Store Location
Track Order
Table of Contents
Adventuresome people are building cabins in record numbers for vacations, weekend getaways, places to live, and rental property. If you are reading this article, you may be one of them. Cabin life is fun, cozy, rewarding, and sometimes work if you chop wood or haul water. But in the end, the work is a minor inconvenience.
What should a cabin look like? Would you prefer a one-story with a loft, or a small two-story, or something else? One of the main decisions is choosing a material for the walls and trims. Pine log siding is now a favorite building material that replicates a full log cabin look without the full log price. Owners report the following reasons why they chose pine log siding over other products…
Pine Log Siding Provides That Traditional Log Cabin Look
Over time, many log cabins went from squared, hand-hewn timbers to full round logs. Once log siding came on the scene, cabin owners found out how much easier and faster they could construct their cabins. Wood mills began producing siding in several profiles on smooth and hand-hewn surfaces. They are still milling tons of it along with log trim, corners, peeled logs, beams, and log trusses.
The profile you choose determines how closely you want to duplicate the full-round log appearance and size. My four favorite profiles include:
- Quarter Log – 2 x 6 and 2 x 8
- Half Log – 3 x 6 and 3 x 8
- Premier Log - 3 x 8 and 3 x 10
- Hand-Hewn – All sizes above
The beauty of pine log siding is that you cannot go wrong with any of the profiles and sizes. (Half log profile shown here) Stain your cabin with the color of your choice, move in, and enjoy it!
Pine Log Siding Is Easier and Faster to Work With
One drawback of using other materials for siding including wood and synthetics is they are labor-intensive to measure, saw, and install. They also produce waste that costs precious construction dollars. Here are the reasons why pine log siding goes up easier and faster:
- Each piece is milled with a tongue and groove/end-matching design
- The pieces fit tightly together on both sides and ends
- There is no splicing or end-butting on studs
- They go up quickly by using a nail gun
- The piece you saw for the end piece is used to start the next row
This ideal siding saves 15-20% on labor compared to plank siding and is virtually ‘zero-waste.’
“Adventuresome people are building cabins in record numbers for vacations, weekend getaways, places to live, and rental property.”
This Wood Product Is Sustainable
If you want to help save the environment by going ‘green’, you will be happy with pine log siding. Unlike other manmade products that end up in landfill or other trees that are not replanted on farms, pine wood is sustainable.
Sustainable trees allow future generations to enjoy their wood products. Log cabins and log homes made from pine will continue to be a feature of our landscapes. This log siding produces little to no waste material for the garbage can. As a bonus, cabin builders like log siding’s convenient size and construction that makes installation a joy.
Pine Log Siding Is Affordable
Now on to a significant reason why you should choose pine log siding – its affordable cost. One leading full-log construction company prices its 2,000-square-foot home at an average of $375,000 or $187.50 per square foot. You get:
- 3 bedrooms
- 5 bathrooms
- Large great room with loft
- Kitchen and laundry room
- Medium-size deck or porch
In contrast, you can expect to build the same house with wood log siding for about $125.00 to $155.00 per sq. ft. depending on location and type of log siding. This can mean a whopping savings of $65,000 to $125,000 for the same home!
Pine Log Siding Requires Minimal Maintenance
All log homes require some maintenance over the years, and log siding requires less than full logs. Full logs tend to expand and contract with weather changes and wear as well as showing some cracks. This requires more chinking and caulking than log siding.
Log siding is more dimensionally stable, and when properly stained and sealed requires less frequent restaining than full logs. Pine log siding is a winning combination with trims and corners.