Honest Abe Living May 2025

Honest Abe Living

May 2025

This is our FREE Honest Abe Log Homes interactive magazine, Click on the link below to learn more about all of our log home products and services.

https://www.honestabe.com/honest-abe-living/honest-abe-living-may-2025/

In this issue ...

Selecting furniture

Creating your interior spaces

Beef stroganoff recipe

Aztec model floor rendering and floor plan

News From Jack ...

This is The Blog for LogHomesByJack. It can be found at LogHomesByJack.com by clicking on the upper left corner. News from Jack contains many posts related to log and timber frame homes, stains, suggestions and Q&As. Also posted are all of our monthly e-magazines from Honest Abe Living as well as photos, floor plans, stain info and more.

Contact Jack with your comments, questions or to set up a meeting.

Always Available by Appointment

HutslarJack@gmail.com or 336-407-2157

Fireplaces

Fireplaces ... very popular options in Log Homes

and our Eco-Panel Timber Frame Homes

The options include real wood burning fire places. Pricing for stone fireplaces can go well into five figures. They look fabulous. When great room views involve large window systems, fireplaces can be placed on the side or back walls. The drawback with open stone fireplaces is that they pull heat from your home right up the flue. Hard wood burns best. It does not line the flue with that highly flammable residue.

Wood stove and gas log inserts are much more efficient than traditional fireplaces. Free standing wood and pellet stoves are more economical to purchase. They are more efficient and come in many styles. Blowers are suggested or ceiling fans to disperse the heat. Choose wisely grasshopper.

Source: LogHomesByJack.com. 336-407-2157

DIY: Clearing land for your log home

What is the nature of your property where you build your log home?

Is the property heavily wooded?

You can find someone local to do the clearing. Depending on what you want, all cleared or just make a clearing for the driveway, home and septic drain field. 

Tell the guy with the big toys what you want. Where the home goes. Where the septic fields goes!

** It is Best for you to be there while the dozer work is being done. Otherwise, they might tend to knock down everything so you can plant grass everywhere. This would be common in the suburbs but not out in forested land.

Less grass = less mowing. Grass only over the septic field is a good work saving goal. Mulch everything else.

Clearing Trees. If there are trees that you want to save, put a yellow ribbon around them.

At our place, my wife and I went in first and sawed the tops off of trees where we wanted the driveway to be cut. We left 3 to 4 feet standing for the dozer to push over. A curved driveway is nice.

When done, we brought in a wood/tree chipper guy. They made three large piles of mulch from our trees. We used up in about 12 months or so. It cost the same to have all the trees hauled off. So we took that cost in free mulch.

** Note that you can take down trees while clearing the land. However, if you come back later and want to remove some trees, you may have to jump through the usual county environmental process hoops.

Your driveway can be curved or straight. Curved offers more character.

You are welcome . . . Jack

All Material Packages Are Not Created Equal

The Honest Abe log home material package 

Call Jack when you have questions about our material package. We present an itemized list of materials for our buyers when we send you our estimated pricing.

It is customary for log home companies to leave items out of their packages to make their prices lower and seemly more attractive. However, buyers and the builders still need to purchase those items that we include for the dry-in. It is for this reason that we offer an itemized price list that shows what is being purchased.

Items that are commonly NOT provided in other material packages are ...

• the subfloor

• stains for outside and inside

• internal framing and doors

• basement framing when needed

• matching windows and doors for basements 

These are some of the usual omissions by other manufacturers. That reduces their costs. This is exactly why buyers need to see what they are buying. 

By the way, I have also prepared a "NOT List" for my clients. It reveals what is not in our packages like the foundation, HVAC, shingles, flooring, fixtures, support posts for decks and porches and more.

Understand and compare what you are buying from us and our competitors. 

Thanks for caring enough to compare offerings ... Jack

= = = = =

LogHomesByJack ... est 2001

P O Box 2424

Forest VA 24551

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Jack@LogHomesByJack.com

HutslarJack@gmail.com

336-407-2157 [m]

800 767-4916 [US only]

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Info Center

County Line Cafe & Mini Mall

Rt 460 Near Turkeyfoot Road

[1 mile East of Sheetz]

Forest VA 24551

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Authorized Dealer:

Honest Abe Log Homes

Southern TimberCraft Eco-Panel Homes

Sansin Enviro Stains

NEWS from Jack, my blog => Jack at LogHomesByJack Information Center

News From Jack . My Blog . On My Web Site

NEWS from Jack is my blog => Jack at LogHomesByJack Information Center [unmanned] located in the County Line Cafe & Mini Mall on Rt 460 near Turkey Foot Road not far from the Wards Road Rt 29 interchange in Lynchburg VA.

Log Homes . Timber Frame Homes . Eco-Panel Homes

Man Caves . She Sheds

We can meet there from 7am to 7pm by appointment [closed on Mondays] or anytime at any nearby restaurant, coffee shop or your property.

336-407-2157 [m] or Jack@LogHomesByJack.com

Sansin Enviro Stains

Jack Hutslar, Authorized Dealer

Ask Jack about Sansin Enviro Stains for your wood projects. 

Water based. Low VOCs. Breathable. Many colors. Nationwide service. 

SDF for exteriors. Purity for interiors. Floors. DEC for porches and decks. Firestop flame retardant. Sansin.com

LogHomesByJack on Facebook. 336-407-2157. Jack@LogHomesByJack.com