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Cypress Log Homes - Tidewater Red Cypress / Pine / Douglas Fir / Cedar - |
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Know-Know’s NOT No-No’s 1. It is your responsibility to check out your builder. We may have given you a name or names but in the end choosing a builder is your decision. You need someone who is honest, capable, satisfies people, and with whom you can work. We do not stand behind or back any builder whatsoever, so do your homework on the builder! GET REFERENCES, TALK TO THE BANK, make it a know-know not a no-no! A mistake in this department can make for nuclear-powered nightmares. 2. Be sure of what you are getting. Not just from us but from your contractor as well. Get it on paper. Take and keep notes if necessary. Have it explained until you understand it, forget about looking stupid. Take nothing for granted. Good communication solves a world of problems. Is he going to sand and seal? Is he caulking? Is he landscaping? Is he cleaning up? Is he coating the outside? Will he sing and dance? Is he using 5$ carpet or 20$ carpet? Are the decks built strong and secured well to the house? Is he allowing for settling? Does he brush his hair and teeth? Does the price include the well or water? Is he furnishing the non log home specific materials or are you? Be sure to emphasize the things that you just have to have such as hot and cold running towels or laser-guided bidets. 3. Once you, us, and your builder are on the same page concerning your home, be sure that he understands that we offer Tech-Help IF HE ASKS FOR IT. We have a hard time reading our own minds much less the builders’. Make sure to have him call for assistance BEFORE he does something of which he is unsure. Reverse, when building a home, is a hard gear to get into and even harder one from which to escape. Our responsibility is to furnish log home building materials and expertise if desired and ASKED FOR! Very good materials added to shoddy workmanship makes few people happy. REMEMBER, WE CANNOT AND DO NOT GUARANTEE ANY BUILDER OR CONTRACTOR’S WORK. 4. NEVER, NEVER, EVER pay a contractor far ahead on your job. Pay as the work gets completed. If you pay ahead, you are playing with fire without your asbestos undies. Those ragged ones in your closet may be the bestes undies that you have if you pay too far ahead. 5. Visit the job-site absolutely every day and ASK QUESTIONS. Be sure that what is going on is what you desire, remembering that you can expect what you inspect. Sometimes a few questions can save you and your builder many and serious problems. It can also make you and your contractor good friends or worst enemies. But remember, worst enemies with the house like you want it is much better that worst enemies and a disastrous house to live in. Your contractor will eventually go home. Regrettably, you are stuck there when you get to the house that he builds for you. 6. Look at the following basics and be sure that they are followed on the job site.
7. Cypress is arguably the most durable wood available today and it tends to cost only slightly more than competing woods, especially pine. We believe it is worth far more than its additional cost, but it is a natural product. Will it rot? Yes, under the right circumstances it eventually will. Will insects attack it? Yes, in some instances. Is it better at both of the above than pine? Far, far better, even with carpenter bees. Will it need maintenance? Yes, but it will outperform pine and most other woods at far lower maintenance levels. To find out more, don’t listen to us, look up Cypress in your encyclopedia. You will find it called by its nickname in most of them, the "Wood Eternal". Many log home companies give lifetime warranties. These are in most every case materials only, and only if you have jumped through some hoops, meaning if you get rot you get a log,,,, maybe. Whoopee! Isn’t that exciting! Think of the fun you are going to have solving the other 95% of your problem, getting that new warranted log into your wall. Osmosis will be ineffective. We do not offer a lifetime warranty on our quality, natural product. We do offer a one year, materials only warranty. In fact most of the log home companies that gave lifetime warranties in the 1970’s are out of business. Companies come and they go, warranties are honored and dishonored, but a quality, natural product like Cypress will most likely be there after we are all gone. The question ten years down the road is not what kind of almost meaningless lawyer-written warranty do I have and what hoops must I jump through, but what kind of log was put into my wall at the time of construction. I think we all know the answer to that one. Now here comes the legalese; this is fun, though, isn’t it? We make no warranties either written or implied about the longevity of Cypress whatsoever. But in our opinion, you can’t buy a better, tougher, more natural product. Tougher than stainless steel you say? We admit that stainless is tougher and shinier, but we don’t offer stainless steel logs. You will have to go somewhere else for those. You might try looking at www.stainlesssteellogs.com or www. Logs@weldittogether on the net. 8. Checking is the natural results of a timber or log cracking when it dries. All timbers check some. This happens because the outside dries faster than the inside and the dryer outside literally shrinks around the more damp core. Cypress tends to check less than most other timbers, with the possible exception of cedar, BUT IT CHECKS. When you buy a log home, you can expect some timber checking. PERIOD. If you don't want checks, then possibly you should look into vinyl siding or brick. We make no warranties concerning the checking of logs and timbers. This is another reason to use our more dry timbers and logs. You can see the check before you put it into your wall. Using the industry standard green logs you won't know until later where the checks will be or how bad until down the road a year or two until they dry. 9. Building a house is quite a large project with almost an infinite number of variables and can strain a relationship. We do not offer marriage counseling and if you don’t have a serious understanding with your mate about your new home, you may need to consider that as well. All we can say is 1-800-DRLAURA. Building your house doesn’t have to be as painful as childbirth, but if you don’t do your homework, it can be worse, if that is possible. We are here to answer your questions and to help you work through your problems before they take root and grow into LARGE ONES. The experience of home-building can be as fine as frog hair if you just prepare. Help us to help you bypass all of the problems that we possibly can and make the birth of your new Cypress log home as smooth and painless as possible.
ONE CONTRACTER’S BUILDING ORDER BUY MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF SOOTHING PINK, GINSENG, AND NERVE PILLS; YOU'LL NEED THEM STUDY BOOK ENTITLED "GETTING ALONG EVEN WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT" GET, COPY, AND KNOW BUILDING CODES IN YOUR AREA, GET PERMITS LOT CLEAR, ROUGH GRADE, DRIVEWAY GRADED, GRAVEL FOR DRIVEWAY EXPLAIN TO NEIGHBOR AND SHERIFF WHY YOU GRADED 3 FEET OVER ON HIS PROPERTY SET BATTER BOARDS & STRINGS DIG FOOTINGS & POUR CONCRETE INSTALL POURED FOUNDATION AND/OR PILLARS APPLY TERMITE TREATMENT HOLD ALL NIGHT PRAYER VIGIL IN THANKSGIVING FOR EPA POUR CONCRETE BASEMENT & CARPORT FLOORS INSTALL FLOOR SYSTEM GET STITCHES IN YOUR THUMB FROM HAMMER TRICK STACK & ASSEMBLE LOGS APPLY PREP H SET BEAMS & STAIN EACH IF STAINING DESIRED USE THE REST OF THE TUBE INSTALL ROOF SYSTEM FELT PAPER ON ROOF INSTALL INTERIOR WALLS GET STITCHES REMOVED FROM YOUR THUMB INSTALL REQUIRED INSULATION SCRATCH ROOF COVERING PORCHES, ROOF[S], STEPS, & POSTS TALK YOUR WIFE OUT OF DOUBLING THE SIZE OF HER DREAM HOUSE EXPLAIN TO HER, UNSUCCESSFULLY OF COURSE, THE CONCEPT OF "TIMING" CORNICE, & FASCIA BOARDS SET EXTERIOR DOORS & WINDOWS EXCEPT FOR ONES THAT DON'T FIT SEND ONES THAT DON'T FIT BACK / ORDER MORE APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR PSYCHOLOGIST "HANDLING YOUR RAGE" TRIM EXT. DOORS & INSTALL WINDOWS INSTALL WINDOWS THAT WERE REORDERED ORDER ONE MORE TO REPLACE THE ONE YOU BROKE BECOME ONE WITH "MURFY'S LAW", GRASSHOPPER FIREPLACE ROCK WORK OR BRICK WORK MARRIAGE COUNSELOR INSTALL FIREPLACE AND/OR HEATER PLUMBING ROUGH & GAS LINES HEATING & AIR ROUGH ELECTRICAL ROUGH PRACTICE KISSING UP TECHNIQUES, THEN CALL FOR FRAMING, PLUMBING, HEATING & AIR, AND ELECTRICAL INSPECTIONS SEPTIC TANK INSTALLED & INSPECTED INCREASE AMOUNT OF LOAN SO HOUSE CAN BE FINISHED HANG UP THE PHONE WITH THE BANK AND SWEAR UNDER YOUR BREATH INSTALL & FINISH INTERIOR PANELING INTERIOR TRIM, INCLUDING DOORS, RAILING, STAIN WHERE REQUIRED APPLY INTERIOR SEALER COAT INTERIOR & EXTERIOR DESCRIBE THE COLORS YOU SEE IN YOUR BRAIN AT NIGHT AFTER COATING HAVE THE "SHAKES" FOR A DAY OR TWO AFTER COATING INSTALL KITCHEN CABINETS & VANITIES PLUMBER TO FINISH [ALL FIXTURES SET & LEAK TESTED] HTG & AIR FINISH INCREASE LOAN AGAIN, LOOK ON NET FOR BANKER / LAWYER JOKES TRY TO TALK THE LITTLE WOMAN INTO KEEPING THE CABINETS AFTER ALL ELECTRICAL FINISH [ALL FIXTURES SET, HUNG, AND TESTED] MIRRORS IN BATHS SHELVES IN CLOSETS, & PANTRIES CALL PLUMBER BACK TO FIX LEAKS INSTALL WELL OR HOOK UP WATER FINAL GRADING & LANDSCAPE FLOOR COVERINGS PRAY THAT BUILDING INSPECTOR HAS SOLVED HIS PERSONAL CRISIS AT HOME CALL FOR FINAL INSPECTIONS AFTER PURCHASING HIS COMPLIMENTARY BOTTLE OF WILD TURKEY MARK YOUR PROMISE IN BLOOD THAT YOU WILL NEVER BUILD ANOTHER HOUSE TAKE A VACATION IF YOU HAVE ANY MONEY LEFT, YOU DESERVE IT POINTS TO REMEMBER: Call
sub-contractor 1 week prior to being ready for him. Decide what you want before
work begins. Get price in writing prior to starting work and don’t forget bank
draws! Enjoy! Call Us at (256) 463-5576 Continue on to next must read: Our Company >>> <<< Back to: The Cost of Log Homes |
