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Written by: Sue & Tom
Wisconsin Log Homeowners in Georgia
June 2009
I think my love for log homes began as a small child when we’d go to visit my Great Aunt and Uncle. They lived in a full log cottage on a lake in Northern Wisconsin. When I was there I always felt safe and secure while looking at the log walls and the warm fire glowing in the living room fireplace. After meeting my husband I’d take him to visit my family in the log cottage and he grew to love it as much as I did.
During our early years of marriage the thought of one day owning a log home never came to mind as we were too busy with our children and never really even thought we would be able to afford it.
Later on we began to once again think about a log home and how beautiful they were. We slowly saved and did some initial investigating. I subscribed to log home magazines for years, we received log home books as gifts from friends and we attended log home building seminars. Every few years we’d give the idea more thought and even go look at land and visit log home companies, but something always got in the way of making our dream come true.
Tucked away in the closet were our many magazines and books on log homes. Hundreds of floor plans and one always stuck in my mind and came back to me from a place called Wisconsin Log Homes. Being from Wisconsin my husband and I thought we’d give this place a try and see what they could offer us. In August 2007 I emailed Ehren Graf who sent us his business card when we ordered the planning book and before we knew it we had a reply and were on our way!
From day one Ehren was always eager to assist us and to make sure we understood everything. Many times we made changes to the Aurora plan and not once did Ehren ever say “that can’t be done or it will cost you extra to make a modification” like other log home companies told us. Instead his reply was “that’s not a problem we can handle it”! We met Ehren, Nate and Stephanie in Atlanta, October 2007, when they were at a log home seminar and picked up our house plans. So, we found our log home company, we had our plan pretty much figured out and we had no land.
We began our search in Tennessee (thinking we’d move closer to my husband’s brother and wife) but in a round about way the Lord told us we needed to stay closer to home in Georgia. I found some property the weekend after Thanksgiving 2007 in lovely Pine Mountain, GA (just 40 minutes north from where we lived in Columbus). We went to look at the property on a Saturday; we met with the realtor the next day and made an offer that was accepted!
Now we faced the dilemma “who would be get to build our dream home”. Once again Ehren made that task simple and easy…he referred us to Dave Lipovsky and said Dave could do the job. I called Dave (who lives in Michigan) and spoke to him over the phone. He sounded young and I wondered “can this guy really build this home for us” and when he told me his business was family owned and was started by his Grandfather I knew this was the person to build our log home because family is very important to us.
Dave and Ehren flew down to Georgia one day in mid-January 2008 to meet us and look at our property. We all agreed the land we found was perfect for our home and we could not wait to get started later in fall.
As luck would have it we got a phone call from Dave in March asking us if we’d like to start our home earlier due to another home that was ahead of ours not being able to secure financing. We told Dave we were ready and the ball was rolling!!!
My first worry was “will Wisconsin Log Homes be able to move our dates up for everything…will they have the lumber we need and will they be able to deliver sooner”. Again, my fears were unnecessary because Ehren said “Sue that is not a problem we are ready whenever you are”!
Throughout the whole building process everyone at Wisconsin Log Homes has been so very helpful and willing to go the extra mile to ensure our home is truly spectacular. From Dave and Kathy, the owners, to the guys who work so hard out in the lumber yard, each person played a very important part of our log home process and for that we are very grateful.
Dave Janczak made our one-of-a-kind dining room table and our fireplace mantels. Dave and Kathy welcomed us to visit them at their beautiful home two times (both at the spur of the moment) as did Nate and Stephanie. They are truly a family that cares about their business and their customers!
Stephanie Gauthier is priceless in her job of home décor (not to mention this service is free)! She has an eye for log home furnishings and was great when it came time to have everything crated and shipped to us.
Each time I changed my mind or needed something else I simply called Ehren. He said he’d get right on it and meant it (always reminding me that we had not planned to start construction for another year and here we were getting ready to move in)!
Several times we were asked the same question “why did you choose a log company located in Wisconsin and a contractor from Michigan to build your home in Georgia”. The answer was quite simple…after doing years of research we knew the only way to get a log home that will last for years, be well built, as well as beautiful, was to go with these two companies. The quality of materials from Wisconsin Log Homes is superior to all others and the skilled craftsmanship our contractor and his family possess is so hard to find. The two companies are a team that is unbeatable in our opinion and we will always refer anyone interested in a log home to go nowhere else!!!
Many lasting friendships have been formed between the Wisconsin Log Home family and our family. Thanks to Wisconsin Log Homes and Lipovsky Building Company…thirty two years later here we are living our log home dream and loving it!!!
Sue & Tom OKray
During our early years of marriage the thought of one day owning a log home never came to mind as we were too busy with our children and never really even thought we would be able to afford it.
Later on we began to once again think about a log home and how beautiful they were. We slowly saved and did some initial investigating. I subscribed to log home magazines for years, we received log home books as gifts from friends and we attended log home building seminars. Every few years we’d give the idea more thought and even go look at land and visit log home companies, but something always got in the way of making our dream come true.
Tucked away in the closet were our many magazines and books on log homes. Hundreds of floor plans and one always stuck in my mind and came back to me from a place called Wisconsin Log Homes. Being from Wisconsin my husband and I thought we’d give this place a try and see what they could offer us. In August 2007 I emailed Ehren Graf who sent us his business card when we ordered the planning book and before we knew it we had a reply and were on our way!
From day one Ehren was always eager to assist us and to make sure we understood everything. Many times we made changes to the Aurora plan and not once did Ehren ever say “that can’t be done or it will cost you extra to make a modification” like other log home companies told us. Instead his reply was “that’s not a problem we can handle it”! We met Ehren, Nate and Stephanie in Atlanta, October 2007, when they were at a log home seminar and picked up our house plans. So, we found our log home company, we had our plan pretty much figured out and we had no land.
We began our search in Tennessee (thinking we’d move closer to my husband’s brother and wife) but in a round about way the Lord told us we needed to stay closer to home in Georgia. I found some property the weekend after Thanksgiving 2007 in lovely Pine Mountain, GA (just 40 minutes north from where we lived in Columbus). We went to look at the property on a Saturday; we met with the realtor the next day and made an offer that was accepted!
Now we faced the dilemma “who would be get to build our dream home”. Once again Ehren made that task simple and easy…he referred us to Dave Lipovsky and said Dave could do the job. I called Dave (who lives in Michigan) and spoke to him over the phone. He sounded young and I wondered “can this guy really build this home for us” and when he told me his business was family owned and was started by his Grandfather I knew this was the person to build our log home because family is very important to us.
Dave and Ehren flew down to Georgia one day in mid-January 2008 to meet us and look at our property. We all agreed the land we found was perfect for our home and we could not wait to get started later in fall.
As luck would have it we got a phone call from Dave in March asking us if we’d like to start our home earlier due to another home that was ahead of ours not being able to secure financing. We told Dave we were ready and the ball was rolling!!!
My first worry was “will Wisconsin Log Homes be able to move our dates up for everything…will they have the lumber we need and will they be able to deliver sooner”. Again, my fears were unnecessary because Ehren said “Sue that is not a problem we are ready whenever you are”!
Throughout the whole building process everyone at Wisconsin Log Homes has been so very helpful and willing to go the extra mile to ensure our home is truly spectacular. From Dave and Kathy, the owners, to the guys who work so hard out in the lumber yard, each person played a very important part of our log home process and for that we are very grateful.
Dave Janczak made our one-of-a-kind dining room table and our fireplace mantels. Dave and Kathy welcomed us to visit them at their beautiful home two times (both at the spur of the moment) as did Nate and Stephanie. They are truly a family that cares about their business and their customers!
Stephanie Gauthier is priceless in her job of home décor (not to mention this service is free)! She has an eye for log home furnishings and was great when it came time to have everything crated and shipped to us.
Each time I changed my mind or needed something else I simply called Ehren. He said he’d get right on it and meant it (always reminding me that we had not planned to start construction for another year and here we were getting ready to move in)!
Several times we were asked the same question “why did you choose a log company located in Wisconsin and a contractor from Michigan to build your home in Georgia”. The answer was quite simple…after doing years of research we knew the only way to get a log home that will last for years, be well built, as well as beautiful, was to go with these two companies. The quality of materials from Wisconsin Log Homes is superior to all others and the skilled craftsmanship our contractor and his family possess is so hard to find. The two companies are a team that is unbeatable in our opinion and we will always refer anyone interested in a log home to go nowhere else!!!
Many lasting friendships have been formed between the Wisconsin Log Home family and our family. Thanks to Wisconsin Log Homes and Lipovsky Building Company…thirty two years later here we are living our log home dream and loving it!!!
Sue & Tom OKray
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