Honest Abe Log Homes Information Guide, 2019

Who we are

HOW WE DO IT Across four decades Honest Abe has continuously updated

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onest Abe Log Homes is a family owned company with its manufacturing facility and national headquarters located in the community of Moss, Tennessee, on Tennessee’s northeastern Highland Rim near Dale Hollow Lake. Founded in 1979 by the late Doug Smith, an engineer who was the son of a rural sawmill operator, Honest Abe was born out of the love Doug and his wife, Janie, shared for log homes.

The couple built their own home in the ‘70s, and Janie still lives in the home they shared.

Doug was a visionary who understood the importance of creating log structures that were at the same time beautiful and solidly manufactured.

He invested in processes for milling logs that would be stable and durable, understanding that the investment in a log home was a lifetime dream for most people. Assembling a team as dedicated as he was, Doug guided Honest Abe to become a leader in the log and timber frame industry.

Doug lost a very hard fought battle with cancer in 2011, but if you visit Moss, you will likely run into his daughter, April Smith Patterson, who along with her brother, Shane Smith, and their mother, Janie, became responsible for Honest Abe’s operation after their father’s death.

Following in Doug’s footsteps as well as forging new paths, April, Shane and Janie run a number of businesses, many of them woodrelated, that employ several dozen people and contribute to the local economy.

Who are we? We are a strong company that believes in the importance of people – the people who make our log homes and the people who live in them. We appreciate you taking time to get to know us a little better.

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design and manufacturing processes, and its dedication to excellence has remained steadfast. Many of our employees have been with the company for more than two decades – and some since we began in 1979.

The company has developed log profiles used in more than 7,000 homes and structures that have been shipped to destinations around the globe. We’ve determined through trial and error which wood species were the most stable and learned that kiln drying ensures that wood retains the integrity the homeowner expects.

Because of solid business practices, the company has weathered economic storms of the past and emerged even stronger. One of the ways we continue to demonstrate our financial stability is by maintaining an inventory of timbers onsite, protected from the elements and ready for milling into a home upon order.

Our customers can visit Honest Abe’s facility in Moss and see the logs that will become their homes, tour the kilns where they will be dried and meet the professionals who will shape them, grade them and package them for shipment.

There’s a visceral commitment to creating a quality product for a fair price, to helping customers get what they are dreaming of if at all possible and to making the experience such that a homeowner would choose Honest Abe all over again.

View photos and floor plans of customers' homes at honestabe.com.

Cabin in Corner of Gloryland

Captures Spirit of Pioneers

by Claudia Johnson, Honest Abe Log Homes

Lord, build me just a cabin

I wouldn't change making the move to our cabin for the world.

FOR THE FULL STORY AND MORE PHOTOS VISIT: www.honestabe.com/gloryland

in the corner of gloryland” is a well-known reprise from a country gospel standard recorded by artists from Hank Williams to Charlie Pride.

While the lyrics are doubtless metaphorical, Kenneth and Joy Clayton are enjoying their own corner of gloryland in a log home that’s anything but “just” a cabin.

Sure, their cabin is only about 1,600 square feet, with the Claytons residing primarily on the first floor, but the home reflects the inherent transitions of a long marriage, a fulfilling career and a happy family. It represents generosity and collaboration and the meandering paths that dreams take that somehow, sometimes lead to home.

“This was Ken’s dream, but I wouldn’t change making the move to our cabin for the world,” Joy Clayton admitted,

explaining that her husband had imagined himself living in the kind of log cabins he’d seen so often as a boy growing up in Appalachia .

During their half a century of marriage, Ken, a Baptist minister, and Joy lived in what Joy called “typical suburban houses.” All the while, Ken continued to sketch his ideas for a cabin like those early pioneers built – square logs, chinked, dovetailed corners, wood-burning fireplace, wide front porch.

Today the Claytons live in that long imagined cabin. In conjunction with the Honest Abe Log Homes sales staff, design department and dryin construction service, Ken and Joy created and built a cabin that merged modern necessities with traditional style.

“They were such wonderful people to work with,” Ken said

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of Honest Abe’s team. “The people at Honest Abe let me show them what we wanted and worked with my drawings to design the cabin. Once construction began, we were amazed at how quickly Honest Abe’s crew got the structure up. It just all came together.”

Joy said she learned a lesson in letting go when deciding what possessions to use in decorating the new cabin and what to pass on to her son and daughter.

“I read once that you have to mentally tend everything you own," Joy said. "It felt good to let it go."

What the Claytons did keep are enough chairs to invite conversation, sufficient bedding to sleep guests and a big table to feed everyone – the things that make their corner of gloryland just a little more glorious.

info@honestabe.com

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How our choices benefit you Our Eastern White Pine logs exceed industry standards. To minimize movement, shrinkage and settling in the timbers over time, natural air-drying and kiln-drying measures are used in the manufacturing of every Honest Abe timber, producing a more stable log and tighter joints. The fact that we are TPI certified graders coupled with our own quality control process ensures that your logs are of the finest quality.

We design exclusively for each customer. While we maintain a catalog of standard floor plans, our specialty is working oneon-one with clients to create a distinctive home that’s perfect for them. Our clients can sit down with our in-house Design & Drafting Team to create their own forever home.

Your investment is safe with us. Honest Abe maintains a sizable inventory of timbers, something many of our competitors can’t say. We want you to feel comfort in knowing that the logs for your new home have already been purchased and are ready to begin processing as soon as you are ready.

We're not an average sawmill Honest Abe uses 3-D modeling and computer-driven equipment overseen by a team of dedicated craftsmen.

This means every log that goes into your home is cut within specifications for a calculated fit – a critical step when it comes to windows, doors and corner notches.

We know how to plan for shipping. After all, we’ve shipped across the U.S. and around the world. For every individual home, the pre-cut logs are numbered, neatly bundled and wrapped for protection during delivery.

You can know and trust that each piece of your log home that comes from our facility has been carefully produced, graded and packaged.

Customers won’t find unrealistic sales gimmicks, nor will they find outrageously priced products. We offer an honest value on a quality line of products we believe in.

We back it up with a Limited Lifetime Warranty on our logs and timbers.

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View photos and floor plans of customers' homes at honestabe.com.

From retreat to

Forever

by Claudia Johnson, Honest Abe Log Homes

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small log cabin built as an escape has been transformed into a couple’s forever home.

“As we began thinking about building a hunting retreat, one of the first places we remembered going was an Honest Abe model home," Gary Slayden recalled.

“I guess we’ve always had a desire and a dream to have a log home.”

In 2006, Gary and wife Suzan purchased 25 acres of oak-studded rural land outside the mid-sized city where they lived. By 2009 they had created a pond and cleared some of the land in anticipation of the 1,000 square foot Honest Abe log cabin designed as a retreat for hunting and enjoying time with family and friends.

The original square log, dovetailed cabin featured an open dining room, kitchen and living room with an adjacent bedroom and bath on the first floor and a guest bedroom on a second floor landing.

“In 2014 we sold our home in town and were actually planning to move to another neighborhood, but we loved staying here so much in the small cabin, we chose to add on and move here,” Gary said, calling the 3,200 square foot addition a “labor of love.”

"It's difficult to tell where the original cabin and the expansion, which quadrupled the living space, are connected. There's a seamless matching of wood, color and style."

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A downstairs master bedroom suite opens onto a sunset-facing covered porch. The great room’s vaulted ceiling features a hand-wrought iron chandelier crafted by a regional artisan who created the delicate iron leaves and vines entangling the staircase and balcony balustrade.

Tall windows bathe the room in sunshine. The adjacent kitchen/dining area is barrier-free, perfect for a couple as likely to host gatherings for 60 people as they are intimate family dinners.

An outdoor grilling station with easy access to the kitchen is safely situated on the open end of a spacious outdoor room just off the dining room.

Upstairs there’s another full bath and bedroom. A combination office and den occupies the wide loft, where an eastfacing window frames a pond and forest.

The Slaydens said the lessons they learned from having built four custom homes helped them create the home they expect to live in forever.

“We finally learned to pay attention to what’s important,” Gary said. “In the past we didn’t pay enough attention to sunsets.”

FOR THE FULL STORY AND MORE PHOTOS VISIT: www.honestabe.com/forever

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1-800-231-3695

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8,500 Sq. Ft.

4,900 Sq. Ft.

2,750 Sq. Ft.

1,500 Sq. Ft.

Sized to Fit Smaller houses are more affordable to heat, cool, furnish and maintain and easier to clean. Bigger homes offer more bedrooms, bathrooms, living spaces and bonus rooms like a home office, craft room, playroom or game room. We have done everything from cozy cabins to sprawling estates. So, how much square footage do you really want?

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View photos and floor plans of customers' homes at honestabe.com.

The Cambridge

AWARD

Winning DESIGN

Incorporating both log and timber frame elements, the exterior of the Cambridge combines the use of logs with features of the Craftsman style, including rock pylons, double porch posts and exposed trusses underneath a wide front gable.

The open design of the first floor, complete with a see-through fireplace as a centerpiece of the dining, living and kitchen areas, invites conversation and celebration. French doors open onto a large covered porch with a wood-burning fireplace, extending the downstairs living space. The timber frame sunroom accessible from the kitchen also offers exterior access, creating the perfect office or studio.

Three spacious bedrooms, one downstairs and two upstairs, are each distinctively different. Among the benefits are reading and office spaces, hidden storage areas and luxury bath and dressing rooms. The staircase landing is actually an open room soaked in light from vaulted ceilings and warmed by a second story fireplace.

An original Honest Abe Log Homes design, the Cambridge plan is the recipient of national awards for design. It is open to tour at Crossville, TN.

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Customization of a Plan

Presented here are three different customizations of the Honest Abe Legacy Collection’s Bellewood Plan.

At Honest Abe we’ve been impressed with the creativity of our customers as they found their style and settled on their design. Teaming with our skilled design, sales and manufacturing teams, our customers are living in impressive forever homes born right from their own imagination or customizing our existing plans to meet their needs and desires.

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View photos and floor plans of customers' homes at honestabe.com.

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How do you want your house to Look?

18 16 19 17 30 32 21

20

14 29

13 11

47

9

8

7

37

44 42

46

40

43 6

41

3

4

39

38

12

10

5 1 1

2

Choose from these log and timber options.

36 35

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What's Included in A Honest Abe log home package?

SUBFLOOR SYSTEM 1. Foundation (By Owner) 2. Treated Sill, Sill Seal & Termite Shield 3, Joist (2”x 10” @ 16” O/C) & Hangers 4. Double Header & Exterior Band (Log Siding or Cedar) 5. Subfloor Girder & Ledger 6. 3/4” Advantech OSB Tongue & Groove Decking WALL SYSTEM 7. Log Walls - Includes all fasteners, caulking, gaskets, etc.

8. Window & Door Rough Opening Frames SECOND FLOOR SYSTEM 9. Support Post 10. Ceiling Beam Girder (8”x12”) 11. Ceiling Beams (4”x8”) 12. Header 13. Tongue and Groove Decking (2”x6”) ROOF SYSTEMS 14. Heavy Timber Rafter (4”x8”) 15. Heavy Timber Ridge Pole (3”x12”) 16. Collar Ties 17. Tongue and Groove Decking (2”x6”) 18. Insulation (R-40 w/HT Rafter System Only) 19. Sheathing (7/16” OSB) 20. Synthetic Felt 21. Cedar Fascia 22. Trim - Not Shown 23. Conventional Rafter (2”x10” @ 16” O/C and T&G Ceiling) - Not Shown 24. Overhang Rafter (2”x6”) - Not Shown 25. Conventional Ridgepole (2”x12”) - Not Shown 26. Soffit Framing - Not Shown 27. Soffit / Vents - Not Shown 28. Dormer Framing (2”x 4”) - Not Shown 29. Gable End Framing (2”x 4”)

30. Gable End Sheathing & House Wrap 31. Log Siding - Not Shown 32. Log Siding (Timber Frame Systems use Cedar Lap Siding) 33. Roof Truss & T&G Ceiling - Not Shown PORCH & DECK SYSTEM 34. Porch & Deck Piers (By Owner) 35. Porch & Deck Framing (Treated) & Hangers 36. Decking (Treated) 37. Porch Posts / Plates / Angle Braces (6”x6”) 38. Porch Rafters (4”x6”) 39. Porch Roof Decking (2”x6” T&G) WINDOW & DOOR UNITS 40. Insulated, Double Hung, Tilt-Sash Wood Windows (Options Available) 41. Insulated, Wood Grained, Fiberglass Doors (Options Available)

Milled-D 6” x 8” or 8” x 8”

Original Chinked 6” x 10”

Interlocking Round 8”

Genesis Log 6” x 12” or 8” x 12”

Dovetail D-Log 6” x 12” or 8” x 12”

Saddle Notch Round 10”

INTERIOR ITEMS 42. Interior Wall Framing (2”x4” / 2”x6” As Needed) 43. Stair Stringer (2”x12”) 44. Stair Tread (2”x10”) 45. 1”x6” T&G for Interior Walls* - Not Shown 46. Baseboard & Ceiling Trim (1”x5”) 47. Interior Doors (Solid Pine - 6 Panel) ITEMS NOT SHOWN: • Ventilated Roof Components • Interior Gable & Dormer Siding • Porch Rails & Spindles • Exterior Finish • Borate Wood Preservative

Timber Frame* 8” x 8 “

*A number of options are available, including but not limited to: doors and windows, engineered structural components such as floor trusses, and a number of exterior coverings and finishes.

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Honest Abe is so confident about our package prices for log and timber frame homes, we’ve backed them up with our Honest Abe Honest Value Guarantee.

We will meet or beat the price of any competitor’s comparable log or timber frame home package. Simply submit a detailed item-foritem quote from another company. If it’s lower than the Abe package of like materials, Honest Abe will meet it.

Customers ask how such a guarantee can be offered. It's because Honest Abe's expert designers create dynamic, yet efficient floor plans. State-of-the-art manufacturing processes produce high-quality packages with less waste. Plus, everyone on Honest Abe’s staff is readily available to assist customers with decades of company experience behind them.

Who builds My Home?

Honest Abe provides design, manufacturing and delivery services for log or timber frame homes. We offer one of the most complete log or timber frame packages in the industry.

Of course, your package may be customized depending on certain options you exercise during your design phase. On page nine, you’ll find a detailed list of what’s included in our standard log home package.

Honest Abe has developed a contractor network to assist you in building and completing your log home. Honest Abe Construction Department’s Dry-in Service is available in certain geographical areas as a service separate from the purchase of your log home package. If you are outside of our Dry-in Service area, Honest Abe may assist you in locating qualified log home builders in your area. Additionally, Honest Abe has a network of Independent Dealerships across the country, many of which either build, or have their own local network of builders they rely on.

Our Dry-in Service includes completion of first floor framing and subfloor, setting the log or timber frame package, constructing the ceiling beam system, building the roof

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system, erect the gable ends, install soffits, fascia, dormer trim and exterior doors and windows, roughing-in the interior walls and stairs and build porches and decks.

Regardless of who performs your dry-in services, you’ll be responsible for selecting contractors and craftsmen to complete the excavation, foundations, drywall, carpeting, tile or hardwood flooring installation, roofing, stain application, trim work, plumbing, HVAC, landscaping, painting, electrical and septic tank installation.

Honest Abe’s goal is to help you in establishing a business relationship with only the best qualified tradesmen with our Help Everyone Locate Professional Builders (HELP Build) program.

Our staff or independent dealers guide you through these processes calling on nearly four decades of experience in helping more than 7,000 customers become Honest Abe homeowners.

View photos and floor plans of customers' homes at honestabe.com.

You're invited to a

Free Tour of Four Log Homes!

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trip through the heart of Tennessee along I-40 provides the perfect opportunity for touring a variety of distinctly different, furnished model log homes designed, manufactured and built by Honest Abe Log Homes. Visit the homes between 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Monday through Friday and Saturdays until 3 p.m. The Milling Plant at the Moss Model Home National Headquarters is open for tours by appointment.

GPS your way to us.

We are looking forward to your visit!

Moss Model Home

Cookeville Model Home

National Headquarters & Milling Plant 9995 Clay County Hwy., Moss, TN 38575 800-231-3695 North of I-40 on U.S. Hwy. 52, 10 miles West of Celina, 25 miles East of Lafayette

3205 Hwy. 111 North, Cookeville, TN 38506 800-280-3651 Hwy. 111, 6.5 mile North of 1-40 Exit 288

INDEPENDENT DEALERSHIPS OF

HONEST ABE PRODUCTS

Crossville Model Home

Murfreesboro Model Home

448 Crabtree Rd., Crossville, TN 38588 800-886-4864 Go North from 1-40 Exit 320, left on Crabtree Rd.

233 River Rock Blvd., Murfreesboro, TN 37128 800-467-5647 South of I-840, 1-24 Exit 78A, left on Cason Lane, left on River Rock

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help customers across the US create their dream homes.

Visit our website for a map of locations near you!

1-800-231-3695

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Honest Abe Log Homes is pleased to

invite you

to view, explore and enjoy our website. honestabe.com The site is designed to be easily navigated from a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop. You can view photo galleries, floor plans, profiles and customizations; register as a preferred user to download printable, detailed plans, renderings and elevations in pdf; read about our homes featured in national magazines; search for assistance by state or zip code; use the events calendar to plan participation in Honest Abe Log Raisings or national log and timber home shows and much more.

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9995 Clay County Hwy. Moss, TN 38575

info@honestabe.com

1-800-231-3695