On Long Island, there's no place like a log home
When David and Amanda Woreth took a wrong turn in Brookhaven hamlet some 14 years ago, they felt like they had driven into another universe — or maybe Vermont.
"We were looking for a home to buy that would be closer to the beach than the one we had in Setauket," David explained. "Up until that point most of the homes we noticed looked relatively similar to familiar Colonial, ranch or bungalow styles. But here, at the end of a long dirt road, was a beautiful log home tucked into the woods on an acre of pristine property. Almost instantly, we knew we had to have it."
With three bedrooms, two baths, a big fireplace and a huge multilevel deck in the back, Amanda knew the home would be perfect for both entertaining and raising a family. Soon, the couple’s children, Joseph and Amy, were playing in the driveway and on the lawn with no worries about traffic coming down the street. In the evenings, the Woreths would sit on the porch with a little music playing in the background, surrounded by nature as they watched turkey, deer, duck and an occasional fox or pheasant pass through the yard.
"You would hardly guess we were living on Long Island, yet we were only a couple hundred yards from a main road and minutes away from shopping and a busier life," Amanda Woreth said. "Somehow, time had forgotten this place and our log home blended perfectly into the setting."
Wide price range
Log homes have a way of making you feel like life slows down, says Scott Bennett, a real estate agent for Douglas Elliman Real Estate on the North Fork. "They are beautiful, natural and designed to remind you of a simpler time with generally open floor plans, the scent and texture of natural wood, plus a structural integrity that’s surprisingly solid," Bennett said.
The living area of the O'Malleys' log cabin home in Peconic Credit: Randee Daddona
"Insulated by their exterior log walls, they are amazingly quiet, warm in the winter and cool in the summer," Bennett added. "There aren’t many here on Long Island, but the ones you find can range from delightfully cozy to spacious and spectacular. Like any other real estate investment, what you can get depends on your needs and budget. I’ve seen log homes on eastern Long Island sell for $500,000, and I’ve seen them sell for over $1,000,000 as well, so there is quite a range among the ones that are available."
Smell, texture of wood
The O'Malleys' log cabin home in Peconic Credit: Randee Daddona
You really can’t beat that old-timey feeling, the smell of the pine, cedar, fir or even oak logs and the texture of the natural wood through the house, agrees Amanda Woreth. "Our home was designed by The Original Lincoln Logs, and the construction is really sound," she said. "It was originally built from a stack and build style kit. Our logs are pine, rounded on the outside of exterior facing walls but squared inside, top and bottom for perfect stacking. The house is bigger inside than it looks from the outside, which seems to be a theme with log homes. We love entertaining here because the home and the yard are great conversation starters and instantly put guests at ease."
Watching a log cabin rise
While the Woreths stumbled across their unique home, Maura and Jim O’Malley, both now retired, already knew they would love to build a log-cabin style house on a plot of land Maura’s parents offered the couple alongside their Southold home back in 2006.
Ann O'Malley and dog Charlie, in her family log cabin home. Credit: Randee Daddona
"We had a log cabin built for a ski house in Pennsylvania in the 1990s and loved it," Maura O'Malley recalled. "On our way out from our home in Cranford, New Jersey, to visit my parents one day, we saw a log home in Riverhead that was nicely built. We got in touch with the homeowners who put us in contact with Northeastern Log Homes in Maine. We took a road trip to look at some of their models in Massachusetts, picked a three-bedroom, two-bath kit with a big front porch, nice fireplace and large loft we liked, and had a local contractor put it together. It was a great experience watching our home rise from the ground up from April through June."
15 years later, still solid
Ann O'Malley, left, and her mom, Maura O'Malley, with their pets inside their log cabin home. Credit: Randee Daddona
The O’Malleys were pleased that all the logs and components in their kit were precut and numbered for easy assembly and a perfect fit. Fifteen years later the home is still solid and substantial. "I absolutely love the smell and look of the beautiful white pine logs, both inside and out," Maura O'Malley said. "We had a carpenter add some artisan touches to the cabinets and banisters, and asked the manufacturer to make some small modifications to the kit. Overall, the process was very smooth. Our daughter Anne lives with us, my sisters are our neighbors, and we are blocks from a beautiful North Fork beach. We couldn’t be happier here."
Adaptable to different looks
When the O’Malleys first moved into their new log home, they brought along their furniture to use until they could pick out something new. Turns out, their traditional-style kitchen and living room tables, chairs and couch looked fine in their new setting and added a feeling of familiarity as the family began adjusting to their new surroundings.
"One misconception I think people have about log homes is that they require country and western décor. That’s simply not the case," said Maura O’Malley. "These homes are adaptable to different looks, so choose whatever style you like and it will probably be fine."
Log house near the beach
Penny and Greg Pitaro are taking that notion in a somewhat different direction. With the help of Susan Orioli from NoFo Real Estate, and Rene Giacobbe and Katie Schimpf of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, the couple last November closed on an $815,000, four-bedroom, three-bath log home with a big front porch from which to watch sunsets. Their home is just an eight-minute walk to a beautiful Cutchogue beach.
A log cabin under construction in Cutchogue Credit: John Roca
"We’re thrilled to have a log cabin-style home," said Penny Pitaro proudly, "but this will also be our beach house, so we’re painting the interior white and furnishing it to be light and airy. We’ve been working on the inside for weeks now — those logs really suck up the paint — but we are almost ready to sleep over and start inviting our guests. Maybe even this weekend. I can’t wait."
You can see how it was built
Pitaro says she’s surprised how a coat of white paint made her new home feel more contemporary. She also loves that you can actually see how the home is constructed. "You don’t see that in modern-style homes," she noted. "We can see how the different joints fit each other, which gives us insight into how the house is really put together; that surprised me somewhat. We’ll be staying here most weekends during the summer. It’s going to be a lot of fun."
As for the Woreths, their days of log home living are numbered. The couple just listed their home for sale for $599,000 with Ellen Green Realty.
"We’ve loved every minute of living here," said David Woreth, "but we are entering a new phase of our lives. We just purchased a campground on the AuSable River in Northern Michigan, so we’ll be renting cabins, camping space and kayaks. It’s going to be tough to let go of our wonderful log house, but we’ll be moving to another home with character, a beautiful A-Frame in wide-open country. After such a great time in our log house, we’ve decided that wherever we reside it should be a home that’s special and unique."
On Shelter Island, a log cabin from 1900
The Smith Taylor Cabin, circa 1900, was built on Cedar Island in Coecles Harbor, Shelter Island. Credit: Randee Daddona
Want to visit a real log cabin and see what you think?
You can set up a tour and even bring a picnic lunch at the historic Smith-Taylor log cabin on relatively isolated Taylor’s Island in Coecles Harbor, Shelter Island. The quaint log cabin here was built about 1900 and was recently gifted to the Town of Shelter Island from S.
Gregory Taylor (Soterios Gregorios Tavoulares), for the "use and enjoyment of the general public."
Steve Lenox, left, a member of the Taylor's Island Preservation and management committee, P.A.T. Hunt, co-chair and president of the Taylor Island Foundation, and Richie Surozenski, co-chair of the foundation, in front of the Smith Taylor Cabin on Shelter Island. Credit: Randee Daddona
"The Taylor’s Island Preservation and Management Committee and the Taylor’s Island Foundation exist to restore the Island and fulfill Mr. Taylor's wish," said P.A.T. Hunt, president of the Taylor's Island Foundation. "The Smith-Taylor Cabin is listed both on the New York State Register of Historic Places and on the National Register of Historic Places, and Taylor’s Island is part of the Coecles Harbor Marine Water Trail."
"Come visit," Hunt said. "You’ll absolutely love it."
Tom Schlichter
Log home challenges
Having your log home built from a kit supplied by a log home manufacturer can be a fairly smooth process but industry experts suggest hiring a contractor with log home construction experience to get the job done right and in timely fashion.
While today’s newest kits allow for making a few adjustments and modifications, Christine Rivera of CDR Consulting Corp., in Mattituck, says that it can be hard to substantially remodel or modify log homes built several years or decades ago.
“Depending on the construction style,” Rivera said, “utilities, plumbing and electrical wires are likely inside the walls. That makes repairs and extensive changes difficult because you can’t destroy the logs to get to the electric or the plumbing. You have to ferret out holes or tunnels or add framing which can lessen the size of the room. Even with the newest kits, it’s vital to fully determine your needs ahead of ordering.”
AC duct work tough
Air-conditioning duct work is a particular challenge on older log homes, Rivera said. “You have to build chases in the walls and closets to bring up the AC ductwork. Most log homes that were built 30 years ago weren’t designed to accommodate AC units like they are today.”
Another headache is changing windows or doors because the logs act as headers. “You’ll need to add new headers and slice the logs to put the windows back in place with the new headers covered.
Guard against insects
Overall, log home maintenance isn’t more intense than owning a framed home, but it is different, says David Woreth. “You do have to take steps to defend your home against termites, carpenter bees and other insects or wildlife that attack wood. Also, plan to spend a few hours each spring filling small cracks in the exterior logs. Stay on top of this stuff year after year and your log home should remain strong, sturdy and amazingly trouble free.”
Tom Schlichter
Log cabins vs. log homes
As opposed to today’s modern and beautiful log homes, true log cabins tended to be single-room buildings designed for temporary shelter by newly arriving settlers.
Still, these cabins served admirably as their logs proved to be good insulators from cold in the winter and heat in the summer. Working together, a family in a forested area with plenty of straight, tall trees might raise one in just a few days. Log cabins intended for permanent stays took longer to build being larger, and because a year or more was needed for freshly cut logs to dry in order to reduce warping once the structure was completed.
Early log cabins were generally made of round logs stacked atop each other and overlapped at the corners. Holes and less than perfect fits between logs were sealed with moss or mud (daubing) or sticks and stones (chinking). Later designs saw the building process grow more sophisticated with interlocking corners made by notching the log ends, and the logs hewn (cut with an axe) to be flat-sided for more consistent stacking. The door to most log cabins was usually built facing south, allowing the sun to shin in during the day. While there are records of log cabin structures built across northern Europe over 5,000 years ago, American log cabins date back only to the 1630s with the first examples built in Pennsylvania on the upper shores of Delaware Bay in 1638.
For more background info on log cabins and their construction, visit:
- The National Park Service web page on log buildings
- Hankering for History's page on the history of the log home
- Wonderpolis.org's page on the log home.
