Real People. Real Experiences. Real Helpful.
When it comes to finding good help when building or remodeling your home, there's a fine line between getting a quality result and being able to afford the type of result you're after. Here's the secret to finding good, fast, and cheap help.
Read moreSee why we chose to have a General Contractor oversee the building of our new log home, rather than doing it ourselves. There are pro's and con's to doing the work yourself. But in our case, we feel that we are better off overall in the hands of a General Contractor.
Read moreGolden Eagle Log Homes chose to face the facts and state upfront the 'true' cost to build one of their log homes. This is what appeared in one of their ads in Log Home Living magazine.
Read moreJoe and his wife were recently in Tennessee visiting potential homesites for their future log home. He has compiled a summary of his findings. If you are interested in buying lake property in Tennessee -- or you're simply exploring the option of buying or building a log home near a lake -- then I'm sure you will find some valuable information here.
Read moreWhat follows are some of the most interesting things I've learned about composite decks, along with some of the questions I still have about composite decking materials. Specifically, I'm interested in TimberTech vs MoistureShield composite decks.
Read moreWe will probably be adding some underdecking to at least 1 or 2 of the 4 overhead decks and porches that we have on our log home. I have explored 2 underdecking manufacturers at this point: Undercover Systems and TimberTech's DrySpace. Here's what I've learned...
Read moreAre you looking to buy a lake lot in Tennessee? Whether you plan to build a log home on it, or a conventional stick-frame home, here are some tips from someone who has thoroughly explored lake property in Tennessee. Just some thoughts...
Read moreWe are considering using Superior Walls for concrete walls in the basement of our log home. Superior Walls are a pre-cast -- not pre-fab -- concrete foundation and insulated wall system. These basement walls are the BEST if you're wanting an energy-efficient home.
Read moreIf you have a composite deck or patio... over time, scratches are practically inevitable. For the most part, 'routine' scratches won't even be noticeable, but it's the deeper scratches that you'll probably want to cover up.
Read moreAs I see it, here are a few of the things that set TimberTech apart from other composite deck companies...
Read moreI went to the Nashville Home and Remodeling Show this weekend. While it's not a log home show, it had all of the key vendors I was most interested in seeing. Here's what I've learned about going to shows like this...
Read moreWe are considering using composite decking materials for the decks and porches on our new log home. But we're torn... between looks and durability. Here are our thoughts...
Read moreThe following pictures show some of the ways that you can still have a nice log home without necessarily having 'shades of brown' as your primary color scheme. Typically, you'll see one wall painted to serve as a focal spot or an accent wall. I have no interest in painting ALL -- or even most -- of the log walls inside our house. Just 1, maybe 2 of the smaller walls instead. Like these...
Read moreDouglas Lake has a LOT of expensive, high-dollar homes, so we didn't even think we could afford to build there. But, there were actually a handful of new developments going up, and we picked out about a dozen or so lots that we felt were well worth looking into.
Read moreThe 2007 Log and Timber Home Workbook is a great manual to prepare you for building a log or timber frame home. It's FREE.
Read moreWe're trying to 'build green' with our new log home, but there are some challenges. Here are our thoughts on geothermal energy and prefab basements.
Read morePhase II of the Idea Notebook has definitely made the process of designing and decorating our log home even easier: One notebook just for DESIGN ideas that have to be determined early in the process... structural details that a contractor would need to know. And one notebook just for DECORATING ideas that can still be fine-tuned along the way... up until the final moment that we purchase each item.
Read moreSo, which is the MOST likely to be used and appreciated?... A screened in front porch? Or, a screened in back porch? What about a partially-screened in Porch? Here are my thoughts.
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