# House Construction: Concrete Block vs Pine Logs



## Bellaforte (Oct 12, 2012)

So my family and I are in the planning/dreaming/saving stage right now, and one of our current discussions is home-building materials. 

He grew up in a pine log house, I grew up in a concrete block one. We both think that our preferred material is easier, cheaper, and more durable. 

Folks who've done this before.... weigh in, please!


Details:
3 adults, 2 children, likely 1-2 teens once we start fostering. 
Large kitchen, dining room, someplace to put ALL THE BOOKS, large master bedroom (3 people make approximately 6x the mess somehow) and of course bedrooms for the kids. My assumption is probably 2 per bedroom and a guest room. 

Yes, I know it's a large house and may be a little impractical but the two things I can't give up are a dining room so everyone fits at meals, and a guest room or at least nook that is inviting for guests.
Ideally, I'd like a full basement and that can be roughed in with a bedroom or two finished down there


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Love log houses, but the upkeep. Cinder blocks are expensive to insulate. I like conventional studs and bat insulation on poured stemwall foundation....James


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

We're planning on earthberming/underground, so concrete blocks are what we're using. I love log homes though.


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## tarbe (Apr 7, 2007)

Blocks with re-bar and concrete in-fill, well insulated on the outside.

Finish off the inside and outside to suit your taste, but avoid easily damaged materials (by bugs, water, wind or children).

My $0.02


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## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

We built an earth-bermed house out of concrete block and used logs for all of the inside partitions. Looks like a log home inside with none of the upkeep. We cut white pine and slabbed them on two sides, so they stacked up flat and the round parts make the walls.


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## Bellaforte (Oct 12, 2012)

Melissa, I love that idea as a compromise between our preferred styles. 

Jwal- what upkeep is required? I know *nothing* about log, I'm just starting to research it.


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## wharton (Oct 9, 2011)

Bellaforte said:


> Melissa, I love that idea as a compromise between our preferred styles.
> 
> Jwal- what upkeep is required? I know *nothing* about log, I'm just starting to research it.


 You will find folks that claim that log homes are virtually maintenance free, which I don't believe for a minute. At the other extreme, I have seen homes that were evacuated, tented over with plastic sheeting and poisoned to get the termites under control. I have also seen homes where the logs were covered with plywood siding to try to deal with the massive amount of air leakage between logs, and log homes that needed tens of thousands in repairs to replace rotting logs. There are great log homes with happy owners all over the country. There are also poorly designed, built and maintained log disasters all over the country, that are nothing but a headache for all involved. As a builder, I would say that block is a safe choice, if it works in your climate. Log may be a wonderful choice also, but you really need to educate yourself before you choice a log home. A lot of salesman and log home manufacturers are full of poop, so talk to the folks that own them and do your own research. Good luck.


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## Bellaforte (Oct 12, 2012)

Wharton, thank you. My hubby grew up in a log home so his memory of it is very rosy- but he didn't pay the power bills! Of course, my memory of my block home is pretty rosy, and I'm finding now that block alone isn't nearly the insulator I thought it was. 
Ah, the joys of learning the realities of your dreams


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## bbbuddy (Jul 29, 2002)

If you live in an area that is hot during the day but cool at night in the summer, block homes can eliminate AC. *Insulate on the outside*, and the mass of the block walls will very slowly absorb the heat during the day...open the windows at night to allow that heat to dissipate. the house will stay cool all day.

In winter, once you get that mass warm, it will hold the heat in without as much heating necessary.

This is called the flywheel effect.

Research dry-stack block walls, stronger and easier to put up than mortared walls if you have access to uniform sized blocks...


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## CentralPaFarm (Oct 23, 2012)

I just built a small loghouse last summer and i used mostly oak logs but i also just took down a old barn which was mostly pine logs. If they are covered from rain with a long overhang pine is fine but if it has short overhanging roofs well you better use white oak. I would also suggest using white oak at the base sitting up on a stone foundation at least 1 foot above the dirt. I have built cinder block homes too and filled them with perlite and covered them with stucco. I also covered the inside walls with 2 inch celotex and then steel studs and then 5/8 drywall. I kept each floor seperate from the other floors to keep air from traveling up or down. I did lay them on 16 inch poured concrete walls then 12 inch block then 8 inch block and steel I beams with lolly columns supporting them allowed me to get the permit as a builders permit with no need for design of the interior walls which were basically just decorative and not structural. The 4 inch lip at each floor level let me rest the floor joices on them and the steel I beam running down the center. I used presure treated wood on the steel I beams and the cinder block to protect the floor joices. 

Hey have fun.. 

my site with 3 buildings i built this yr so far. 

Central Pa Mountain wilderness farm :: Communities Directory


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