OUR LOGS
"Most logs are good, our's are Great!"

Superior logs:
High Mountain Log Homes uses some of the best trees in the world. Quality does grow on trees and only the finest building logs are chosen by our master builder for straightness and uniform diameter. We do not use logs with to much taper or spiral. The trees for our logs are slow growing, tight grained that are 80 to 140 years old; our Canadian trees will produce a superior handcrafted log home that you’ll be proud to show off. The logs will be an average of 14” to 16” in mean diameter, with smaller and larger logs available up to 20” in diameter and 52’ in length. All species except Lodgepole Pine are winter harvested, air-dried for at least 6-9 months at the High Mountain log yard in British Columbia. As the logs are being worked, a kerfed is sawed into the top to reduce checking. All logs can be graded by Timber Product Inspection (TPI).

Hand peeling a Spruce log, see picture.

Canadian Wood Species:
The log species available to us from the interior region of British Columbia is Lodgepole Pine, Engelmann Spruce and Douglas-fir, and from the coastal region is Western Redcedar. The majority of Lodgepole Pine is harvested as dead-standing, due to the recent outbreak of the Mountain Pine Beetle in Canada.

Description of Species:

1. Western Redcedar (Thuja pilicata)

• Life Span: 1,000+ years
• Size at 250 years: 100-160 feet tall, 2-8 feet diameter
• Bark: Cinnamon-red on young stems, gray on old trucks. Fibrous and shredding.
• This wood is resistant to rot. The chief wood for roofing materials. It’s a member of the cypress family, so not a true cedar.
• Western Redcedar grows very slow and found on the western edge of the coastal mountains from southern Alaska to northern California.

For Log Homes: Western Redcedar is an exceptionally beautiful wood,
with a range of warm and natural color tones. It produces long length timber, true, straight grain that is the most stable of the softwood species. Cedar logs are more expensive than other species, because of limited supplies and the added labor to handcraft. Additional time/cost is required to scribe, because Cedar logs have more taper to them. High Mountain Log Homes uses only coastal Cedar that contains the heartwood extractives (Thujaplicans & water soluble phenolics) for decay resistance. The fast growing interior Cedars do not contain these high levels of decay resistance extractives. Western Redcedar is an excellent thermal insulator; with an R-value of 1.50 per inch of thickness at 12% moisture content.
Overall, Western Redcedar is the “Cadillac” in the log home industry, but commands a premium price for the trip to the Missouri.

              

2. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

• Life Span: 300 years
• Size at 120 years: 110-170 feet tall, 3-4 feet in diameter.
• Bark: Dark gray brown. Corky looking deeply furrowed in mature trees. Inside furrows rust red.
• One of the strongest softwoods.
• Moderately resistant to decay.
• Douglas-fir grows in British Columbia, Canada and the Western part of the United States.

For Log Homes: Douglas-fir grows in abundance in British Columbia, Canada. The reddish tint heartwood, characterized by exceptional strength in relation to its weight, hardness and in heavy stands is free of any branching two-thirds or more of its height, makes it a favorite with timber frame homes. The Douglas-fir log is long and straight with very little taper, fine grain with tight checks, moderately resistant to decay; makes it a favorite with the log home industry. Douglas-fir is an average insulator; with an R-Value of 1.0 per inch of thickness at 12% moisture.
For strength, durability and beauty, few woods in the forest are more sought after in the log/timber frame industry than Douglas-fir.

3. Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii)

• Life Span: 350 years
• Size at 200 years: 80-150 feet tall, 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 feet in diameter.
• Bark: Gray or purplish-brown, very thin and loosely attached scales.
• It’s a popular wood for log homes.
• Spruce grows throughout the western states, eastern part of British Columbia and the western part of Alberta.

                        
For Log Homes: Engelmann Spruce is the brightest of the wood species used in log homes, popular with log home owners. The heartwood of Spruce is nearly white with a slight red tint in the heartwood. The sapwood varies from 3/4 inch to 2 inches in width and often making it difficult to distinguish from heartwood. Spruce has a bright clean appearance, with a fine grain and smooth texture. The tree has a long, straight trunk with very little taper, with small, sound knots. Spruce is a good insulator; with an R-value of 1.3 per inch of thickness at 12% moisture.
Engelmann Spruce is a popular choice for the log home consumer, due to its bright color, smooth grain, good insulation qualities and affordable price attached.

  
4. Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)

• Life Span: 150 years
• Size at 100 years: 70-110 feet tall, 1-2 feet in diameter.
• Bark: Black to reddish brown, thin and scaly.
• The Lodgepole Pine occurs in areas where forest fires are common. Indian populations prized the lodgepole for making teepee supports.
• Very common in BC and Alberta, Canada and in the Northwest part of the US.

For Log Homes: Lodgepole Pine has numerous unique characteristics found on each log. Few woods have the luster and beauty engrained as in Lodgepole Pine. When winter cut live, few logs are more easily controlled against checking or can absorb a transparent protective stain as well. Due to the recent outbreak of the Mountain Pine Beatle in British Columbia and spreading east, the majority of Lodgepole Pine is now harvested as dead-standing. These logs are very unique; they will have character marking of blue, black and grey, known as “Blue Stain” or “Denim Blue”. Winter cut live trees are still available by special request. Lodgepole Pine is a good insulator; with an R-value of 1.2 per inch of thickness at 12% moisture.
Lodgepole Pine is a beautiful wood with lots of character at an affordable price. For the folks who like “Blue Stain”, Lodgepole Pine is their wood of choice. These logs will probably be all harvested within seven years.

Log Home Shrinkage:

The wood of a living tree is dimensionally stable until it’s cut/killed from beetles or fire. The tree starts the process of losing the free water quickly; this is the water between the cells. After the free water has left, the wood starts to slowly lose the bound water that is trapped inside the cells; billions of wood fibers that are like microscopic straws that are long, thin and hollow. As the logs slowly dry, the cells lose their plump round shape. The collapse of the cell walls during the drying process causes the logs to shrink in diameter, length unaffected. Free water does not cause shrinkage; a log must lose bound water before it shrinks. When the free water is gone and shrinkage starts, the moisture content (MC) of the log is between 21% -28%; called the fiber saturation point.
 
Eventually, the MC of the log falls to the point where it does not lose anymore bound water; it’s in equilibrium with the local climate. This is known as the equilibrium moisture content (EMC) which varies from 10% in the Western US to 13% in Missouri/Midwest.

The amount of shrinkage varies with the tree species and EMC. Normally, hardwoods shrink more than the softwoods like pine, spruce and cedar. The softwoods are mainly used in log home construction, and these species shrink about 4% in diameter as they dry from green logs to dry house logs (EMC). High Mountain Log Homes follows the 2000 Log Building Standards that use a settling allowance of 6% for green and dry logs, or the equivalent 3/4” per foot. In practical terms, every vertical foot is allowed to settle up to 3/4”. A 2% allowance is made for compression (weight of the logs), and a safety factor. Shrinkage (4%) + compression (1%) + safety (1%).

High Mountain Log Homes leaves a 6” void above all windows and doors for settlement. This settlement area is filled with insulation (fiberglass/wool) that will compress with the logs. Settlement should be complete within 3-5 years, depending on the climate with the walls settling around 3-4 inches.

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