Back in 1981 I was reading a magazine in a waiting room in Torrance, California, and in the back in the classifieds was a small photo of a gambrel (barn-like) log home. It was love at first sight for me and my dream until I made it a reality.

I sent away for every log home catalog that I could find and drove to every local log home dealer in my area to look at the different log companies' products. Unfortunately we were always disappointed by the finished products we saw back then.

We stumbled upon Lodge Logs by accident in Big Bear, California, while lost looking for another company's home. The first thing we noticed while driving by and making our U-turn back, was how 'perfect-looking' it seemed. The dealer drove us around to another dozen or so Lodge Log homes and they all were just as "perfect". We were so impressed we flew up to Boise to see their factory. They used kiln-dried lodgepole pine so that there would be no settling and less weight for installing. They also made a "curf" cut when milling to minimize the exterior checking. The company, even back in 1983, was computerized, and could make a custom log home "kit" from my floor plans!

We ordered our logs from California and had them delivered to our land in Black Forest, Colorado and put our home up like a Lincoln Log kit with one foreman from the factory and local soldiers and their families from Fort Carson. It went up quickly, cleanly and correctly. Every log was numbered and there was a computer print out which showed where each log went. We had an experienced carpenter to help with the post and beam construction of the interior and roof and then finished off the rest of the home ourselves.

Use my 20 years of experience with logs to avoid the pitfalls that can happen. I've "been there and done that" and can help you realize your dream of owning a log home, whether you purchase an existing one or build your own.