Q&A | LYNN GASTINEAU, NEW BLOOMFIELD, MO.

Q&A | Buyers get a warm feeling from log homes

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JOB DESCRIPTION: President of Gastineau Log Homes, a log house builder, 10423 Old Highway 54, 800-654-9253, oakloghome.com

Q. What got you started?

A. I always say I wanted to be an architect, but I couldn’t do the math. My dad had a sawmill so I grew up around wood products. I always wanted to make things, so I studied fashion design in New York. Meanwhile, people kept coming to my father to say they wanted a log home. So in 1977, I saw a good business opportunity. Nobody in the Midwest was doing them.

Q. Why do you think people like log homes?

A. The thing I hear people say over and over is that they like the feeling they get when they go home. The adjectives I hear are nurturing, warm, homey, secure. They like that they’re made of natural materials. The warmth comes from the wood.

Q. How have you seen log homes evolve since 1977?

A. It’s been a crazy ride. It’s really changed. When we first started, most of the homebuilders were DIYers. From a design standpoint, they wanted the log homes as rustic as possible. Now they want more of a finished look. When we started, master bedrooms were almost always on the second floor. Now they’re on the main floor. These days, only 10 percent build log homes themselves.

Q. How much do your homes cost?

A. For a DIY 1,000-square-foot home, around $75,000 or $80,000 on up to a professionally built $2 million home and beyond.

Q. What type of wood do you use?

A. We offer pine, cedar and cypress, but about 99 percent of what we use is oak. Not only is it less expensive, it’s resistant to decay. It’s what our models are built from.

Q. Are there extra termite considerations with a log home?

A. There’s no more reason to have them in a frame house because you treat the ground. Oak doesn’t have to be pretreated, which is another reason why we use oak — it’s naturally resistant to insects. In 34 years, we haven’t pretreated our logs with chemicals.

Q. What’s maintenance like on log homes?

A. Pretty nominal. The problem is that people will go to a home-discount warehouse and buy something that’s not right for log houses. Interior logs have never had to be stained or painted. My drywall has had to be painted four times. Pine takes a lot more maintenance.

Q. So I take it you live in a log house?

A. Yes. I built it 27 years ago when I had two growing children. It’s on 42 acres and it has two lakes on the property. It’s private and only three miles from work. There’s almost nothing I’d do different if I had to build it again.

Q. What’s your favorite room in your house?

A. My bathroom. I remodeled it with a custom shower and took out the jet tub I never used. I open the window, which looks out into the woods. I feel like I’m in my own little spa.

Q. I find it fascinating you’re exporting log homes to China. How did that come about?

A. I was contacted by the man who invented Red Bull who wanted log homes in an amusement park in the late 1990s in China. China has a major timber/transportation issue. There isn’t good access to their forests. In Missouri, we have a surplus of wood. In recent years, now that housing has taken a downturn here, Missouri logs and windows and other building materials made in the state are being exported to China. The timing is perfect.

Stacy Downs, sdowns@kcstar.com