Published: March 28, 2006 10:16 pm         

Home, sweet home

Log housing far different today than 100 years ago

The log home. What could be more authentically American?

When it comes to those who live in log homes, most think of early American settlers or Abraham Lincoln.

“Today’s log homes are not like the one Abe Lincoln grew up in,” said Jerry Cook, owner of Mountaineer Log Homes in Summersville. “If Abraham Lincoln could see today’s log home, he would be amazed.”

Today’s log homes still have the rustic look, but are cozy in the winter and cool in the summer.”

Cook said if the log home is constructed properly, it can be 35 to 40 percent more energy efficient than a traditionally built frame home.

“It would take 11 feet of brick to equal the wall in this log home,” Cook said.

Cook says there’s nothing quite like living in a log home.

“Many people are tired of concrete and bricks,” he said. “It’s the opportunity to own a home with unique beauty and styling.”

Cook said Mountaineer Log Homes has all types of log home patterns.

“Custom designs are also no problem for us,” he said.

Cook said Mountaineer Log Homes will be the friendly local resource for everything associated with the log home building process.

“From the first moment you dream of building a log home to the moment you step in the door of your finished home, we’ll be there to help answer questions and find solutions,” Cook explained.

Cook said his company has an architectural service and a drafting design team.

“We build school houses, church houses, lodges, restaurants, convenience stores and so many other structures out of logs and timber,” he said.

Cook said Mountaineer Log Homes starts the process by listening to potential log home owners’ dreams to capture the essence of their lifestyle.

“If you have pictures, clippings or ideas that you’ve saved, share them with us,” he said. “Then, together we’ll design your space, review your budget and finalize the details.”

Mountaineer Log Homes’ standard package offers the complete shell, which includes pre-cut logs, gable ends, windows, doors, loft joists, rafters, trim material, sub floor, porches, and a full set of construction drawings and technical assistance. Other options are also available, according to Cook.

“These log buildings are ideal for residential or commercial use,” he said.

Mountaineer Log Homes recently completed a log structure that is now a gasoline station at Sam Black Church.

“It’s a Citgo station and convenience store,” he said.

Cook said Mountaineer’s premium log is white cedar.

“Cedar is lightweight, soft, light in color, thermally efficient, low in strength, shock resistant and highly resistant to decay and insects,” he said. “It is the best wood you can buy for a log home. It is a very durable and wood with a light fragrant smell.”

White cedar is also a very versatile wood, Cook added.

“It’s used to make canoes, tanks, dock posts, fence posts, outdoor rails and decks, house siding, interior paneling, and for furniture for both the porch and inside the home,” he said.

Cook said log homes are very fire safe.

“There have been less people die in a log home than any other type of home being built today,” he said.

Cook said if you keep a good roof on a log home, it could last for hundreds of years.

“With a good roof, a new log home will still be around 200 years from now,” he said.

Cook said Mountaineer Log Homes is a full service dealership.

“We have 100 percent service in log and timber structures with years of experience,” he said.

Cook started in the building industry while in high school.

“I helped my uncle and my dad,” he said.

In 1959, Cook went into the U.S. Marines.

“I was a combat engineer and still building,” he said.

After the military, he worked in the coal mines for a few years before getting back into the construction industry.

“I missed building,” he said.

In the late 1960s, he began researching log homes.

“I found out there was shrinkage in logs and they were vulnerable to insects and decay,” Cook said.

Cook said he took care of the shrinkage issue with a modern bolt system, which is now used widely.

“I probably built the first pressure-treated home in the country,” he said.

Cook said he also used hemlock for its natural toxicity against insects. The company also offers white pine that is treated with borate.

“We have the Cadillac of the log home here in Summersville,” he said.

The model and regional sales office in Summersville is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., six days a week. The mill and engineering site are located in Rainelle.

In the model home in Summersville, natural touches are sprinkled throughout the décor. There is wood furniture; modern gas stoves, electric refrigerators, freezers and other appliances that have an old-time look; and subtle antler accents abound. Antlers entwine dramatically through a massive chandelier that hangs near the steps leading upstairs and there is also a stone fireplace.

“We are going to have another model home and regional sales office in Charleston soon,” Cook said.

Cook said log homes have grown in popularity over the past few years.

“I’ve been doing them since the 1970s, but I have never seen the interest in log homes like I have seen in the past few years,” he said.

Log homes are just as easy to get insurance and financing as traditional homes, Cook said.

“It’s really no different than any other type of structure,” he said.

Log homes increase in value the same as traditionally built homes.

“They may increase in value even more,” he said. “A good log home company and builder can turn your log home dreams into a reality.”

Cook and his wife, Donna, live in a log home just past Rainelle.

“We have for years,” he said. “Once you have lived in a log home I don’t think you would want to live in any other type of home.”

For more information about Mountaineer Log Homes, call Cook at 872-5299 or visit the company’s Web site at www.MountaineerLogHomesWV.com.

— E-mail: fpace@register-herald.com