The Maggos Home
LHD January 2008

As seen in the January 2008 issue of
Log Home Design

Story by: Raeanne Marsh
Photography by: Joe Hilliard
Home by: Ray's Log Homes, Inc. and Real Log Homes®

Home Owners Story

It must be in the water-that industrious urge to branch out and break new ground. For it was just a little more than 200 years ago that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out along the Missouri River, between St. Louis and southwestern Illinois, on the first American-led overland journey to the Pacific. Two centuries later, that same region rekindled the pioneering spirit-this time in the form of Meladee and Mark Maggos' log home.

Having purchased what they felt was the premier spot in an area surrounded by government-protected land, Mark and Meladee wanted a home that was different from the conventional, stick-built houses of the region. Taking ideas from log home magazines, the couple sketched a structure that captured the feeling of the mountains and the West and then worked with two different architects to get the spaces and floorplan just right. They found an experienced log home builder in Ray Herwig's company, Ray's Log Homes, and went with Real Log Homes-the manufacturer he represents-as their log producer.

Once the outer shell and roof were up on their 4,800-square-foot home, the couple began what Meladee laughingly dubs, "the mother of all craft projects": all of the interior sanding and sealing, including climbing on scaffolding to reach the ceiling's 24-foot-tall peak, plus laying the hardwood and tile flooring and finishing the doors and trim work. Interrupted constantly by curious passersby, Mark says, "We finally decided to leave the front door open, so people could give themselves the tour while we worked."

Log homes are no longer such a rarity in their neck of woods, but Mark recalls that being the first of its kind in the area presented some unique challenges, especially as they sought to secure financing. "It was hard to get an appraisal, because they couldn't find a home to compare it to," he explains. Their local bank, Cornerstone, scrutinized the home's construction documents and the list of finishes, then, "took the biggest home in a nearby high-end subdivision to use for the appraisal," Meladee adds.

Now, according to Mark, their home is appreciating faster than other homes around them. "If we sold it, we'd have to put it up for auction-and it'd be a fight," he says with a laugh. Not that the couple plans to leave their dream house any time soon. After six years of log home bliss, Mark still proclaims, "It's been all we expected and more."



Builders Story

Nearly 150 log homes ago, Ray Herwig employed his years of experience in conventional-home construction to help a friend who was having trouble building himself a log home. His act of generosity ultimately led to a new career. Now, a representative for Hartland, Vermont-based Real Log Homes, Ray began construction on Mark and Meladee Maggos' log home by blending their wish list with his suggestions and showing them precisely where their home should be placed on the property. "You never put a house 'just about here,' " he explains. Once the initial sketches were complete, he gave Mark and Meladee his proposal. "I always know where we're going even before we get the log company involved," he says, noting the typical sequence of events: design the preliminary plan, the customer makes revisions and he submits the plan to Real Log Homes, where a representative will further collaborate with the client to produce the final construction documents.

Ray's most basic suggestion was the log species: southern yellow pine, a hard, heavy wood. Real Log Homes can cut and construct many types of log profiles (the shape and joinery of the logs), so the choice was tough, but ultimately Mark and Meladee chose a D-log with a tongue-and-groove system that Real Log Homes refers to as a "6-by-8-inch log with a V-groove." Ray notes that Real Log Home's system allows fastening on both sides of the tongue, resulting in a highly stable wall. As the builder, he adds an extra touch: counter-sinking a lag bolt into the logs.

With more than 25 years of experience, Ray adds custom features such as molding edges on the window trim inside and out. For Ray, incorporating these design details and accommodating small changes to the plan are all in a day's work.