4-J Building & Specialty

Leon E. Johnson

5063 Hwy 89

St.Charles, Idaho 83272

208-945-2970

E-mail: [email protected]

 Our General Log Home Design Description

As a professional, licensed builder, we are eager to accommodate your needs in a log home. We welcome you to visit us in Bear Lake, and investigate the log home we are presently building. We offer custom-design services.

The R-value of a log is generally accepted to be .75 – 1.15 per inch of log circumference. In most cases a log wall equal in R-value will out-perform a conventional frame wall. Each log contains millions of tiny air pockets that store heat in the winter and cool in the summer, each radiating back into the room. This results in a lower energy consumption for the same square footage.

To insure a tight seal in your log structure, first and foremost is the type of notching and the quality of the log shell. For added security, we install expandable foam and log adhesive in the V-groove and at each joint, at time of erection on your site. We also use caulking around door and window openings.

To keep your log structure looking new and to protect the outside from the weather, begins at the design stage. Our designs include the foundation, walls, and roof system to keep rain, melting snow and ground water from collecting, which can prevent many of the moisture problems that will over time blemish and promote wood decay in logs. We apply Superdeck Log Home Oil Finish with transparent oxide pigments which offer excellent UV reflecting properties, color retention, and oxidation resistance.

We provide for inevitable settling. Any condition that compromises the integrity of a log structure can lead to problems, such as rain seepage and air infiltration. Our site grading is away from your foundation to prevent water infiltration and ground settling. We provide a minimum of 12 inches from the finished grade to the first log.

A simple design will insure a less troublesome home. Multiple log wall heights improperly designed, can present more opportunity for problems to arise. Less corners mean fewer exposed log ends where water seepage may occur.

We provide a minimum roof overhang of 42" to protect log walls, from both rain and sun. No log will extend past the roof overhang, especially crucial at corners. A full wrap-around porch is the ultimate protection from the natural elements.