Guide to Choosing a Log Style (Profile)

Our focus here is on milled logs, which are logs that have been processed in a log home company's manufacturing plant or sawmill to create a particular shape or profile. All logs of a particular style are uniform in size and will have the same appearance.

Milled logs can have a flat top and bottom surface, can be coped, or can be tongue-and-grooved. The interior and exterior sides of the log can be round, curved , flat, sloped, or a combination. Some have decorative grooves for added visual appeal.

Selecting from among the large variety of log shapes and sizes can be very confusing for the potential home owner. Some log home companies only offer a small selection of styles, while others offer a broad range of choices. Some will even custom shape logs for customers.

The diagram below shows some of the most popular log profiles. Although the examples here have a double tongue-and-groove, some log home companies use a single or triple tongue-and-groove — or possibly some other method of creating a weather-tight fit.

Following are some considerations when choosing a log style for your home. You must decide which are important to you, and which are not so important.

Cost - Cost can vary between profiles, depending on the log home company. A company's most popular profile will generally be the least expensive. Custom profiles will cost much more.

Wall Height - The height of the logs you select can make a difference in your total kit cost. More courses of 8 inch logs are required to build a log home wall than with 12 inch logs. Depending on how your company prices its logs, this might make a significant difference in overall home cost.

Thickness - Logs of larger diameters or thicknesses have better insulating and thermal mass properties than smaller logs. Where 6 inch logs may be perfectly acceptable for homes in warmer climates, larger logs should be considered for colder climates.

Appearance - Most log home owners select a log style based on appearance — what looks good to them. In fact, this often overrides any other factors. Ignoring color and grain characteristics associated with wood type, appearance is affected by the shape of the log surface (inside and outside), decorative grooves, number of courses in a wall (determined by log height), and corner style (determined by log style).

Other Properties - Some people feel that round logs are more difficult to clean and treat, weather unevenly, and collect dust on inside walls — and that thermal properties are compromised by the non-uniform thickness — compared to logs that have either flat or slightly curved surfaces. Many people like the slightly curved "D" shape because it provides the traditional log look on the outside and the more practical flat wall on the inside.

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