LOGS MAKE FOR QUAINT COUNTRY HOMES

The dinning room in the home has exposed log walls and hardwood floors.

A tongue and groove system is used to join the logs together.

"People who love nature love log homes," said Jim Harper, who built his own log home and now has them built for a living. "That's why you don't see too many log homes in the city."

Harper had no idea when he built a log home for his wife several years ago that he would soon make it a career. Harper owns and operates Custom Cut Log Homes in Jackson, a company that builds log homes. Harper now employs two crews locally and one in Arkansas and one in Tennessee.

The first log home Harper built is the one he lives in on the outskirts of Jackson. The quaint log home sits back behind trees, a log garage next to it -- the ideal country dwelling.

They're not what most people think of, Harper said. These homes are far removed from what Abe Lincoln once called home.

"People tend to think that log homes are crude but they're really not," he said.

Harper's company receives about 30 to 35 calls a week. From those calls, he builds about 30 to 40 homes a year.

Harper's log home -- Harper never calls them log houses or cabins -- is 2,400 square feet and took Harper more than three months and several hundred hours to build.

"My wife wanted a log home," Harper said. "I had been a contractor for 15 years. I had never built a log home and wasn't really interested in building or owning a log home.

"I had heard some horror stories about them, but she finally convinced me."

And they've loved the home ever since.

In fact, Harper loved it so much he began working for Custom Cut Homes, then operating under different ownership. While working for the previous owner, Harper learned the ins and outs of building log homes.

When the owner became ill and decided to sell the business, Harper bought it. It's been many years since then, and Harper and his business have come a long way. He no longer is directly involved with the construction -- he had his share of that after doing it 20 years.

Now he works as a go-between, working with the future log home owners and the construction crews. He also oversees the sale, quality and delivery of the lumber, which is obviously a vital part of log home construction.

Harper says he hopes to go national soon. To meet this end, he has hired an advertising firm in Atlanta that is trying to get Harper's name and business recognized across the country. His goal is to have dealers in every state.

It costs about $28 a square foot for someone who lives locally. If the crews have to travel farther than 80 miles, which costs more for transportation and housing, the price increases to $30 a square foot.

Harper says it's easy enough to get a log cabin built.

"When people get interested, they call me," Harper said. "They want to find out some of the details, which is understandable."

These details include price, house plans and what kind of wood to use.

Harper says that log homes can be built out of pine, cypress, oak and cedar, but pine is by far the most popular -- 85 percent of the people choose it.

"Oak is just harder to find, so pine is less expensive," Harper said. "And pine lasts a minimum of 200 years. So people tend to go with that."

If the parties remain interested after the call, Harper requires a $5,000 deposit before their names can be placed on a waiting list.

The wait in the winter can be as little as six weeks, but in the spring and early summer the wait has been known to be as much as six months.

Building a log cabin is much harder than regular home construction.

"There's a lot more lifting and sledge hammer work in building log homes," Harper said. "It's just a lot of manual, heavy work."

But the work seems worth it. Log homes are 30 percent more energy efficient. They are also safer in case of an earthquake.

"A log home can shift off the foundation, they're real safe to be in."

Harper says showing the homes sells the homes -- people see the homes and naturally want to buy them.

"If someone who's interested in log homes comes by and looks at my home, then they usually buy one."

Liking his business is important to Jim Harper and he says he loves his.

"I really like to meet people and travel," Harper said. "I think building log homes is a great business and it's catching on more and more all the time."