One Couple's Log Home Journey...Part 1

"To the whole Beaver Mountain Team,

On paper in a few paragraphs it is hard to communicate how we truly feel about our experience with Beaver Mountain, but I will try. Denise and I spent six years researching, clipping articles, and visiting log home companies throughout New England and New York. We really thought our mind was made up with another company before we came to the mountain. Where else were we going to see four homes in one spot? So we went and then we went again and one more time...Beaver Mountain changed our minds.

After spending years pouring over information and floor plan after floor plan, John and Chris fit all our 'must-haves' into an amazing home that we call 'Evergreen'.

The customer service we received is, honestly, beyond words. From the first 'Hello' to 'JoAnn, are these trucks going to make it up the driveway?' we felt like Beaver Mountain was there to help...."

Sales Office will be closing early on 11/30

Please Note: Beaver Mountain's offices and manufacturing facility will be closing at 1pm on November 30. We will reopen at 9am on December 1st.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we reflect on our blessings, we are so thankful for you - our customers, log home enthusiasts, friends, and blog readers - for the opportunity we have to work with you throughout the year and share this log home dream with you! It has been a wonderful 25 years and we are looking forward to many, many more years ahead!

Note: Beaver Mountain's offices will be closed Thursday, November 22nd to observe the Thanksgiving Holiday. We will reopen on Friday, November 23rd at 9am.

Beaver Mountain at Connecticut Home Show

This weekend, Saturday November 17 and Sunday, November 18, Beaver Mountain will be at Johnsons' Log Home and Timber Frame Experience Home Show in Danbury, Connecticut at the O'Neill Center. Be sure to stop by booth #306 and say hi to Frank and Mary!

Meet Joan Decker

Title: Sales Consultant

At BM since: 1993

Background: in sales and sales management for 26 years, construction background from being around family members of builders, electrical engineers and excavators since childhood.

Best part of the job: Meeting people, experiencing their excitement and enthusiasm about their prospective new home, and becoming a part of helping them design and organize the project.

Recreational activities: hiking on the farm, art (novice painter), gardening, cooking, hunting, reading

The Sanzone Home

Joe and Monica Sanzone graciously shared these pictures of their Beaver Mountain home. "Although construction was complete in July 2004, everyday we arrive home is just as exciting as the day we moved in. The wonderful feeling we have for our home has yet to subside!" By looking at the following photos, it is obvious why.

Recipient of the Builder Friendly Award

Building Systems Magazine has announced Beaver Mountain Log and Cedar Homes as one of the seven recipients of the Builder Friendly Award.

This award recognizes the log manufacturers who offer extraordinary supportive services such as design, log grading, a construction manual, construction training, warranties in writing, on-site construction assistance, and furnished construction drawings, to name a few.

Charles Bevier, editor of Building Systems, explains that, "to qualify, companies have to meet a rigorous list of requirements - more than 20 categories of business development, collateral material and training. These are among the first in the log home industry to not only meet but surpass these requirements. With the Builder Friendly designation, contractors can rest assured that the relationship between a log home manufacturer and builder will be comprehensive, detailed, and - above all - professional."

Builders and customers of Beaver Mountain homes appreciate our extended efforts for total log care and construction ease. Below is a list of just a few:

• Window buck construction to provide a secure, energy-efficient fit
• Dry stacked home to ensure a quality fit and allow customers to view their home before delivery
• Pre-cut rafters to save time in the field
• Pallets to further protect the logs
• Notched floor joists to offer an accurate fit

You can learn more about Beaver Mountain by visiting www.beavermtn.com and read more about this award on Building Systems' website.

Log Home Show in Chantilly, VA

Beaver Mountain will be in Chantilly, Virginia for the Log and Timber Home Show on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday October 26-28! Be sure to stop by Beaver Mountain's booth (# 809) and say hello to Joan and Nick.

View this flyer for more information and a coupon for 20% off the cost of admission.

Hope to see you there!

Anniversary Celebration recap!

Our 25th Anniversary Celebration turned out to be a wonderful event! The air was filled with excitement as log home enthusasists got together to show pictures of their BM homes, swap stories, share ideas, and celebrate the success of Beaver Mountain. We loved spending the day getting reacquainted with old friends/ homeowners and meeting new ones! Thank you to all who came.

Here's a look at the day's events...

Our Manufacturing Facility/Administrative Office in Deposit, NY

Chainsaw carver Fred Avila

A customer's drystacked home with samples of corner styles

Refreshments and a slideshow of "yesteryear" pictures

Bucky Beaver made a return appearance!

Finally, a letter that we have received from attendees:

"Les and I would like to extend a big thank you for the wonderful day we spent with you on Saturday. We came back a lot wiser and knowledgeable and even more convinced that our fist encounter - 25 years ago- was something special. We had then looked at your very first log Home built on the Hill while the barn was still in its original state. We loved it then, we love it today and could see how much the company had grown. Yesterday showed us how much more the leadership and its team were all about. Working smoothly together at all times, all concerned with the very best always and visibly proud of each other's achievement as well as the whole. Thank you for opening the entire operation for us to see and understand."

Our 25th Anniversary Celebration!

To celebrate 25 years of excellence and many dream homes coming true, we will be hosting a Customer Appreciation Day and Factory Open House and would be honored to have you join us!

When: Sunday, October 7 from 11:00am - 4:00pm
Who: Everyone is invited! BM homeowners, builders, friends, log home enthusiasts...
Where: our Manufacturing Facility/Home Office located at the corner of Route 8 and Route 10, 2 miles north of Deposit, NY

What: Highlights of the day will include photos of Beaver Mountain over the past 25 years, photos of BM customer's dream homes that came true, chain saw carver Fred Avila, refreshments, and much more!

There will be factory tours so you will be able to see step-by-step how dream homes come to life. Tour our engineering department to see how our designers use CAD to develop custom home plans. Tour our milling operation to see how our quality-conscious crew air/kiln dries rough cants and then turns them into wall logs, timbers, siding, etc. Tour our precutting shops to see how our experienced craftsmen grade, pre-cut, and even preassemble panelized walls. Tour shipping and receiving to see how we care for all of the materials used in BM homes and see how everything comes together when a house is drystacked.

Our three model homes, located just 10 miles away, will be open for browsing on Sunday as well.

See our website for more information.

Company BBQ and Builder Appreciation Day

Beaver Mountain employees and builders got together on Tuesday, September 18 for an appreciation day. Special guest Fred Donnini of Andersen gave a slide presentation informing everyone of the new products Andersen offers and Todd Parsons, BM engineering manager, spoke of new log building and energy code updates. Afterwards, BM managers served a delicious barbeque which was followed by various raffled prizes given to everyone in attendance.

Thanks to everyone who came! We enjoyed spending the day with you.

BM President featured in Business Journal

Ken Clark, owner and president of Beaver Mountain, was recently featured in the Greater Binghamton Business Journal's CEO Spotlight.

The article, entitled "Clark chisels out Beaver Mountain's future", begins:

"Kenneth Clark has building in his blood. Growing up with a fafther, Donald Clark, who owned his own building company, it was inevitable that Clark would wind up involved in the industry somehow. What was less predictable was how the family's business would transform from a traditional building company to Beaver Mountain Log Homes, Inc."

Click here to read the rest!

September Open House

Join us for our Open House on September 8 and 9! Our three model homes and showroom will be open Saturday from 9:00am-4:00pm and Sunday from 11:00am-4:00pm. Feel free to attend our special events on Saturday; the Mill Tour will be held at 9:00am and our Home Planning Seminar will be held at 1:30pm. We request that you call 1-800-233-2770 to reserve your place. For more information, be sure to check our website and we look forward to seeing you! Beaver Mountain is located on Route 17, 6 miles west of Hancock, NY.

Meet Fred Hathaway

Title: Purchasing Manager, also assists in milling and kiln drying.
At BM since: 2000

Background: AAS in Wood Technology, BS & MS in Forest Management, 20+ years in Forest Products Industries, Sawmilling, Logging and MDF manufacturing.

Best part of the job: Learning more about all of the processes a tree goes through to become part of a beautiful log home.

Recreational activities: Deposit Free Library Board of Trustees, Woodworking, Fly Fishing, Hunting, Managing Forest Land, Reading

Winning on the field

James Valentine, our Field Technician, had an amazing round of golf - the best of his life, he said - at the recent Delaware County Amateur Golf Tournament and took first place his division! He is pictured below, second from left. Congratulations, Jim, on your big achievement on the green!

The Rustic log home style

If the majority of your answers to the log home style quiz were "C" you are drawn to a rustic log home style. Handhewn logs - an option Beaver Mountain provides - creates the rustic exterior look that is brought inside with log furniture, mounted deer, hardwood floors, and the colors marroon and green infused throughout. Take a look:

The Traditional log home style

Referencing the quiz that was previously posted, if the majority of your answers were "B", you are drawn to a traditional log home style. This style is reminiscent to the original look of log homes; butt and pass corners, round logs, cape style with or without dormers...Take a look at the following examples of Beaver Mountain homes.

The contemporary log home style

Last week we gave you a quiz to help you find your personal log home style. If you found yourself choosing "A's" then you are drawn to a Contemprary style of design. Those who are attracted to a contemporary look can successfully blend it in a log home. Beaver Mountain's insulated half-log building system allows the exterior to be sided with log siding (most of the time combined with stone or other finishing materials) while the interior can be finished in drywall, stone, log siding, or any other material to achieve a more modern appearance that reflects your taste. This building system also gives you more flexibility in design of the home itself (bump-outs are easier to accomplish with an Insulated Half Log Building System).

Take a look inside our Contemprary style Cedar Ridge model home:

Quiz: Find your ideal log home style

We are beginning a series devoted to log home styles. Take this quiz to determine which style is most appealing to you, keeping track of how many questions you answered A, B, and C.

1. Which door would welcome guests?
A. B. C.

2. Which bouquet would be on your kitchen counter?
A. Stalks of bamboo in a square glass vase
B. A dozen roses in a cut-crystal vase
C. Bright sunflowers in a pottery vase

3. What style of furnishings will fill your home?
A. An graceful iron chandelier over an elegant dining room set
B. An overstuffed leather sofa with a solid mahogany armoire
C. A log bedroom suite with a homemade quilt on the bed

4. How would your stair railings look?
A. Wrought iron
B. Round log
C. Hand-hewn log

5. How would you describe your home color palette?
A. Neutral with bright accents
B. Blue, green, and brown
C. Maroon, hunter green, and tan

6. Which flooring do you prefer?
A. Brazilian Cherry Laminate
B. Oak solid wood
C. Barnwood with pegs

7. How would your fireplace look?
A.

B.

C.

8. What would hang above the mantel?
A. Candles and greenery
B. Photos and memoribilia
C. Your prized deer

Results:

If you answered each letter almost equally, you are attracted to an eclectic style.
If you answered mostly A, you are attracted to a contemporary style.
If you answered mostly B, you are attracted to a traditional style.
If you answered mostly C, you are attracted to a rustic style.

Check back in the next weeks to learn more about each style, see design and decorating ideas, and discover how Beaver Mountain can work with you to incorporate each style’s elements into a custom log home that is uniquely you!

Life on the Lake...