Many customers enter the log home market with a craving for rustic Americana. Unfortunately for most of these people, this is often attained by compromising on the integrity of the log system. A common belief is that a log home, in order to look "rustic," has to be crafted using the rustic methods of old.

This is not the case with RippleCraft's "The Early American Log." Our newest log profile, designed to look anything but new, is a perfect marriage between rustic appeal and modern machining. Our Early American Log is available in either a beautiful dovetail cornering system or our more contemporary interlocking corner.

In order to achieve this look, we had to do a couple of things differently. First, we had to make a new log profile that would allow surface imperfections to remain without being milled off. All of our other profiles present a clean and contemporary look, much of which is accomplished by milling off surface blemishes such as weathering, checking, waned corners, twist and insect activity. With The Early American Log we wanted to preserve these blemishes.

We also had to completely alter our thinking as it relates to obtaining our logs. We have always purchased our timbers green with appearance specifications. Our Early American Log uses a type of timber called "dead standing." Dead standing timbers are typically Engelman Spuce or of Pine (Lodgepole or Ponderosa) from the western U.S. or Canada. These trees have died due to drought, insects, fire or any of a number of other causes. These trees often stand for a number of years before being harvested.

The cause of death and the climate can produce side effects that make dead standing timber a marginal component in a contemporary styled home. First of all, these logs check much more frequently and the checks tend to be much larger than those in kiln dried logs. Checks as wide as an inch are not at all uncommon. . With The Early American Log, rather than being a detriment, these flaws are part of the character. Do note that we still kiln dry these logs once we have received them, but we do so not to inhibit checking, but rather to make the timbers more stable, lighter to handle, and to kill insect larva that might be present in the dead wood.

Wane is a common term in the timber industry. Simply put, wane on a timber is the rounded portion in the corner. By ordering "waney dead standing timber," and by milling these timbers with our Early American profile, we produce a log that is both stunningly rustic and tight fitting. Just try and get that from another "rustic" log producer.