Yorke Home
Oops - we need more space!

Log home additions are a little tricky.
Here's a case study of one that was done just right.

As seen in the 2009 Annual Buyer's Guide issue of Log Home Living.

Story By: Wyatt Myers
Photography By: Rich Frutchey
Designer/Builder: Seven North Log Homes, LTD.
Log Package By: REAL LOG HOMES®

FEW THINGS CAN SHAKE UP YOUR ROUTINE quite like adding space to your home. Construction dust, noise and workers coming in and out can make life difficult for a few months. But most homeowners would agree that the results are usually worth the inconvenience.

With a log home, the challenge of an addition becomes even greater. Not only do you have the difficult task of matching the look of the new logs to the old ones, but those logs pose another interesting obstacle. " Logs move and settle even after they're installed," says Mike Gingras, the owner and construction manager of Seven North Log Homes (an affiliate of Real Log Homes) in New Haven, Vermont. " So as you're constructing the addition, you have to connect it to the existing home in a way that accounts for this future wood movement."

Mike knows a thing or two about challenging log-home additions. He took on one of his company's most ambitious and expansive projects: a 5,300-square-foot addition to the home of Henry and Charlotte Yorke in northeastern Vermont. Mike shared all the details and photographs with us.

Challenges and Solutions

At 6,000 square feet, the Yorke's New England log home was already a testament to everything a house can be. But the couple wanted accommodations for their guests that were as nice as the home itself, according to Mike. Also, extra space was needed for all the family's hobbies, such as playing pool, exercising and riding ATVs.

The 5,300-square-foot addition included a laundry room, foyer, finished garage, workshop and a porte-cochere (a large, arched opening for vehicles to pass under) on the ground floor. The addition also featured a second-level office for Henry, a massive guest suite (complete with full bath facilities), a game room, an exercise room and a playroom for the kids.

The good news about the addition is that Charlotte and Henry had planned for it while building their original home in 2002. That meant matching the existing logs with new ones was easy, since they could come from the same source. There were lots of challenges, too, and we've outlined a few here.

Challenge: Maintaining the integrity of the home's electrical wiring and state-of-the-art systems. This includes everything from the heating and cooling system to the lights to the security cameras-all controlled by a computer. While convenient for the homeowner, it means that lots and lots of wires need to be hidden in the walls to operate all the controls.

Solution: Pre-planning the purpose of every log before it went into place. " We actually had to drill holes through the middle of several logs in order to rout the wires," Mike says.

Challenge: Extending the home's radiant heating system. Because the addition was so big, hot water had to travel nearly 70 feet to get from the boiler to the other side of the house. That's a long way for water to travel and still stay hot.

Solution: A massive dual boiler to handle the hot-water load for the entire home. That still wasn't enough to keep the water hot, however, so Mike installed tubes encased in foam to help the H2O retain its heat.

Challenge: Providing a new entrance, since the addition ended up blocking the original driveway.

Solution: A gorgeous porte-cochere. The addition opened up the middle of the home and allows vehicles to drive under a covered entryway, perfect for nasty winter days.