Bears Den Log Homes

It's all about Quality Logs

Red Pine Logs Our logs come from a family-owned log mill in northern Michigan. Beaver Log Homes has been milling quality red pine log home packages for over 20 years. The Beaver family has three generations of experience buying high quality, locally harvested logs for their mill.

These are full round logs of an appropriate size, not square timbers cut from larger diameter logs at a saw mill. Square timbers can be machined to look round but heartwood ends up on one side of the log and sapwood on the other, which can lead to warping and twisting. Using true round logs preserves the circular growth ring pattern, keeping the heartwood in the center of the log surrounded by sapwood, for a very stable log.

The bark is removed and the log is kiln dried to reduce checking and bring the log close to its final size. Each log is precision machined for a specific place in your log home. Door and window openings are cut at the mill, eliminating cutting or trimming wall logs at the job site.

Double tongue and groove on top and bottom. Each log is machined with a double tongue and groove on the top and bottom, making the logs self-aligning during construction. The flat mating surfaces outside the tongues are machined at a slight downward angle for stability and to prevent moisture buildup. The double tongue and groove combined with saddle notched corners results in walls with superior interlocking strength and stability.

Each log is inspected, grade stamped and dipped in preservative for protection until the final finish is applied.
Two strips of self-adhesive, closed-cell foam between logs.
Vertical groove in log ends at door or window openings. Two strips of self-adhesive, closed-cell foam between logs along the tongue and grooves insures a weather-tight seal and eliminate chinking. A vertical 1 5/8” groove in log ends at door or window openings receives a 2X4 spline when the opening is framed out, stiffening the wall while sealing the frame and allowing for settling. The same vertical groove in log ends where logs butt together allows installation of a foam insulation block at each joint. Die-cut foam gaskets seal the saddle notch corners.

After the walls are stacked, full-length threaded rods called thru-bolts are installed in pre-drilled holes in the logs. Thru-bolts run from the top of the wall through the floor approximately every four feet throughout the wall, and on each side of saddle notched corners and door and window openings. Heavy compression springs at the bottom of the thru-bolts provide constant tension on the logs.