1. What does Maisons des Billots Jacques Larivière produce?
2. What is so special about these products?
3. Isn’t a log home expensive?
4. What all is included in your log structure?
5. How do I get a price quote for a finished log home?
6. Does Les Maisons de Billots Jacques Lariviere have a guarantee?
7. Can any general contractor finish the home after you erect your log structure, or does it require a specialized general contractor?
8. How do I get a completed log home design?
9. What is your approach to producing a custom log home design? Are any two alike?
10. What kind of design do you produce?
11. How long does it take to build a log home?
12. What type of trees do you use and how large are they?
13. Why do you use white pine?
14. What has allowed some extraordinary Scandinavian, Russian and European log homes to last up to a thousand years?
15. Are the logs in your log structures pre-dried?
16. Does drying the logs in place cause the walls to settle?
17. Will the settling of the walls cause any problems?
18. Is a log home comfortable?
19. What maintenance do you recommend?
20. What about the insulation properties of log walls?
   
 
1. What does Maisons des Billots Jacques Lariviere produce?
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  1. Scandinavian Full-Scribed Log Home Structures, which require a General Contractor to produce the finished homes.
  2. Post & Beam Home Structures, which require a General Contractor to produce the finished homes.
  3. Embellishments to existing homes with decorative or functional interior posts, beams and trusses. Many homeowners are now adding selected structures to their existing homes to create the look of massive wood.
  4. Custom Log Home Designs and Plans
 
 
2. What is so special about these products?
top Both Scandinavian Full-Scribed log homes and post & beam homes use very old European handcrafted techniques that date back to the Romans. Both use massive timbers, visible inside the home, with techniques that invite creativity-thus many of our homes are unique. When comparing our Scandinavian Full-Scribed techniques to other wood homes, look at the size of our logs and exposed trusses, notice how our every corner-inside and out-is different, and, how we extend and sculpt our corner logs to add unique beauty to our structures. Compared to standard construction techniques, we can also create larger interior spaces. Our home designs incorporate all these benefits of our building techniques.

3. Isn’t a log home expensive?
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Scandinavian log walls are handcrafted, and thus you should expect to pay more for your log wall structure than for a standard construction of 2x6s and gyp rock-although the difference is partially offset because, once assembled, our logs provide the final exterior and interior walls as well as the wall insulation.

Our modern log structures are finished with the same roof, floors, doors, windows, lighting systems, basement, etc. as any other construction method.

The total budget for your new home will probably include purchasing the land, site preparation, foundation, design and construction. You will be choosing the types of heating and roof, water well (if not on city water), sanitation facilities (if not on a city sewer system), fireplace, kitchen cabinets, appliances, security system, finished driveway, landscaping and interior furnishings.

The final cost of your finished home will depend on the size of your home plus your cumulative choices for all these budgeted items. If the look and feel of massive handcrafted log walls, sculpted corners and exposed trusses is high among your priorities, you can have a Scandinavian log home.

 
 
4. What all is included in your log structure?  
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Our log structure includes the log walls, log trusses-to be visible and support any cathedral ceilings, and visible log floor joists to support the loft or second floor. This prefabricated structure is sometimes called a "kit." Your general contractor will provide and install all the remaining materials and fixtures you choose for your new home.

 
 
5. How do I get a price quote for a finished Scandinavian log home?  
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  1. Assuming you have a completed design, Les Maisons de Billots will produce a contract detailing all parts of your home included in our log structure, and, our final price to you. A general contractor will take our information, add the cost of all your other choices for the completed construction, and, give you a final construction cost estimate.
  2. If you already have an architect's design or a sketch of your floor plan with all dimensions, we can give you an estimate of the price of our log structure.
 
 
6. Does Les Maisons de Billots Jacques Lariviere offer a guarantee?  
top Yes, when you sign our contract to produce a log structure, we guarantee design and performance of the structure for five years.

 
 
7.

Can any general contractor finish the home after you erect your log structure, or does it require a specialized general contractor?

 
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Our log home structures already include all work on the logs themselves, therefore, your general contractor will be doing things already familiar-such as constructing the roof, floors, basement, interior walls, kitchen and so on. As part of our price to you, we consult with your general contractor and offer continuing assistance after our structure is erected. You can thus use your preferred general contractor, if you have one, to finish your log home.

 
8. How do I get a completed log home design?  
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  1. Any home plan can be adapted to a log structure with usually minor modifications. Wood home plans for milled-logs and piece-on-piece structures are easily adapted to Scandinavian Full-Scribed log homes. We specialize in producing custom log home designs.
  2. If you would like to do your own research, the following web site contains 100 books dealing with log home and timber home designs and considerations (English): Log house books here
 
 
9. What is your approach to producing a custom log home design? Are any two alike?  
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We prefer to design what you want, with you. We will guide you through the design process with our experience and knowledge of the creative use of our log-building technique. We listen well and take your personal factors into consideration. The result will be your unique log home.

 
 
10. What kind of design do you produce?  
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  1. If you are starting from the beginning, we can provide a custom architectural drawing, suitable for presentation to a municipality for your building permit.
  2. If you have already selected an architect, we can provide a custom design your architect can complete.
 
 
11. How long does it take to build a log home?  
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Depending on its size, it generally takes about four to six weeks to produce your structure at our factory, dismantle it, ship it and reassemble it on your foundation. Our shipping date for your log structure is part of our final contract with you, and is based on our existing contracts at the time. Your general contractor may then take another two to four months to complete the remainder of your home. Your specific experience may differ from these generalizations.

 
 
12. What type of trees do you use and how large are they?
top We select white pine logs with a diameter of about 16-inches at the bottom and 12-inches at the top. We use them fully round in the shape that nature made them.

 
 
13. Why do you use white pine?  
top Although most conifers are adequate for log structures, we choose white pine because of its "noblesse," its unique grain structure and its seasoning qualities.

 
 
14. What has allowed some extraordinary Scandinavian, Russian and European log homes to last up to a thousand years?  
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  1. Their builders chose and maintained healthy original logs. Before construction began, the builders removed the bark immediately upon cutting the trees and stored waiting logs properly to allow breathing.
  2. Their construction began with their bottom logs well off the ground and away from surrounding vegetation.
  3. Their roofs had large overhangs.
  4. Their logs were not treated with any coating that impaired their breathing, before or after construction.
  5. They all had good ventilation inside and outside the structure.
  6. Their healthy, dry wood did not interest insects.

    At Les Maisons de Billots Jacques Lariviere we apply all this knowledge in our process of constructing log homes.
 
 
15. Are the logs in your log structures pre-dried?  
top No. The best way to dry logs is to lock them into position and protect them from rain-which is what happens when we construct a log home.

 
 
16. Does drying the logs in place cause the walls to settle?  
top Yes. Each nominal 13-inch log's diameter will lose about ½ inch.

 
 
17. Will the settling of the walls cause any problems?  
top No. The construction objective is not to interfere with the ability of each log in each wall to descend as it dries, because well-managed settling creates a very tight, solid fit among all the logs. Since our first home in 1976, we have successfully produced over 160 log homes. We use this experience to produce both good design and good construction practice to prevent problems with settling logs. We also provide guidance (included in your contract price) to ensure your General Contractor's construction practices maintain proper settling conditions.

 
 
18. Is a log home comfortable?  
top Yes. A log home is both comfortable and healthy. It breathes, like we do. Plus, the logs' massiveness allows them to store, on their interior sides, the warmth of your stove in the winter, and, in summer, the coolness of the night coming through your open windows.

 
 
19. 19. What maintenance do you recommend?
 
top We suggest a stain that will slightly color the logs and will penetrate the wood without forming an outer barrier film, e.g., Sikkens Cetol® or TimberCare® from Para. We suggest you apply two coats the first year, a few months after drying without treatment. Afterward, you will normally need an additional coat about every five years.

 
 
20. What about the insulation properties of log walls?  
top Since the advent of lightweight building materials-which created the need for insulation to fill the voids in the walls-builders have debated the comparative thermal properties of log walls versus now-conventional, insulated walls. The discussion rises because the sheer weight of solid logs gives them a "thermal mass," an additional, beneficial thermal characteristic that insulated walls do not possess, and, log walls do not usually measure as high as conventional constructions on the "R-Value" insulation test.

Log homeowners have long reported their heating bills are not higher than their insulated-walled neighbors, but eventually, scientists made the comparison.

In 1981-82, The National Institute of Standards conducted a field study of the effect of wall mass on six test buildings in Maryland constructed identically except for the exterior walls. One building had log walls. During winter, summer and spring periods, NIS maintained all the buildings at the same temperature and measured the energy consumption of each building.

Their seven-inch-square log construction, rated R-10-when compared to a fiberglass-insulated, 2x4 wood frame wall construction rated R-12-used about the same energy during the winter heating period, 46% less energy during the spring heating period and 24% less energy during the summer cooling period.

The full report is "Proceedings of the Building Thermal Mass Seminar," Knoxville, TN, June 2-3, 1982.

In 1991, The National Association of Home Builders Research Center conducted a study for the Log Home Council to determine a log home's wall performance during winter in northern zones. They studied eight log homes and eight well-insulated conventional homes, evenly divided between upstate New York and Montana/Wyoming.

Their results concluded that the tested log homes were as energy efficient as the tested super-insulated frame homes, even though the R-value of the log homes was 44% lower than the walls of the frame homes.

The full report is "Evaluation of Log Homes' Heating Energy Performance in Northern Climates," April 5, 1991.

In terms of construction materials, log homes use the same windows, doors, ceilings, roofs and floors as conventionally built homes. In 1990, Advanced Certified Thermography, an independent testing agency, studied the heat loss of twenty-three log homes through air infiltration for the Energy Division of the Minnesota Department of Public Service. Researchers concluded that air infiltration of log homes generally occurs in the same places it occurs in conventional homes, i.e., along the tops of walls, around window and door penetrations and at the peaks of the roofs. The researchers also concluded that air infiltration in modern log homes is not due to the joints in the log walls.

This report is no longer available in print, although people at the Minnesota Department of Public Service, Energy Division, St. Paul, MN know the data.

From March to June 1977, Applied Science and Engineering (ASE), Englewood, CO, an independent research group, studied thirty-one Denver, Colorado area homes with sophisticated monitoring equipment to find out precisely what happens during energy consumption within these homes.

Researchers at ASE found, on average, 66% of heat losses in these homes came from air infiltration (Defined as large volumes of air that flow out of a home through built-in holes like chimneys, flues and vents, and, are replaced with outside air pulled in through kitchen vents, under doors, around window and door frames, etc. Infiltration is a process not affected by insulation.) Of the remaining heat losses, 17% came through windows, 11% through the insulated ceiling (the homes they studied had 3" of attic insulation), and, 6% through the walls.

ASE's report concluded that, because of the large losses from infiltration, far more energy could be saved in a home by paying attention to heat losses from built-in holes like furnace and hot water heater flues, than by investing in increased R-value of the walls. They believed that home building codes calling out a given R-Value unfairly penalized log-walled homes.

In 1983, Doris Muir and Paul Osborne printed this report with permission in a brochure entitled "The Energy Economics and Thermal Performance of Log Houses."