Log houses a labour of love

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 454, 22 September 1992, Page 11 (Supplement)

Log houses a labour of love

Advertorial Log houses are becoming more visible around the country thanks to an Ohakune building partnership. Tony McMillan and j Brian Robinson started building the striking log homes in March this year. Tony had spent years shearing but always had a dream in the back of his head to build a log house. That dream became reality when Del Radomske came out from Canada to ran the Ohakune School of Log Building back in 1987 and '88. Mr Radomske had developed a technique of putting the logs together so that the building would get tighter as it aged. Some log home owners struck problems with their houses tending to shrink, mainly at the corners, as they aged, Tony said. "The key to good strength is the notching system," he said. They use the saddle notch system Mr Radomske developed to overcome that

problem. Tony lives in his own two bedroomed log house in between Ohakune and Raetihi. His business partner Brian has only recently moved to the region and is planning to build his own log house as soon as he can find the time. He is a stonemason by trade but more recently been a fisherman. Log home building isan old Scandanavian craft which was rediscovered in Canada during the 1950s and 60s. "It's developing into a modern form of building again," Tony said. The houses can be made from a variety of woods; Douglas Fir, Lawson Cyprus, Larch, Western Red Cedar and Macrocarpa. Winstones rhill at Karioi supplies the wood for Tony and Brian's business. The houses are unique and have a natural appeal just in the wood itself. They project an image of 'greenness' in a time when people are

concerned about the environment. The cost of building one of these houses is comparable to conventional housing, "but you're getting something different for relatively the some cost." Building a log is very labour intensive and takes about six to eight weeks to construct. "They're very strong houses and the logs make good insulators so they're really warm in the winter and cool in summer/' he said. The most amazing thing about these houses is that they can be built in one place, pulled apart and reassembled somewhere else. "It takes a day to pull one apart and a couples of days to put it back together not including the roof." It's also hard to believe they use only axes ^and chainsaws to produce such a smartly finished house. The pair recently loaded one of their houses into a container bound for Japan. The house was part of a

contract for three houses ordered by a Japanese developer who will be putting them close to Nagano, where the 1996 Winter Olympics are being held. Tony has been involved in building six houses, two of them locally, and is dealing with enquiries from Hawkes Bay and New Plymouth people interested in building. He said the feedback from people seeing the houses for the first time has been great. "It blows them away that it's a viable alternative to conventional housing." A lot of people think of log houses as being rough but Tony and Brian aim for a more finished, liveable product. The houses are a standard design but incorporating what the owner wants is something the partnership specialises in. A basic two bedroomed chalet-sized house starts around $60,000.