Here's a great reason to build your own log home -- you can use natural, preservative-free logs (if you build it correctly). In Massachusetts a kit builder went out of business in 1993, leaving an 8-acre property that was contaminated with pentachlorophenol and has been taken over by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The cleanup is expected to cost the town millions. You can find more details and a link to the article on our log homes horror stories page.

What they don't mention in the article is what happens to all of the people who bought log home kits treated with those chemicals from the kit manufacturer. Manufacturers of log home kits today still treat their logs with chemicals, although they usually only use "approved" treatments -- but how long until today's treatments are found to be toxic to humans?