Cedar Log Homes Blog - Tips, Information and Advice

Many new log homes are built in rural areas where municipal sewer treatment is not an option. As a result, log home owners may have their first exposure to their own private wastewater system or septic system. To get you started on the right foot, we’ve explored septic systems and identified some of the new…

Any child —no matter what age— has dreamed of a secret hideaway where their imaginations could invent rich stories populated by all types of interesting characters. That image of a secret hideaway and the fact that one Mainer couldn’t find a fun play house for his kids led to the development of Kids Crooked Houses,…

With all the flurry about LED lighting, the expensive new low-energy lighting option, many have written the obituaries for the original incandescent and even the now common compact florescent lightbulbs (CFLs). But the new energy bill enacted two years ago that changed the standards for light bulbs created a new inventive spark to create CFLs…

Stones have been used to construct walls, bridges and other structures for centuries. When the wall is constructed of interlocking stones without any mortar the technique is called dry stone walling. Britain has used abundant local stone to build fences for livestock and for boundaries. The craft has continued in modern times under the Dry…

When most people talk about solar energy they’re speaking about using the sun’s energy to heat water and transfer that energy into a home’s heating or hot water systems.  The other species of solar involves photovoltaic cells, which convert the sun’s energy into electricity.  To date, the incentives have not been there for most homeowners…

Anyone who uses wood or pellets to heat know the transportation of logs to the hearth is a chore that no one enjoys. One homeowner decided that the trips up and down his narrow antique farmhouse stairs for wood was too much. So Bruce Fowler designed the Woodwaiter, an electric powered system to move wood…

If you haven’t visited our website, KatahdinCedarLogHomes.com, recently, you’ll want to check out the new “How-To” pages we launched in the past few weeks. Even if you’ve built a home before, log homes provide some special challenges. Additionally, many Katahdin Cedar Log Homes are built outside of traditional subdivisions on rural and undeveloped property, which…

One of the biggest culprit for energy use is the domestic water heater. If you’ve ever wondered if it were possible to tap into the ambient energy in your home’s air, AirTap™  has developed a solution. Acting as a conventional heat pump, the AirTap™ unit uses a low energy compressor to extract heat energy from…

If you’ve considered adding solar to your log home, but found the installation process complicated and expensive, Ready Solar may have the answer in their Solar in a Box® system.  The panels are designed on a patented framing system that finishes to less than an inch off the roof, so the appearance is similar to…

For many log home owners, the centerpiece of their home is the fireplace or woodstove.  Getting the right look in stonework can put a unique stamp in the living areas of your home.  We spoke with Jeff Wagner, stonemason at Katahdin dealer Cabin Run Contracting in Romney, W.Va.  He’s been a stonemason for 24 years,…