Hiker's Paridise

By Loretta Novick

Al Drews is busy in the basement construction a cabinet for the TV set. He's already finished a coffee table and has more projects in mind. Although he retired nearly four years ago, retirement has not slowed him down. and living in a log house in Colorado offers many pleasures besides time to do woodworking.

With his wife Lynne, Al likes to explore the many hiking paths that start almost outside their door. Not 200 yards away from the house is Estes Park. The rocky Mountain National Park puts Al in a position to enjoy one of his favorite activities on a daily basis. Hiking vacations are what led him to Colorado in the first place.

Al's first encounter with a log house came when he saw a for sale ad with an appealing picture. "It came to me suddenly," he says. The real estate agent took him to view the property. And when he walked in he had "such a good feeling. I was in the living room and it just felt cozy." He was almost ready to buy the place, even with its need for serious improvement.

But after considering all the things he really wanted in a permanent home, he consulted a log home builder, Walt Steige, of Front Range Log Homes. As a dealer for lok-n-logs, a national log home supplier, Walt was able to provide a new home with all the custom features his client wanted.

"They had a basic model to start with, and then I'd specify my modifications," Al explains. First, he wanted the walls pushed out farther to make the rooms a little larger. Then, to set off the great froom from the kitchen, Al asked for a wall of linden wood like one he had seen in a magazine. "It had big logs, 15 inches in diameter, piled up with Swedish coping." The Lok-n-Logs people were able to fulfill the request, and the custom wall makes a contrast to the New York red pine that is seen in most of the house.

Getting enough Daylight in a setting of trees and mountains was also a consideration. So three skylights were placed in the roof, two over the great room and one over the master bedroom, which is on the loft level. A loft-level balcony and two main-level porches afford wonderful views in all directions.

In the great room, two large multipaned windows flank the fireplace, each with a multipaned transom above. Al feels he was able to achieve optimum daylight conditions without sacrificing the look of traditional windows.

The fireplace itself presented a problem. Unable to find anyone to build a custom fireplace, Al opted for a fireplace insert, that a local mason set in a surround of Colorado "moss rock veneer" to Al's design. Although not his first choice aesthetically, the insert starts quickly and burns well, he reports. For an individual touch, the lintel above the fireplace opening was converted from a curved truck spring. When the basement was planned, it was not clear wheather there was a rock underneath and how much usable space would bve available. So the washer and dryer, which might have been placed on a lower level, were allocated to the main floor. A better choice, as it turned out.

Begun in 1993, the 2,030-square-foot house was completed in 1994 Shortly after, Al and Lynne were married. A second marriage for both. They moved in to the brand new dewlling. "It took some getting used to," Says Lynne. "I had lived in much smaller rooms in a conventional house." She also had to get used to the dramatic mountain and forest setting, so unlike the flat Midwestern landscape where she had mostly lived. She finds the local wildflowers especially appealing.

The modern kitchen also gets praise. "Although Al is the major cook of the family, it is nice to have enough kitchen space so we can work side by side." The handsome cabinets blend with the random width plank flooring that's used in most rooms, often accented by Indian rugs. Lynne has found that with the neutral wood tones so evident in the house, she is free to add her choice of colors in fabrics, paintings, and carious accessories. In the master bedroom, a red enameled fireplace that burns natural gas adds a vivid color accent besides an extra source of warmth.

How does a log house fare at an altitude of 7,900 ft? For one thing, Al points out, rotting is not a problem, nor are bugs. The problem is so minor that Colorado permits houses to have a wood foundations, which the Drews house has. But a stain preservative was put on, a thick almost viscous coating of it, to protect the wood against ultraviolet exposure.

The exterior logs are all hand peeled, as are some of the interior ones. The rougher logs don't need cleaning, the couple finds. Where it was practical, a polyurethane finish was applied to some interior walls. Two bedrooms and one bath fitted with logs having a milled oval shape, to facilitate cleaning.

New York pine logs (the primary material used) have a few special characteristics. According to the log manufacturer, the very abundance of red pine makes it economical. Besides being strong and durable, it also dries quickly and easily. And more important, because the heart of the timber is contained within every one of the companies logs, checking is kept to a minimum.

On their one acre of land, Lynne and Al are letting nature dictate the landscaping. They planted some small trees and a Colorado blue sprice. Other than that, Says Al, "I wanted to return the land to its natural state, so natural grasses now grow among the trees." Nature's animal life is also much in evidence. Deer, elk, and coyote sightings are common. And "we have seen tracks of bears and mountain lions."

Wintertime is the signal to get the snow shoes out. While snowfall is not as heavy on their side of the mountain range as in Vail and other places on the western slope - so there is no downhill skiing in their area, a 20 minute ride takes them to an altitude of 9,500 feet where there is enough snow for any winter sport.

Tempertures vary widely in this climate, even in a single day. In summer, mornings can be as cool as 38 degrees. And in winter, daytime temperatures might reach 50, then go down to near zero at night. To cover all their heating needs, the house has hot water heat with baseboard radiation. "It maybe cost a little more to put in, but it seems ideal for a log house," Al says. Natural gas costs during the winter months, even with the clothes dryer and cooking range, are less than $100 a month.

Al credits the insulating characteristics of a log house for its energy savings. And, in fact, the energy efficiency of log homes was documented in a study done by the National Bureau of standards. This quality is attributed to the so called "thermal mass" of solid log walls, which slow down the transfer of heat. There is even more energy efficiency in the roof shingles, a cement and wood composite the looks like shakes.

To put their personal imprint on their new home, Lynne and Al each brought some favorite things. A hand carved Chinese trunk at the foot of their bed came from Lynnes parents; some other items were supplied by Als woodworking skills. In addition to furniture, he turs out wooden rocking horses, which he occasionally sells.

As one might expect in this warm house with its attractive natural surrounding, visitores are frequesnt. "We do a lot of entertaining," Says Lynne. And, as Al observes, the usual reaction of first time visitors echoes his own first response to a log house. "It feels so comfortable."

Builder - Front Range Log Homes of Estes Park, Colorado