Logs in Big Sky, MT

The first log shipment is on site.  This is our 10x12 D-log.  It is our insulated log, R-27.  The log is made from Western Red Cedar.  The home is at 7,400 ft. elevation.

 

Welcome Gloede Builders & Design

We would like to introduce Dan Gloede and Gloede Builders & Design.

Dan will offer his services to Eastern Oklahoma, Southern Kansas, and Western Missouri. 

Please feel free to contact Dan by phone at: 563-380-1395 or by

e-mail at:  tadmill@netins.net

I am a small business owner of a construction business from start to finish on projects. 

I was born in raised in a farm in Northeast Iowa.  I am looking forward to the near future of move to the Oklahoma area to resume my construction business.  My hands on work ethic have been a great business characteristic to have been passed down to me by my parents.

I offer over 32 years construction experience to designing custom plans for homeowners to better understand the details of their construction or remodeling projects.

I work with the homeowners or general contractors so the project runs smoothly, on time and within the budget plans.

I have extensive experience in building retirement communities, to include log homes, pole building, along with the custom homes for customers.  My expertise on the job site has been a valued asset with the construction business.  I am actively working on the job site so homeowners have any questions or concerns they are directed to me from the start.

I became interested in the log home end of the business when my wife and I decided to pursue our dream of building and living in a log home.  I have done extensive studies on the type of logs that would work best to maintain the most natural and environmentally efficient.  The laminated logs systems were the best value and most cost effective from the construction point of view.

I look forward to working with Great Lakes Laminator to promote the log home end of our business to its full potential.

Dan & Teresa Gloede          1941 Wildwood Ave.           Sumner, IA  50674-9099

Laminated logs for Russia

We'd like to welcome our first Russian Dealership.

We will supply our premium quality laminated logs to many of the resort communities surrounding Moscow.

First Home Delivered to Russia

The attached photo's are of a home built outside Moscow, Russia.  These are our 8x12 Laminated Square logs with dove tail corners.  This log is Eastern White Pine.

 

 The home is located in a country development Northwest of the city.  GLL will be delivering many more quality homes to the area.

 

What is an engineered laminated or insulated log?

Logs in their natural state are beautiful.  Nothing man made compares.  They represent nature's artwork at its finest.  The knots and the grain are unique to that log only, so no two logs are ever the same.  But logs in their natural state are a fairly poor choice in building materials.

How can that be?

Let's think about it like this, a log was originally a tree trunk.  As a tree trunk its primary duty was to provide structure and support to the tree and serve as the main conduit for water and mineral nutrients going up from the root system and organic nutrients coming down from the leaves.  When a tree is harvested, the trunk is used to make the log for your home.  When it is harvested, it is saturated with water.  As this water evaporates, the wood fiber shrinks around the heart of the tree.  It is this shrinking that causes the checks and splits you see in natural timber log homes.  Walls will settle and shrink as the logs used to build them dry out.  Gaps will form between the stacked logs.  Doors and windows that worked properly when the home was built are tight, sticking, or just plan stuck.  The only way to prevent this is to not let the logs dry out, but unfortunately that is impossible.  Drying can be slowed, but it cannot be stopped.  It is a natural event.

Why our product is better than nature.

Our laminated and insulated logs are an engineered product.  We start with the same tree, with the same natural beauty and characteristics.  We saw the trunk into large slabs.  These slabs are kiln dried to below 10% moisture content at their core.  All of the moisture related shrinkage of the wood has been completed by us.  This is a key point as you will hear many log home companies say their logs are kiln dried.  But dried to what?  It's the core moisture content of the log that determines the amount of future shrinkage that will occur. In the typical softwoods used for log homes, pine, cedar, hemlock, or fir the majority of the shrinking, checking, and splitting occurs as the moisture content falls below 16%.  A log's surface moisture reading means little.  To know the likelihood of future shrinking and splitting you must ask the question "What is the log dried to at the core?"

Hand picked perfection.

We take these kiln dried slabs and machine them to a planed surface.  These planks are inspected.  Some wood planks cannot tolerate being dry and they check and split.  We reject these planks for use in our logs.  Only wood that has no insect damage, fungal stains, or physical defects is selected for lamination.  We then take these hand chosen planks and laminate them together with a structural bonding resin under very high pressure. 

This laminated log is:

1 -- Dry from the inside out.

2 -- Lighter in weight than a natural log still retaining a high percentage of water.

3 -- Stiffer and stronger than it's natural timber counterpart.

4 -- We can place high density insulation in the core of the laminated log.  This will typically increase the log's r-value by 100%.  This is not important if you believe energy costs are going to come down, but if you believe that energy costs will continue to climb, it is extremely significant.

The completed laminated or insulated log has the same appearance but will not shrink and settle over time.  Checks and splits are virtually eliminated.  Annual maintenance on your log home is minimal.  Live in your dream, don't work on it.

Get your dream home started now!

If you have questions please give us a call.  If you would like to speak to home owners that chose the engineered log advantage, let us know and we'll provide you with their contact information.  If you would like to visit some of these homes to see firsthand, we'll help you.