dard home construction, the groundwork was laid to expand the popularity of log homes.

“Thirty-five years ago, when all we were selling were simple log cabins used as weekend retreats, we were very happy to sell log home packages,” says Biggs. “ Turn-key was not in our vocabulary.”

Back then, most log home producers were mills that could saw logs for clients – and that was about it. Many clients had to find an architect to design their home, find a bank to extend a construction/ mortgage loan to this very unique type of structure, and a construction company that knew how to build a log home. To call the process complicated would be an understatement.

One of the first companies to look into turnkey solutions was Wisconsin Log Homes. “Finding a qualified builder to construct their log or timber home has always been a big concern of our customers, and one we’ve addressed from the beginning,” says Wisconsin Log Homes co-founder and owner Kathy Janczak. “Dave Janczak [founder/owner] grew up in the construction field and took the construction end of the company under his own wing. He has always coordinated or overseen most Wisconsin Log Home projects. In the 1990s, we started to really focus on growing our national builder network, which now consists of qualified and experience builders with whom we work very closely on Wisconsin Log Homes projects throughout the world.”

GOLDEN EAGLE LOG HOMES / BY SCOTT AMUNDSON

One of the obvious reasons for a turn-key solution is the great difficulty in finding a qualified builder. Barna Log Homes is another log home company that has offered a construction option, also known as “dry-in labor.” “In many areas, it was difficult to find builders who could put together log homes,” Jef Welch, a Barna dealer located in Dahlonega, Georgia, His company, Chestatee Custom Contractors, has built log homes for 31 years.

The components of turnkey

For most milled log home companies, the primary components of turnkey construction include design and build.

Design: At least 85% of all milled log home companies offer a design and blueprint service. When a client meets with a representative to pick out a floor plan or to begin finalizing what the home will look like, the design group will hone the blue-

TENNESSEE LOG HOMES

Most log home producers have created partnerships with subcontractors who specialize in log

prints based on the homeowners’ wishes.

homes. That relationship takes a lot of guesswork and hours of research off the plates of clients, who might otherwise spend weeks looking for partners on their own.