We’re currently working on a couple of projects in Carp, in the westernmost part of the City of Ottawa. This build is for a young family with two little girls who escaped a house fire caused by a woodstove in their previous log home.
The family’s previous home was built in the 1980s under much less stringent building code. Back then, log walls just 4” thick would have been the minimum specified by code. Present day code dictates 8″ for square timbers and 10″ for round log style construction. What a difference! As we’ve talked about here before, a log home can be made surprisingly energy efficient with thicker logs.
This modern day solid log home will feature timbers each measuring 8 inches thick by 12 inches high.
All timbers used by Kealey Tackaberry Log Homes are naturally air dried material salvaged from British Columbia standing dead timber forests.
Approximately 25 to 35% of British Columbia’s forests have been killed off by the pine beetle, so we are pleased to be helping regenerate the forest by using this timber and helping to clear the way for new growth. The devastation wrought by the pine beetle is believed to be directly related to climate change as the beetles, which are native to the province, usually died off in the more consistently cold winters of the past.
Solid log gables for the wow factor
Another major benefit of using standing dead, naturally dried timber is for that dryness factor. Solid log gables can be used in our roof systems thanks to how thoroughly they have dried out. We’re not aware of any other home builder in Ontario that is able to use solid log gables in this way, as they normally need to worry about excessive shrinkage during the drying process with their timber.
With solid log gables, the log home aesthetic can be front and centre on both floors of the home, instead of being confined to just the first floor. This in turn creates an authentic Canadian home like no other.
Sustainable and beautiful
The sustainability theme will be underscored in this home with flooring supplied by Logs End, an Ottawa based company that pulls old logs from the Ottawa River and crafts magnificent floors from them.
Using local materials and products is important for every home rebuild. Another example on this project is the kitchen cabinetry which will be coming from a popular Ottawa company, Laurysen Kitchens, just a couple of kilometers up the road.
The home will be superbly protected by a steel roof supplied by a preferred company just a couple of kilometers in the other direction: TORRC (The Ottawa Roofing and Renovation Company).
Below are exterior and interior conceptual drawings for this custom log home in west Ottawa and a couple more shots from the current phase in construction. You can also view the complete floorplans in PDF.
Watch for an update later this spring!
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