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21st Century Pioneers
From the beginning days of American history, those who were the early pioneers of this country built log homes using the trees they found at hand. It has however, only been in the last several decades, that log home construction has entered contemporary markets as a viable alternative to conventional construction.
By Ellen Walker Photos Courtesy of Appalachian Log Structures
A West Virginia company has been one of the pioneers in this industry, offering significant national leadership to move this older form of construction into the 21st century. Appalachian Log Structures, located in Ripley, WV, is a family owned and operated company. It’s founder, Fletcher R. Parsons, began his career with a wood preservation company in the mid-1950’s. Burke, Parsons & Bowlby Co. specialized in railroad ties, farm posts and other preserved wood products.
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In the 1970’s as the “back to nature” and “do it yourself” movements began to grow resulting from such books as the “Foxfire” series, the company responded by exploring the possibility of furnishing preserved lumber for log homes. In 1977 they produced their first home kit as a test project. By 1985 the log home was incorporated into the company’s product line and in 1990, Parsons sold his part of Burke, Parsons & Bowlby and purchased the log structure portion. At that point Appalachian Log Structures was born. Today Parsons is retired and his four Log homes today offer a variety of design options and custom amenities. The industry is constantly children are partners in the company. improving to meet consumer demand for comfort, energy efficiency and structural integrity. Douglas C. Parsons is president, Dorie Workman heads marketing and Donald Parsons As chairman of the committee, he has had the opportunity does sales. Although a partner, Debbie Romine is not to interact personally with the writing of the codes. actively involved in the daily operations. “It has really helped us understand more about building codes and how they affect builders and manufacturers of Doug Parsons began working with his father in 1981. products,” he said. His background was in carpentry and construction, although he also had experience in prefabricating homes. The code deals with structural integrity, energy efficiency That experience, joined with his father’s knowledge of the and such issues as effects of weather in different natural properties of wood and wood protection, became climate zones. a combination for success. The standard is in the final stages, said Parsons. It is on it’s In the early 1980’s a group of independent log home third and final revision, receiving public comments now. The manufacturers from across the country formed the Log goal is to have it ready in 2007 to give to building inspectors Home Manufacturers Association, said Doug. Part of the and it will be called the ICC400 Log Construction Standard. reason for forming the association grew out of a need for a grading system for log walled homes. Utility poles and Parsons recently won the council’s President’s Award for his chairmanship of the heavy timber were all called logs. There LHC Technical Committee was a need for a program that would and for his leadership in prove to building inspectors that these an ongoing log homes logs were viable building components research study with that would meet local building codes. Oak Ridge National Laboratories. In the mid-1980’s the Log Home Manufacturers Association joined the The Oak Ridge National National Association of Home Builders Laboratories with the to form the Log Homes Council, which Department of Energy is is part of the Building Systems Council testing five types of log of NAHB. Donald Parsons, Dorie Workman and Douglas Parsons wall assemblies over an 18 month period. The tests will produce the most Today there are over 60 log manufacturers who are quantitative analysis of the energy efficiency and thermal members of the council working to maintain regulation mass benefits of solid log wall construction. and to increase quality. Although they are peers and competitors, they join together “to talk about product, marketing and challenges,” said Doug. “The result is a better product and a better industry.” For the past six years Doug Parsons has been particularly active on the council, serving on the technical committee, which deals with design, preservation and codes. For the past 3 years the committee has been working on new IRC codes to develop a log home standard.
Prior to these tests, R values were assigned to wood, but there was no way to correctly assess the benefits of thermal mass. Once these tests are completed, accurate energy efficiency information will be available for log homes and can be calculated to meet construction codes. “This has been a huge learning experience for me,” said Parsons, and “that’s what NAHB is all about.”
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Another employee of Appalachian Log Structures has also been extremely active in the Log Homes Council. Mark Feder is the company’s vice-president of sales and is the out-going president of the Council. Feder recently received recognition for his service to the council and the LHC steering committee for the past four years. During his presidency, the council undertook several technical and marketing initiatives designed to better promote the log home industry. “Mark has helped the organization step from one level (of excellence) to the next,” said Parsons. As immediate past president, Feder will chair the LHC ethics committee. “The NAHB has a tremendous amount of resources that are under utilized,” said Feder. The association has an excellent training program and builder education is the number one constraint to the growth of the industry, Feder said. The process of building a log home differs from that of standard frame construction, said Feder. There is a great potential for more log homes to be built if we educate the builders, he added. Contractors should be members of their local HBA’s, said Feder. “It’s a good way to pass on new information on products, codes, laws and employees. It’s a good forum.” “Custom home construction requires a different level of contractor than it did 15 years ago,” said Parsons. “The more complexity of design requires more competance,” and the use of custom material such as granite requires different handling, he said.
“If building a log home were easy, any contractor could do it,” said Parsons. The actual assembly is hard, heavy labor, but it’s not high tech. “The finish work is what needs to be extraordinary,” he said. That is what is unique to log construction. The finish work and the location of most log home projects is part of why it is hard to find qualified contractors to build log homes. Building a log home requires a lot of craftsmanship, said Parsons. “It is not a cookie cutter project.” The process of building a log home with Appalachian Log Structures can be done quickly, however they prefer to work with their customers for up to a year before the home is built. The company’s services cover the design phase, engineering, manufacturing and delivery to the site. Each piece is labeled and the structure has an accompaning construction manual on its proper assembly. Guidelines are given to contractors on how to bid the project. On average it takes six weeks to complete the plans and to price the building. Once the bank has completed their appraisal and the builder has set his price, it usually takes 6 to 8 weeks to deliver the kit to the site. Although the initial construction is done fairly quickly, another six to eight months are needed to finish the interior.
Mark Feder and Doug Parsons both received special recognition in March for their outstanding service to the NAHB Log Homes Council.
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Appalachian Log Structures has a manufacturing facility in Princeton, WV. The design work is done in Ripley and then a cut list is sent to the Princeton shop along with a numbered plan. Each piece is prepared and numbered. The wood used in this facility comes from a 100 mile radius and is primarily white pine. It is a stable, light weight wood that accepts treatment, is attractive and is readily available, said Parsons. Most log home companies use woods indigenous to their area. Florida uses cypress, Missouri uses oak and in the west they use long pole pine.
The logs are pressure treated with sodium borate, which is a “human friendly” agen tthat is non-toxic and not carsenoginic.
The Ripley company is the only one in the nation to use wood preservatives, which results in no rot or decay and no termites. The logs are pressure treated with sodium borate, which is a “human friendly” agent that is non-toxic and not carsenoginic. Used in a 5% solution, the wood is encased with the liquid which is absorbed and penetrates to the center of the log. Although about 80% of their homes are shipped primarily to a 350 mile radius, with as much as 40% being used in West Virginia, the company has also shipped their homes to Mexico, Jamaica, Canada, Japan, Australia and Korea. They produce apx. 200 houses a year. Fellow Midwestern Home Builder Association member Tom Hardman of Hardman’s Supply provides the Hurd windows for the projects.
The lumber is trucked to the site, usually on 4 large trucks, although that varies with the size of each project.
Each log is individually prepared and labeled for easy assembly on site. The contractor receives a manual and detailed instructions for the home’s assembly.