Having A Log Cabin in Branson Missouri

Log cabins in Branson Missouri seem to be a very popular subject. My folks in Northern Minnesota built and lived in a beautiful log home for many years until my Mom passed away and a few years later my Dad was unable to care for himself and was moved into a foster home until he passed away. By younger brother now lives in the log house. They loved the Log Home lifestyle and Mom loved to entertain all their friends and almost anyone that would happen along and would dally long enough for Mom to take them on a tour.

Log cabins in Branson Missouri seem to be a even more popular type of home and with it a lifestyle all of it's own. I guess it is so popular because the Branson Ozark Mountain Country has such a dense covering of trees which are mostly hardwood Oak/Hickory/Black Walnut etc. and evergreens like Pine and Cedar. A Log cabin in Branson Missouri just seems to fit in perfectly when a small clearing is made with a few trees left for decoration and shade. In the middle of the clearing you will find the Log Cabin and in the rear maybe a garage, garden shed, wood shed, gazebo, barn or some such buildings. It is always proper to make these out buildings match the log home in some way. You either make them out of logs or put log siding on them or at the very least some type of wood siding with a stain color to match the house.

There is more to a Log cabin in Branson Missouri than meets the eye. I don't know exactly what you call it other that wall density but they seem to very easy to heat as well as cool along with the rustic eye appeal. My folks home was very economical to operate but not very economical to maintain. They have a definite need to be kept well chinked (the cracks filled) between the logs and any large cracks in the logs themselves. They also need a coat of stain whenever the old one starts to fade away.  A lot of Log homes in Branson Missouri also have Cedar shake roofs. These are very beautiful to look at but are labor intensive to install and maintain and being Cedar has a decay ingredient built in by nature and they stand being wet and then dried out. They do have two problems beside the installation and repair and that is that they seem to invite a moss or lichen to grow on them and under that moss the wood start to decay as the moss feeds on them. The fact that they never dry under the moss causes further decay. The other problem is they are made of wood obviously and they are a definite fire danger and insurance companies know this and many times they refuse to insure them especially if a wood fireplace or stove or located inside.

If I were to build a Log cabin in Branson Missouri I would look into coating the shakes with some type of fire proofer and water sealer to help protect them from the moss and fire. There is a type of shingle made to look like shakes and with a cedar color and they are a good alternative and are what my folks put on their roof when the shakes started to look bad.

Another thing you will see in most Log cabins in Branson Missouri as well as elsewhere is the north side of the building never see the sun and the sun has Ultraviolet Rays that help to kill bacteria and mold spores and the north side always darken quickly and start to decay. There are products on the market to help and prevent this from happening. If you have a yard that is very dense with high trees that keeps the home always shaded you will see this decay a lot sooner and in larger proportions. Wild fire danger is also a concern if your yard is too wooded and yes I know it will make it less beautiful if you open the yard up too much but you have to weigh the differences by what you see and what you now know can be a danger if you ignore the warning.

I have been on our rural fire department for over 35 years and I know the DNR Department of Natural Resources will till you to not have any trees within a hundred feet and no more that a few within a 100 yards and when we had property in Montana they told us they would not even try to prevent a home from burning if they had too many trees too close to the buildings. I personally think this is a little bit of overkill but I would use some type of caution when designing your building surroundings.

Owning a Log cabin in Branson Missouri or a log home is a wonderful lifestyle and even though my wife doesn't like the fact that they seem to be darker indoors and when you counter this problem with big windows you loose the density benefit and with larger curtians to cover them it leaves smaller spaces between to decorate the inside.

You can now have a log exterior and have the inside logs either sawn flat or nearly flat or even cut into half logs and a studwall put against it and added insulation and Sheetrock on the finished side. I would suggest this in at least part of my Log cabin in Branson Missouri if I were to build one. This would really be good on the outside walls of the North and West side of the bedrooms where most of your cold wind comes from.          

Donald Raether Author/Publisher

If you ever plan to visit or move to Branson, Missouri you will surely want to study this site and bookmark it for the future. You can also get a free report on Branson and the Ozark Mountain Region.