Be Careful!!!
submitted by Thelma and Randy Cameron
About 12 years ago we purchased a cedar canvas canoe-building business and we decided to build a log home just outside of town where there was
enough room for a workshop for our business. We purchased a "kit" from a dealer in town, hired a contractor, made the design changes to suit our
needs and began building our "dream home". We had decided to have a red steel roof on our home because we thought all log homes need a steel
roof.
The building went very well, much quicker than we had anticipated and two days before Christmas 1992, we moved into our 2400 sq. ft., absolutely
gorgeous log home. We finished the interior, just varathaning logs mostly,
over the winter. We were delighted with our home.
In the spring, however, we got a surprise! When the spring sun began to warm up that beautiful red, steel roof, we ended up with MANY very large
drips in our house -- drips that eventually cost us a new roof and repainting
the entire top floor and replacing some drywall. There were two main problems: the vapour barrier had been
punctured with staples and not repaired and there was not sufficient air flow in the roof to allow for proper
ventilation. We have cathedral ceilings, 27' high, and there should have been a channel built into the roof to allow for ventilation so condensation
wouldn't have been a problem.
We love our log home and we are gradually repairing all the mistakes our builder made. When choosing a contractor, make sure he is aware of any
problems there can be in building a log home. They are different from a conventional home and they have their own set of problems. Choose a
recognized log builder only and hopefully you won't have to spend the extra money and emotions that we've had to spend.
Thelma and Randy Cameron
Atikokan, Ontario, Canada
tcameron@nwon.com
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