SANDY — Log cabins conjure memories of days gone by, when families gathered around a fireplace in the mountains, often in cozy quarters. Judging from the digs on display at the Log Home and Timber Frame Expo in Sandy this weekend, times have certainly changed.
Gone are the drafty, one-room cabins with few amenities. Now you can build the log home of your dreams that's more of a "home way from home" than "roughing it."
These homes have drywall, are well insulated and have indoor plumbing and electricity. That's what most visitors to the show seem to want: a home with all the creature comforts of a traditional house but with the warmth and welcoming atmosphere that log homes provide.
Jennifer Roberts and her husband, Raymond, have just purchased a log home in Mapleton, and she calls it her "life-long dream." "It has all the amenities that a normal home would have," she says.
So, why a log home? "The feeling that it has — the outdoorsy, warm colors and the tones," she says.
Her husband says the popularity of log homes is "a back-to-your-roots type of thing."
"My family are farmers and my wife's family are miners, and I'm sure that plenty of them on each side lived in log homes," he says with a chuckle.
The log homes and timber-framed homes of today are the favored choice for people who are looking for a second house that provides an escape from their everyday lives to a peaceful rustic getaway. These homes may take from one to three years to build, from the planning stages to actual construction and occupancy, according to Rocky Landsverk, managing editor of Log & Timber Homes magazine.
"There's so many different styles from so many different companies," he says, surveying the displays at the South Towne expo. "Somewhere in the room is everybody's perfect log home or timber-frame home. They just kind of wander around and glance at things and wait for something to catch their eye. It may be a picture in a booth, or it may be a structure that somebody has built."
Landsverk describes the average prospective log-home owner as middle-class, with enough disposable income to purchase a custom-built second home. He estimates log and timber homes range in price from $200,000 for a basic house with 1,000 to 1,200 square feet, to $400,000 for a 2,200-square-foot custom log or timber-frame house.
Square-foot construction costs range from $100 per square foot for the least expensive homes to $300 to $400 per square foot for more expensive models, he says.
Improved techniques in manufacturing logs and timber frames have brought the price of construction down significantly over the past 10 to 15 years. Technology has also improved the quality of the materials, making log homes more energy efficient and easier to maintain, Landsverk says.
The Log Home and Timber Frame Expo runs through Sunday in Sandy. Visit www.logexpo.com for ticket info and show hours, or call the South Towne Expo Center at 801-565-4490.
E-mail: jlee@desnews.com