Log homes can be found across the United States as well as in most countries of the world. The wide spread acceptance of this type of construction has its roots in two different things. One reason there are so many is because logs are a natural building material. When the colonists for example came to Plymouth Rock there were trees everywhere. This easily turns into log homes. So the availability of building materials is one reason people chose them for construction. Today the main reason for choosing log homes is that they are lovely. With the trend towards Green building materials log homes are even more popular than they were several years ago. So let’s look at building  log homes in Pennsylvania.

Over the past years Pennsylvania has proven to be one of the states with the highest demand for both handcrafted log homes and milled log homes. As people travel west from the Philadelphia area and east from Pittsburgh and south from New York City some of the log cabins which are built are for weekend and holidays. These typically are smaller homes. People who want to escape the city for a short time while still capitalizing on the lower land costs choose to purchase land in some of the less expensive rural counties. Log homes near Pittsburgh tend to be larger, year round homes.

~~The three homes shown on this page are all homes which we built in Pennsylvania. The first is the Linden Plan. It is built of Western Red Cedar and is shown in our handcrafted log home style. The second home is also a handcrafted log home of Western Red Cedar log species. And the third is the Creekside plan. It it an 8×8 milled log home.~~

For example a few years ago in Indiana County a 100 acres of land was being purchased for between $1000 and $2000 per acre. That is very inexpensive compared to the $5,000 to $10,000 per acre that we see here in parts of Montana. Indiana County is only a few hours drive from Pittsburgh and it also hosts an Amish Community in Smicksburg and surrounding small towns. So cost savings on land while only being a few hours from the major cities has played a definite role in making the log homes popular in this area.

Larger log homes are also in demand for Pennsylvania. With lower land costs in areas away from the cities people choose to retire there. Have you ever driven through the mountains of PA in the middle of the fall? The leaves are absolutely lovely. From one lookout along route 30 headed between the Maryland border and the bottom edge of PA you can look out over the valley and see the edge of something like three states and six counties. Years ago there was a hobby shop combination coffee shop that was open for tourists. It was a replica of a boat with the name “Noah’s Ark” painted proudly across the side of it. From the deck of that boat you could see several handcrafted log homes tucked in among the trees.

In Pennsylvania you find a balance of both styles of log homes for sale in PA. The handcrafted log homes are probably closer to the 30% mark instead of the 50% + in popularity that we see here in Montana. For the handcrafts people have to choose a supplier from the West to get log species such as Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar. White Cedar is available in the eastern US and Canada, but it is very inferior in quality to the Western Red Cedar.

Western Red Cedar only grows in the Pacific North West of the US and Canada. There are some Red Cedar forests in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington State, but the bulk of it comes from British Columbia. So it is wise to go ahead and purchase a Western Red Cedar handcrafted log home from a supplier in British Columbia. If you buy a home from that species from a company anywhere else, then they are having to ship the logs from BC to where ever their plant is. So no matter how you look at it, there is shipping costs involved. Pennsylvania log homes are many times shipped from even a thousand miles or more. The log home above was shipped from British Columbia.

Douglas Fir is another very popular log species for handcrafted log homes and milled log homes. And again it can only be found in the Rocky Mountain areas of the US and Canada. So if someone wants a home made from Douglas Fir then they are having to pay shipping once again– whether it is shipping of whole logs or already crafted log home logs.

When people choose a handcrafted log home they want something that is more unique, has more character, and they tend to not be as cost driven. If someone wants just a ‘log home’ they tend to focus on the least expensive avenue that will still get them a log home. This ends up in the form of a 6×8 or 8×8 milled log made from Dead Standing Lodge Pole Pine. There is nothing wrong with milled logs or Lodge Pole Pine, but people who want more do strongly gravitate towards richer colored wood such as the Red Cedar or Douglas Fir and the handcrafted log home style. Sometimes homeowners feel that the Pine, White Cedar, and Spruce lack the depth of color that can be found when looking into the soul of a Fir or Red Cedar log.

The handcrafting process also leaves the logs hand peeled with the draw knife pattern. Each log is hand selected for placement in the wall. No end joints are incorporated into our handcrafted log homes. All of the wall logs are full length logs. They can be up to 50 feet in length. To compensate for log ends the master craftsmen use door and window openings to complete log runs. The also incorporate interior log walls to intersect with exterior walls. But no matter what you will never find one butt joint or end joint in any of our handcrafted log homes.

Handcrafted log homes produced by Lake Country Log Homes focus on the top of the line craftsmanship found in Scandinavian Full Scribe homes. This method means that each log is hand scribed on the bottom to fit over the log under it. Scribes, micrometers, and other specialty precision tools are utilized to fit everything together in a close knit superstructure.

For those building in the Adirondack mountains, smaller cabins such as our Calico plan are popular. Adirondack log homes done in the handcrafted style fit right into the mountain back drop. Cooks Forest area is also flooded with log cabins, log homes, and log lodges.

Pennsylvania is a lovely state and it does offer out of the way areas that are not far from larger cities. So in this way the state has crept into many people’s favor and become very popular for homeowners to build their own Pennsylvania log homes.