The Advantages of Slow Growth Winter Cut Logs

How do you build the best log home? Start with the best logs.

We’re proud to build your homes with the highest quality wood species available. Not all wood species are created equal. 

True North Log Homes will only manufacture our log home packages from one of two species of wood in order to offer the warranties we do. Eastern White Pine from Northern Ontario & Northern Quebec and Western Red Cedar from Northern British Columbia.

That sounds impressive. But what does it really mean?

Unmatched Durability

We chose these two as they are more dimensionally stable than their competing species. 

True North Log Homes only uses species that are harvested from a northern climate as the harsh winters create shorter growing seasons, which means the growth rings in the timber are much tighter together. We make sure to harvest the trees for our log homes in the winter as the sap is in the bottom of the tree, preventing sap leaking from the walls of your log home when heated.

If you look at eastern white pine or western red cedar logs that come out of the south, those growth rings would be 3 or 4 times the size, even with the same species of wood. These larger rings from a southern climate create dimensional instability. Making them more likely to twist, bow, and shake (shake is the delamination of rings).  

We chose these two species (Eastern White Pine and Western Red Cedar) because they naturally weather from the outside, allowing you to maintain our buildings for hundreds of years to come. Some of the subgrade species can rot from the interior out; creating difficulties when maintaining that style of log home into perpetuity because the centre of the log rots out before the exterior does. Using subgrade species will sabotage the structural integrity of the home long term.

We’re sure you’ve seen a fallen tree in the woods that the core was rotted out, while the exterior was still hard. This is something we do not want in your log home.

Less Shrinking or Warping

High quality logs will provide you with additional advantages that are not seen with other species of pine. We use logs with tighter growth rings as they are going to give you less shrinking and warping, and allow us to offer an airtight seal. 

Unbelievable Longevity

To put things in perspective, there are 800-year-old log homes in Europe right now. They are made of this type of wood and they were built without the benefit of modern technology or building techniques!

We build homes all over the world that stand the test of time. 

It all starts with the materials. Simply put, the best homes are made with the best logs.

Let Us Show You the True North Difference

We take pride in how much modern innovation that is put into your log home. We have 24 Canadian and U.S Patents and we’re not done yet. 

Check out our Log Lock Compression System which is another industry first and an example of the kind of research and creativity that keeps True North Log Homes at the forefront among log home buyers. 

“We purchased our True North Log Home in March of 2015. The dream of living in a log home on a property with a sunset view became reality a few short years later. Working with the team at True North was a pleasure and always felt like you were their #1 priority.” – A True North Log Homes Google Review.

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