Web Pages, Blogs, facebook, Twitter, Email, Brochures, Magazines, etc, etc, etc. It's how most of us go about searching for a log home manufacturer. Social Media is fun, but how can you really get to know a log home company without ever meeting them?
You are making one of THE largest investments in your lifetime and hopefully you won't make it based on the layout and design of a company's web page or a facebook page or a tweet. There's more to it than that.
On Saturday March 31 we hosted a great group at our first Plant Tour/Seminar for 2012 in Princeton, WV. These people had visited our web page and several had spoken to one of us on the phone and decided it was time to come and see what we were all about.
What they all had in common was that besides everything they've heard, read or seen on a computer screen - they really wanted to actually MEET the faces behind the company that would be supplying their log home building materials, as well as see the mill where their dream log home would be made. Investing one's time (researching) before making a buying decision is one of the best investments a person can make.
We spent the morning reviewing the process and questions one should ask when going through the planning process of purchasing and building a log cabin home. Several insightful questions from audience members were fielded and the answers let everyone learn from each other in an informal and open setting. Some of the feedback we got was that the display items we had on display, helped them visualize the parts/pieces that would come with their log home package. Also the photos we showed of some finished homes as well as those under construction were useful to help them understand the process of building and living in a completed log home.
After lunch we toured one of our log home manufacturing facilities in Princeton, WV. A brief tour of the log cut line, rafter line, the pre-cut/slotted jamb line as well as the pressure treating cylinder, and how it works was followed by a log stacking demonstration with many getting a hands-on opportunity on how to lay logs. We heard from several of the attendees that they enjoyed being able to participate in the log laying and learning practical solutions of log construction.
Gathering information from the web or Social Media is only one SMALL part of the research process. Meeting people face-to-face and actually being able to see the process of manufacturing and building a log home is priceless. Get out from behind your computer, put down your smart phone and come and join us on May 19th for our next Plant Tour/Seminar. Not only will you learn something valueable, but you'll also have lots of fun!