The Facts

In case you wish to know the truth about some things, here would be the place to start.

Kuhn's Bros. Logs:

 Kuhn's Bros. mills all of our own logs and you are welcome to watch that happen at our mill. We do sell off logs that do not meet our strict standards and some companies do purchase and sell to you. Personally I do not know who buys them nor do I care, if they do not meet our standards they certainly are never going to be competition for me. You will receive in writing our grading forms to assure the finest logs for your home.

Kiln Drying:

All the companies that cant afford to purchase kilns love to make unfounded claims about kiln drying. The facts are that Kiln Drying will greatly reduce checking, twisting and warping. We make no provisions for settlement when we build our homes, the 4-6" settlement is on Air dried homes. Sap and pitch are crystallized so they do not weep like air dried homes. But the most important benefit is that Kiln Drying will Sterilize the logs, in other words: eggs, bugs, larvae and wood eating fungus are all killed in the kiln, without the kiln you will deal with these forever.  These are nice facts but lets look at what you can see first hand, show me one furniture maker, one cabinet maker, one stick framer, or anyone who works with wood that will tell you honestly that air dried lumber is a better wood.  All wood that is to be exported out of the country has to be kiln dried to kill eggs, bugs, larvae and wood eating fungus and organisms or it cannot be accepted in any other country. On these air dried homes..........do they use air dried 2x4's and floor joists?? No!! of course not.  You already know this, why do they believe you are not intelligent enough to recognize the truth? Our logs are in the kiln 4-6 weeks up to 170 degrees and guaranteed in writing to be an average moisture content of 15 percent. The next jolly story is that when it rains logs are unkiln dried, which I wish I was aware of  because I guess my cord of seasoned firewood from last year is unseasoned now that it has been outside for a few months.........think about it, get informed and the truth will guide the way to the home of your dreams.

Wood Species:

Why do companies claim cedar to be a better wood yet fail to warranty or guarantee anything they tell you about bugs or rot?

It has become popular for one of the cedar fence post type companies to claim there are benefits to white cedar. Kuhn's Bros. Log Homes is only half of the business. The other side is a full service lumber mill. We have access to every wood species available. We choose the two best wood species for log homes, Eastern White Pine and Western Red Cedar. If White cedar was a good choice we would not have discontinued using it 10 years ago. Kuhn's Bros. Has a lifetime warrantee in writing on all of our homes, with that said we need to make sure our homes will not suffer from defects such as pencil rot and heart rot that plagues much of the white cedar world that is used for anything bigger than fence posts.  All wood is susceptible to insects and rot, all wood must be treated if left exposed to weather, that "natural graying" of  the wood is the breaking down of the molecular structure of the wood fiber. We would be happy to show you our samples of infested and rotted cedar and let you see for yourself that the fables you are told of cedar  You choose red cedar if you like the look of reddish brown logs, white cedar has a much less palatable look with a very milky washed out color, certainly not as desirable as pine. Cedar logs are usually smaller and shorter than pine, they have half the structural stability which is the reason SPF is used for the beams in cedar homes. Why choose a pine or cedar company when with Kuhn's Bros. you can have either, allowing you to spend the time you should be on the real important things in your new home. It is impossible to assure no rot or insects on our home, our competitors homes or any home on the market whereas they are all susceptible to the very same issues. If White cedar is a the Magic Wood it is claimed to be then there should be no problem having the company you are talking to modify the warranty to give a lifetime warranty against rot and bugs as they just gone done telling you it is.