost of the homes. Another big reason is that, most of the times, the cheaper the log or timber package, the more on-site work to do.
You can try to create an apples-to-apples spreadsheet of specs, species, etc. until you fall over exhausted. And, you should do that. But, the truth of the matter is that there is a wide range of skill, competence, and un-definable value in any product from any company in any industry. The old adage “you get what you pay for” didn’t get to be an old adage by accident. It tends to be true — especially in an industry where you can’t really spec out quality, dependability, chemistry, and integrity. But, in our industry, quality, dependability, chemistry, and integrity are paramount. You will probably never spend as much money on something that means as much to you as this home.
Whether you buy from Hearthstone or not, please remember this guidance: quality, dependability, chemistry, and integrity are what will determine whether you spent your money wisely. Find a company who projects those characteristics for you. When you do — then that is your company. Whatever price that company charges is likely to be a true reflection of the value of what you are buying. Free enterprise being what it is, none of us can overcharge much and get away with it for long. The cost is what the cost is. If it seems a bit high, there are probably good reasons. If it seems a bit low, there are also probably good reasons.
Most people who come to us are building a dream that they want to savor for the rest of their lives and they want to pass on for generations. Any difference in the package price between one company and the next is trivial when you consider it at the monthly payment level — and then compare that to the importance of getting what you want. Find a company that makes what you want, and whose philosophy, reputation, and integrity suits you. Buy from them — build your home right — and enjoy it.

Hearthstone Selected as a Top Mountain Design/Build Firm 2009

2009-08-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

The Sept-Oct 2009 Mountain Living has Hearthstone Homes listed as a "Top Mountain Design/Build Firm" for 2009.

http://www.hearthstonehomes.com/eletter/august09eletter.html

Heartdried: Kiln Dried Oak 2009

2009-01-26T07:55:00.000-08:00

Two large custom Timber Frame homes featuring HeartDried Red Oak ship in January/February to Florida and Michigan. The additional lead time required to manage Oak is proving to be well worth the wait...

http://www.hearthstonehomes.com/html/heartdried.html

Since introducing the vacuum-kiln technology to the Southeast in 2003, Hearthstone has slowly perfected the drying of large, long timbers from their headquarters in Dandridge, TN. With a second vacuum kiln added in 2006 (a Radio Frequency version), our capacity and ability to manage multiple species and timber sizes has helped keep pace with production.
For additional information and more detailed plans, call us at 1-800-247-4442.

http://www.hearthstonehomes.com/goodies/email/2009-1-21/index.html

Hearthstone Receives New Log Homes Design Award

2008-12-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

Hearthstone, Inc. proudly accepts award for Excellence in Home Design from the National Association of Home Builders.

Dandridge, TN—December 22, 2008—“Each year, the Building Systems Council honors industry leaders through its Excellence in Marketing and Home Design awards program. The awards honor those excelling in building with systems in the categories of exceptional home design and marketing materials.” Hearthstone, Inc. submitted the ‘Jennings guest house’, in the category of Log Homes under 2300 square feet. In November, it was announced that Hearthstone, Inc. won an award for the design of the Jennings guesthouse. The home, is roughly 835 square feet, well under the 2300 square feet limit, but offers a great layout with wonderful design details. The floor plan is based on the design of the main structure. The homeowner wanted the two homes to “look alike”. The floor plan features a great-room, kitchen and power room on the main floor; with a sleeping loft and full bath on the second level. The home uses a shed dormer on the rear of the home to accommodate more headroom and to create the feel of more space.

Over the many years and thousands of homes, we have always focused on the art and trade of the Timberwright. Our company history, heritage, and culture make us different from others in this business. We have enough size to focus the appropriate resources on your project, yet we maintain that culture of commitment to the creative and aesthetics of our Timberwright forefathers.

Hearthstone began thousands of homes ago in 1971 as a restorer of old log homes in the southern Appalachian Mountains. It wasn't long until there were more people who wanted those homes than there were old logs for restoration. When Hearthstone set out to learn how to craft new log homes – it was imperative to keep the quiet strength of character of those original log and heavy timber homes of the Early American Timberwright®. Call 1-800-247-4442 to get started on your new log home.

Why use chinking between the logs?

2008-12-16T13:53:00.000-08:00

Having began our career in log home restoration many moons ago, we've worked with all types of timber. This includes 200 year old 'seasoned' material, trees salvaged from the river bottoms and lakes, timbers air dried naturally for two years, freshly cut trees from the Eastern and Western US and Canada, standing dead, laminated logs and now vacuum-kiln material. We've seen them all. All this wood has one thing in common; It still shrinks and it still settles.
To what degree is subject to debate. Some of this shrinkage is measurable.

There are complex calculations to determine the amount shrinkage in fractions of an inch based on moisture content and species. But these aren't adjusted for real-world application such as the percentage of "heartwood" vs. sapwood", the altitude or latitude in which it was grown (shortness of seasons), the tightness of rings (old growth vs. new) and the type of cut (boxed heart vs. free of heart center---FOHC). If you can dry the timber down to 12% consistently, you will see minimal shrinkage thereafter. But shrinkage from moisture only accounts for HALF of the settling.

The other half comes from compression. This is driven by the weight of the roof (with a full snow load). It is helped by the weight of the second (and third) floors. And it is accelerated by the use of throughbolts and compression springs. The longer you take to build a home and the later you design and install the finished stair system, the better.

Some of this shrinkage and settling is unpredictable. Relative humidity, snow loads, prevailing winds, exposure to rain and sun, type of fasteners, throughbolts, adjoining structures, covered up screw jacks, hidden fasteners, window & door trim and interior partitions nailed up tight. All real-world issues that should be managed.

We have seen 200 year old bone-dry material in a dovetailed system compress and settle over one inch in nine feet after the weight of the floor and roof is applied. For this reason, we still engineer for shrinkage and settling in our log homes, even if HeartDried down to 12% moisture at the core. In fact, the new International Residential Code calls for log home manufactures to detail for shrinkage if they experience more than 1/2" settling in every 8'-0" of height. It is one thing to detail it, and another to see that it gets done.

Chink me now, or chink me later! In the old days, there was mortar mix and chicken wire to use between the hewn logs. We would painstakingly splice and dovetail these old timbers and make certain it was perfect. During the higher humidity summer months, these joints would swell tight. Come winter when humidity dropped, these same joints opened up ever so slightly.
Then came PermaChink™. Making the home weather tight around the chink joints became easy. It stretched and compressed and moved with the seasons. Attractive colors were added the battle of the chink space was solved.

But what about log-on-log? Over the years, we've seen many folks initially object to "that white stripe" and rule out our chink style for someone else's log on log. Then after two good years of living in the home and dealing with real-world issues, they're back to caulking or chinking the seams to make it perfectly weather tight.

A solution for these log-on-log clients has finally arrived in custom Energy Seal™ colors to match the Lifeline stain. No more worry about last minute touch up or sealing gaps in trim with caulking that doesn't match. For those who don't want the color and performance of chinking, they now have an attractive alternative with Energy Seal™. A case of interior and exterior should be sent with every home sold. Maybe the old saying should change to "Chink me now, or Seal me later"?

http://www.hearthstonehomes.com/

Hearthstone Log and Timber Frame Homes

2008-12-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Hearthstone Blog,

Hearthstone is the premier manufacturer of log homes and timber frame homes. Located in East Tennessee, our architects can provide breathtaking log home and timber frame home plans from our collection, or even from your designer's conventional home plan. Please explore our site where we have included a wealth of information on our log homes, timber frame homes, heavy timber barns and specialty structures, as well as timber components. (Residential and Commercial)Hearthstone's site also features stunning photography of our hand-crafted, Appalachian style log homes package and timber frame homes. We have many log and timber frame home plans online, as well as product descriptions and specifications for each of our handcrafted log home styles including our Bob Timberlake Log Home Collection.