Oakey-dokey

Frontiersman

MILLER’S REACH — As Forrest Gump would put it, log homes and Alaska go together like peas and carrots.

From rustic beginnings in the wilderness to today’s high-tech processes that include every luxury in a rustic-looking shell, log houses remain a popular choice for homeowners. What sets one log home apart from the rest in Alaska is the type of wood used to build it.

Dennis and Neen Illies own the only oak log home in the state, thanks in part to Alaska Dream Homes and love for the hardwood.

The Illies are authorized representatives of Gastineau Log Homes in Alaska, the world’s largest producer of oak log homes. Oak tends to be stronger, more eye pleasing, durable and energy efficient, easy to maintain and naturally resistant to insects and decay without having to be chemically treated. The only disadvantage is oak does not grow in Alaska.

Dennis and Neen (short for Illeen) found themselves cruising around Minnesota in their Winnebago in 2004 and saw a model oak log home. They noticed the fine craftsmanship, unique textures and fell in love with its visual and aesthetic appeal. They decided to order one.

“Before we knew it, we had just three people — myself included — erecting this very simple structure,” Dennis said. “It really is quite simple to put up.”

Dennis is retired and saw an opportunity to make his dream house that’s home to him, his wife, her mother, Illeen, his 22-year-old daughter, two carpenters in the guest house and a pair of dogs, Mocha and Dolly. It was a long process that needed extra attention to detail.

Three years, 4,800-square-feet of living space and $160,000 later, the couple had the beginnings of a one-of-a-kind-for-Alaska oak log home.

The couple spent countless more hours completing the interior with custom-made granite countertops, cherry cabinets, modern furnishings and a herd of stuffed animals Dennis has hunted over the years.

Inside, the hardwood oak floors are heated through water pipes, which in return are heated by a large woodburning stove-style furnace housed outside. It takes 20 to 40 chords of wood to heat the home for the winter, a job Dennis maintains with the help of his hired hands.

“We have log-cutting competitions,” he said, adding the benefit of heating this way is there is no heating bill to deal with throughout the cold months.

The three-bedroom, four-bathroom home also has modern amenities, including a full-size bar, entertainment room, office, three-car garage and stone siding brought up from Chitna. Some of the ceiling is also oak with sanded stone detailing throughout most of the house.

The final result is a colorful display of modern meets rustic.

Together, the Illies own more than 110 acres of property outside of Miller’s Reach that has been subdivided over the years. Their oak home sticks out like a sore thumb. Typically, log cabins in Alaska are built with native large Alaska yellow or red cedar, Sitka or white spruce.

So why use oak?

Unlike most of the woods used in the construction of log homes, oak is a hardwood, Dennis said. Its rich grain and distinct warm color set it apart from softwoods like pine. Because of its beauty, people rarely want to stain the inside of an oak log home.

As for durability, oak is legendary, according to Gastineau Log Homes. The oldest wooden structure in the world is made from oak. The structural beams and much of the woodwork in Europe’s finest and oldest remaining churches and castles are made from oak. Before metals were widely used, the greatest wooden warships in the world had hulls of oak. For centuries, oak barrels have carried everything from water to moonshine. In the timber-frame building industry, the durability and strength of oak is unquestioned.

Lynn Gastineau, who recently came to Alaska to help celebrate the completion of the Illies’ three-story oak home, has been in the business for 30 years.

“Nobody was doing them back then,” Gastineau said. “Oak is now traditionally the wood of choice in the Lower 48 for its strength and longevity, plus there are no chemicals. The main thing is that it’s so much more beautiful than pine.”

Gastineau believes it took so long for oak to make its way to Alaska because of the costs to ship all of the materials. He now has provided oak housing starter kits in all 50 states and 11 countries.

Gastineau sells standard packages with pricing depending on the size home the buyer wants and the needs involved to build it. All of the wood that comes in the homebuilder’s starter kit is Missouri oak.

The Illies house will also have company shortly, Gastineau said. “We have three more going up in the Valley area next summer.”

Not everybody thinks oak is the new spruce in Alaska.

Kevin Knobbe, owner of Alaska Custom Log Homes in Wasilla, said the overall cost to bring oak materials up north would be difficult.

“Price-wise it doesn’t make any sense,” Knobbe said. “Shipping supplies up north costs more than shipping it south, so you’d be accruing additional costs before you even began building.”

Knobbe works with spruce, a softer yet more insulated wood used in a majority of log cabin homes in the state.

“There’s lots of backyard manufacturers in Alaska that will do horrible work if you don’t research the wood they’re using,” he said.

Knobbe is familiar with Gastineau’s product and believes it is the top-of-the-line oak company. He estimates the same home the Illies built would cost less than $100,000 with native spruce.

Although it took more than two summers to complete the downstairs and upstairs portions of their home, Dennis and Neen Illies love the results.

“You look at it and see that it’s very durable and here for a lifetime,” Neen said. “We love it because it’s home for us in retirement and absolutely beautiful.”

Contact J.J. Harrier at 352-2269 or valleylife@frontiersman.com.