News from Rocky Mountain Log Homes

In this issue:

• Winter, the Ultimate Log Home Design Season
• 2009 Parade of Homes Award Winner
• Project Manager Profile: Sharon Lewis
• The Alpine Log Home Design
• New Distributors
  

Winter, the Ultimate Log Home Design Season

Winter doesn't have to be cold, dark and boring. Put these short days to good use by starting your design work now. Savvy people, who are serious about building next spring, know this is the time to get the process started.

We have been helping our clients through the design and building processes of their log dream homes for over 30 years. If there is one bit of advice we could give our future clients, it is to "plan in the winter, build in the spring." It seems simple, but each year a surprising number of clients wait until spring to get started on their log home project. Some of them hit stumbling blocks that set their building plans back an entire year.

By starting your preliminary blueprints now, we can determine the cost of your log package and help estimate your total construction budget. Rocky Mountain Log Homes will honor the price of our manufactured products until next summer when you put a 35% deposit on the package by the end of the year. You can take advantage of our current winter sales price and reserve your spring production slot.

Whether you are planning to build from a standard plan or have our experienced design team create a custom design for you, there will always be a list of details to attend to before construction begins. Even if you are planning to use a ready-to-build plan, you will likely have "just a few, minor" changes. These changes require more thought and design time than most people ever imagine. A simple window change is not simple. It effects the exterior elevations, the floor plans, the window schedule and the log layouts. A dimension change affects every page of the blueprints from the foundation through the roof framing. The winter months are the best time to go through this paper process so that by spring you can make site decisions with completed blueprints in hand.

Come spring, you'll have your plans, you'll have saved money, and you'll have freed up your time to start making other decisions about faucets, appliances, flooring, lighting fixtures etc. You will also have enough information rolled up in your hands to determine quantities of remaining building materials and to take advantage of other manufacturers' winter sale prices. There is so much to gain and nothing to lose by starting your plans now.

Like planting and harvesting a garden, the building industry also has seasons, and the winter months are the design season. Call us at (406) 363-5680 to get your log home project underway.

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2009 Parade of Homes Award Winner

Congratulations to Brian Wray and Mountain Log Homes of Colorado for their recent awards in the Summit County Parade of Homes. Mountain Log Homes took top honors in Exterior Elevation, Builder Concept and Landscaping with their Sage Creek Canyon home.

Designed by Denver Architect Brian Higgins of Raw Architecture (303-831-4307), the home features 4,300 square feet of living space with an expansive great room of full round 10" and 12" logs from Rocky Mountain Log Homes.

Wray accepted the awards with his General Manager, Peggy Smith. He expressed a special appreciation for the Builder Concept award, "This is the most coveted award for me. I make sure that my crew and all the subcontractors work together as a team so that the end product is the best it can be and meets the homeowners' intent for a lovely, livable home."

According to homeowners Buck and Jean Tippins, "The on-site coordination of the staff and subcontractors during the building process made the home better than we ever could have imagined!"

By partnering with companies like Rocky Mountain Log Homes, who use Sustainable Forestry Practices and only dead standing timber, Mountain Log Homes of Colorado will continue to offer quality homes with minimal impact on the environment.

If you are interested in building a log home in the Summit County, Colorado area, call Brain's team at (970) 468-8683.

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Project Manager Profile: Sharon Lewis
(406) 375-1830 Direct

Sharon Lewis has been a member of the Rocky Team for over 18 years. Her success at living an authentic Montana lifestyle is a natural fit for working in the log home business. Before coming to work at Rocky Mountain Log Homes, Sharon worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a timber cruiser, a fire fighter, and on reforestation projects. She spent many years training and showing horses for prominent ranch owners in the area and enjoys traveling and fishing exotic waters.

"Clients have high expectations when they come to Rocky. Most have a basic idea of what they want and depend largely on us to pull their ideas together and make it work. It's my responsibility to help them define their vision. I'm right there in the bubble living their dream with them. I have the luxury of working with a talented team here at Rocky. Between us we have several hundred years of experience creating log homes. We always come up with good solutions; creative ideas; and most importantly, we have fun in the process. We toss around ideas, sketch, think, re-sketch and suddenly the light comes on. Everyone gets excited when we realize we're onto something great for this house, for this client. There is an energy born during this creation and it contributes greatly to our client's experience and the end result. This energy fuels our passion."

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The Alpine Log Home

Flexibility is the design strategy for one of our newest log home plans, the Alpine Log Home. One level living makes this 2280 square foot home a popular design.

The covered porch on our Alpine Log Home is authentic and unpretentious. The entry-foyer is a calm introduction to the home, but don't let its innocent appearance fool you. It is a taskmaster at directing traffic and providing privacy to the second and third bedrooms. Weary overnight guests can immediately relax and drop their bags in the privacy of their room before continuing on.

The main living area is refreshingly simple and open. This room is defined by the placement of furniture that can be reset for any occasion, from an intimate fireplace setting for two to seating for maximum occupancy on Super Bowl Sunday. The open flow between the kitchen, dining area and living room allow this space to change with your needs. Opening doors onto covered decks on either end can stretch it to lodge proportions. The location of the second bedroom is ideal for an office.

The master bedroom suite is virtually isolated from the main household activities. The only connection it shares with the main body of the home is at the bedroom door. A well-appointed master bathroom and walk in closet buffer the bedroom from the common adjoining wall. French doors onto the covered porch give this suite the feel of living in a wilderness lodge.

The Rocky Mountain Log Homes 9" shell package for the Alpine Log Home is $69,796.82, with additional options available. Call us today at (406) 363-5680 for more information.

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New Distributors

Bob and Mandy Eckhardt may be new Rocky distributors, but they certainly are not new to Rocky Mountain Log Homes. In 1984, Bob and his father, John Eckhardt, created a partnership with Elk Canyon Ranch. They purchased and built eight luxury log cabins and a log lodge from Rocky Mountain Log Homes. Through the years, the Eckhardt family hosted hundreds of families at their ranch located on the banks of the Smith River near White Sulphur Springs, Montana.

Currently, Bob is the General Manager at South Fork Lodge, a fly-fishing resort on the south fork of the Snake River near Swan Valley, Idaho. Bob's vision for his Rocky Mountain Log Home business is to consult other ranch owners about their log home dreams and provide them with the same personal service and property management that he has provided for over 25 years in the guest ranch and hospitality business.

Contact Bob and Amanda at (208) 483-2284 or email them at bob@southforklodge.com.

Eric Render of Render Construction, Inc. joined Rocky Mountain Log Homes as a Distributor in Northern Michigan. Specializing in professional project management and general contracting services, Eric has become known as a premier custom home builder in the area. Render Construction serves all of Northern Michigan building some of the regions finest custom homes, cabins, and cottages. His staff of master craftsman average over 20 years experience in the business.

Progressive construction techniques and sustainable practices maximize the efficiency and performance of his homes. Utilizing web based project management and client contact insures expectations are met and exceeded. Render Construction supports the efforts of regional conservation and community groups towards the betterment of our environment and industry.

Please visit their website at www.renderconstruction.com for all your homebuilding needs in North Michigan. You can reach Eric at 231-499-7754 or by email at renderconstruction@verizon.net.

Give us a call!
Rocky Mountain Log Homes
406-363-5680
www.rmlh.com

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Published by Rocky Mountain Log Homes
1883 Hwy 93 South, Hamilton, Montana 59840 USA 406-363-5680