Questions And Answers About Noble Bear Log Homes
Q. What is included with a Noble Bear Log Home?
A. The kits include blue prints, logs, log fasteners, backer rods, log insulation, and dowel pins. We prefer to ship only the materials not available locally. Our approach to this topic is that the customer can actually save money by negotiating with a local building supply company for all these conventional materials such as windows, doors, roofing, etc. This also saves shipping charges for transporting these readily available materials from our plant to your construction site.
Q. Can I alter the interior layout of an existing design?
A. Yes, most often with no additional cost to you. A Noble Bear Log Home can be built as a completely empty shell when roof trusses are used, since all of the support goes to the out- side walls. This allows you to get the house under roof in the least possible time, which often saves you money in the cases where weather might be a factor. You can then arrange the partition walls to suit your individual needs and tastes.
Q. What type of heating and cooling system is recommended for a Noble Bear Log Home?
A. Any type of system used in a conventional home can also be used in a Noble Bear Log Home. Your local climate and building code would most likely determine the type of heat- ing and cooling system that you would choose. Keep in mind that your Noble Bear Log Home has great natural insulating qualities that will keep heating and cooling bills to a minimum.
Q. Is insulation necessary in a Noble Bear Log Home?
A. Wood is a natural insulator, one of the best. A concrete wall would need to be ten feet thick to equal the insulation qualities of our 8-inch thick logs with a rated of R19. Wood is six times better than brick and 1600 times better than aluminum. Consideration should be given to properly insulate the floors and roof, and we recommend the installation of double paned windows. The old adage that “you pay for insulation whether you install it or not” has never ben more truer than today. With constantly rising utility costs, it is wise to make your home as energy efficient as possible.
Q. What kind of timber is used in a Noble Bear Log Home?
A. Our homes are all cut from native southern yellow pine. They are uniform in size to eliminate water or snow ledges on the outer walls and to allow flexibility in finishing of the interior walls. All logs are kiln dried and treated with zink napthanate witch is EPA and FDA approved. All of the logs are a full 8 inches wide and 6 inches in height.
Q. How are the interior walls built in a Noble Bear Log Home?
A. Just as in a conventional home. Any type of interior wall is acceptable from sheetrock to wood paneling. The interior side of the log walls can be flat or rounded as requested. There are clever ways to tie the interior walls into the log outer walls with no necessity of mold- ing of any kind. This is another savings over conventional homes.
Q. What kind of foundation is recommended for a log home.
A. Noble Bear Log Homes offer great foundation flexibility. They adapt to pier, slab, crawl space, or full basement foundations. We do recommend consulting a soil engineer and a structural engineer. When soil samples are done including a survey to determine if your lot is prone to slide, flood or perhaps a shallow water table you can then make an informed decision of what type of foundation or what specifications are required for the foundation of choice on your particular building site.
Q. What does Noble Bear Log Homes provide in the way of construction or written materials?
A. Each home buyer is provided with as many sets of blue prints as well as printed and numbered instructions for building the home. Any builder or qualified “do-it-yourselfer” should be able to construct an Noble Bear Log Home by just studying the materials we provide.
Q. How are the logs delivered to the construction site?
A. The logs home kits are shipped from our plant via flat bed trailer. The logs can be unload- ed by hand with the proper amount of help. Since this method is rather slow, it might be wise to consider renting the the service of a forklift and operator to unload the logs. This method of unloading can save time as well as wear and tear on the logs. A 1/2 ton forklift is recommended to allow unloading complete bundles.
Q. What about consumer financing?
A. Financing is the same as any typical mortgage home loan. Conventional, FHA, VA, financ- ing is available.
Q. Is it difficult to install electrical wiring and pluming?
A. Not at all. It’s as simple, if not more so than the wiring and pluming of a conventional home.
Q. How are the logs joined together in a Noble Bear Log Home?
A. See diagram below. With the tight fitting interlocking corner feature of Noble Bear Log Homes , plus our fastening system, you are assured of a weather tight home.
