heating a log home

One of the great features we like about log homes is their permanence. Some of the oldest homes in the country and world are log homes, and maintained properly a Real Log Home can last for many generations. While your home may last for this long, obviously appliances like water heaters do not. Right now is a time when water heaters work the hardest, since water temperatures are at their lowest. So, with all your holiday guests this year, could your water heater keep up? If not, and you’ve decided to upgrade your water heater, here are a few points to consider.

Today, sixty percent of all new homes constructed contain at least one fireplace, up from thirty-six percent of new homes in 1970. And while fireplaces are becoming more commonplace in other homes, they are almost de rigueur in the log home. Without a fireplace or woodstove, a log home just seems incomplete. Of course, just as there are varying log home styles for different buyers, there are also all manner of fireplaces and woodstoves.

October has arrived and it’s the time of year for pulling up docks, and winterizing homes (including log homes).  Whether you’ll be completely shutting down a vacation log home on a lake, prepping a log ski lodge for winter ski trips, or if you’d just like to prepare your primary log home residence for the winter, we’ve got 11 great tips to keep your log home in ship shape.

1 ) Inspect log exterior

It may only be the end of August, but here in New England it’s the time of year for making sure firewood is stacked for battling cold November rain and subsequent winter’s chill.  Having the warming glow of a fire in a log home is one of those ubiquitous concepts that everyone seems to agree helps to make cold weather seem less menacing.  What is not universally agreed upon though is what kind of fixture is best for making a log home feel more cozy.  Does a roaring, open, wood-burning fireplace feel the best?  Or does a wood stove put off the best heat and the bes