Mar 28 2006
There is nothing like the warm ambiance and enduring quality of a Log Home. Eco-Log Building Concepts is a unique Builder and supplier of Log Home and Cabin Kits. Unlike other Log Home Builders, Eco-Log Building Concepts has tapped into an un-discovered market by constructing environmentally-friendly, “state of the art” Log Homes from Canada’s first sustainable forest reserve. This Log Home Construction Company seeks out high-quality wood from the 60,000 acre, privately-owned Haliburton Forest Wildlife Reserve, located about 2.5 hours north of Toronto Ontario to develop various, charming Log Home designs.
Peter Schleifenbaum moved from Germany to Ontario in 1987 to take over and manage the land left to him by his father. A quarter of a century earlier, in 1962, the elder Schleifenbaum purchased the large tract of wilderness from a Logging Company that had depleted the timber resources and moved on. Over the past four decades the land has been transformed to become a thriving operation. Today, Peter Schleifenbaum continues to contribute economically and environmentally to the long-term ecological stability of Haliburton Forest Wildlife Reserve (www.haliburtonforest.com).
As a leading provider of conservation and sustainable resource management, in 1998, under the stringent guidelines of the International Forest Stewardship Council, Haliburton Forest was certified as the “First Sustainable Forest” in Canada. This recognition was certified by the Boston based Smartwood / Rainforest Alliance, the agent at that time.
Eco-Log Building Concepts has tapped into the resources and ecological preservation theories of Schleifenbaum and Haliburton Forest. They have gone to the heart of the Wilderness to develop Log Homes that will be environmentally-friendly, attractive, and charming—suited to meet their clients’ needs.
Eco-Log Building Concepts and Haliburton Forest have teamed up to offer the best nature has to offer—preservation of forests and wildlife. The foundation is built on the theory, "good forestry is good business.” By carefully selecting the timber used on the Log Home Building Kits, preventing wasted materials, and selecting high-quality, long lasting wood such as hemlock, the eco-system is able to be protected and preserved.
Eco-Log Building Concepts (www.ontario-log-homes.com) was a natural fit for the Haliburton Forest Reserve. Despite some people’s beliefs that cutting down trees to make log houses is not eco-friendly, there are specific quantities of mature hemlock that come due for harvesting every season – some measuring up to thirty inches in diameter. The process of individually selecting each tree and carefully felleding and skidding the timber by horse before transportation to the nearby Haliburton Forest Mill, keeps waste to a minimum. Once the hemlock reaches the mill, each board is squared for timbers or sawn into boards for planking using state-of-the-art saws.
The Eco-Log Home and Cottage Building Kits utilize hemlock from the Haliburton Forest. The Log Homes boast steep pitched roofs, spacious lofts, and heavy timber walls. Although Eco-Log has many standard plans available from 100 to 3000 square feet, Log Homes can be built to any design. “We have developed many Ontario Log Homes and have shipped a number internationally. All of our customers agree that Log Homes look like a home should—welcoming, comforting and enduring”, says Gord Higgins, Sales Manager for Eco-Log.
In addition, “because hemlock is often overlooked by today’s builders, the price is lower than many other species, an advantage we pass on to our customers for their Log Home Construction,” says Schleifenbaum.
One thing is for sure—Log Homes are becoming increasingly popular. There are many Internet based resources for Log Building Construction techniques. Haliburton Forest Reserve can also provide prospective home purchasers with a tour of the mill and review the Log Home Manufacturing process.