Finalists for the "Green Log Awards" were recently announced.

The GREEN LOG Home & Lifestyle Awards were created in response to the growing demand for green building solutions.

The goal of the awards is to locate and shine a spotlight on those companies and individuals who are enabling healthier homes and lifestyles. -- GREEN LOG Home & Lifestyle Awards

What this means for people like you and me is... a great list of environmentally-friendly log home products and suppliers!

So, if you're trying to make your currently log home more "green" or you'll soon be building your very own green log home, here are some companies that will make your life easier!

The Weatherall company provides a number of log home products, include stain and chinking.

In 1982 the Weatherall Company became the first company to develop an all-acrylic, elastomeric chinking for log homes. This revolutionary new product was known as Weatherall 1010 Chinking. Shortly thereafter Weatherall Company developed a new log finish that was compatible with the chinking. Next a unique backer-rod was engineered to complete the first true Log Home Sealant System-a total system that would provide the ultimate protection against the harsh elements of weather: sunlight, moisture and wind. Source

Now, they're offering a fun (and FREE!) downloadable program that lets you see what your log home would look like with different color schemes.

Before we could close on our construction loan with the bank (BB&T), we had to submit proof of "builder's risk insurance" to the loan officer.

We thought there would be a simple "builder's risk" type of policy from the insurance companies that would cover things like "theft of materials", "new construction theft", and "dwelling under construction".

But the insurance agents said our only option was to purchase an entire homeowners policy and add those riders to it. It's going to take us anywhere from 6 months to 1 year to build our log home, so I don't really have a problem with buying the full coverage that will protect every aspect of our log home and its belongings while it's under construction.

Boy, were we in for a surprise though... the quotes came in at roughly $1,200 to $1,700 a year to insure our log home... and that's with a $5,000 deductible!

After the home is built, our annual homeowner's insurance rate would be pretty much the same, less the "builder's risk" part... a savings of about $150 a year.

A Craftsman style log home?... Yep, our "bungalow" will be of the Arts & Crafts variety. Much like the very first Craftsman-style log home built back in 1918.

Arts & Crafts was an artistic and philosophical movement that began in 19th century Britain. Craftsman refers to a specific style of early 20th century American architecture that was part of the Arts & Crafts Movement. So Craftsman is actually a subset of Arts & Crafts." Source

You may be wondering what the elements are which classify a home as being of the Craftsman style or the Arts & Crafts variety.

Here are some easy ways to spot a Craftsman style home...

Here's a guide to asking the right people the right questions...

This weekend I went to the Nashville Home Decorating & Remodeling Show. No, it's not a log home show, but those are geared more for people who are just beginning to consider building a log home anyway. And we're way beyond that... We're at the actual design and building phase now. So we are more interested in the nitty gritty details that separate one roof company or window company from the other at this point.

Okay, so I've gone to this annual event at the Nashville Convention Center for the past 3 or 4 years now. But never have I gotten SO much out of a show like this before!

For starters, I spent 5 hours there ... the first day! And another 3 hours the second day! By myself, too. (Jim's out of town... again.)

A few years ago, I saved this statement that I found in a magazine or online:

Log homes are stronger & sturdier and more likely to survive tornadoes & hurricanes, largely due to all of the inner-locking joints.

Unfortunately... I didn't write down the source. (It was long before I had this website.) So, I recently decided to do a little research in hopes of determining a log home's ability to withstand hurricanes and tornadoes.

On websites discussing common log home myths, I found this...

Log homes are stronger than conventional homes. This is almost completely true, because it's actually the massive log walls that provide strength. Even though other parts of a log home may not be as strong as the walls, the walls tend to hold everything together in times of storms or earthquakes. Source

And this...

Log homes have established a record of surviving other natural disasters in much better condition than frame houses. Ripped from their foundations by floodwaters, they've been known to simply float intact down the river. During Hurricane Hugo, a log home was the only Carolina beachfront home to remain standing. Florida log homes survived the destructive winds of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 with only minor damage, and in areas of utter devastation during recent California earthquakes, log homes were among the few dwellings that escaped major damage." Source (.pdf)

With hurricane season upon us (June 1 through November 30), I thought it might be worthwhile to see how well log homes fare under typical hurricane conditions.

When building a new home, you are investing a lot of hard work, time, and money.

But have you given any thought to just how long those things that you're installing are going to last? I have.

Recently the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shed some light on the life expectancy of common components inside a home -- everything from appliances, cabinetry, and flooring... to roofing, plumbing, and HVAC.

Have a look...

We've been to a few different log home shows now, and the consensus is this:

Log home shows are primarily for the homeowner who is just beginning the process of deciding whether or not to build or buy a log home.

That's not a bad thing... it's just to say that if you're farther along in the process (like us), you will find fewer things of interest to you.

Here's what I mean...

The first home we visited on the Honest Abe Fall Tour of Homes was Matt and April's log home.

Their timber frame home is currently under construction, and is set among the beautiful fields and rolling hills of Middle Tennessee.

Matt and April were a lot of fun to chat with. See highlights below...