K Vander Warf

I found this site today, it's appears to have a lot of good info. http://www.logbuilding.org/downloads.html Of course I'm not the log home pro, so you guys let me know what you think.

In regard to cabinet design and construction the Rheem and Goodman are actually very close. The Rheem may have more updated components,however; if the Goodman has a scroll, it's probably a pretty good unit. The same goes with Goodman furnaces, they were the last to get rid of the clam shell heat exchanger. Therefore they had a lot of cracked exchangers while others did not. I think they have finally gone with a tubular design. You can save a buck or 2 with Goodman and get pretty good service out of it. But you've gotta do your home work and know what your getting as far as the design.

Hausdok, Thanks for your help. I've got about 8 days to search and read. I've not inspected very many log homes, there just not your typical home around here. Anyway, thanks again.

It all depends on the installer, that can greatly effect the operation of a good unit. Goodman is low cost in part because they dont advertise while at the same time they have out sold every other brand in recent years. One problem with Goodman is that they stay behind the rest on new designs. The models they currently sell are pretty close to all other brands. As for Armstrong, I had an Armstrong gas pack that made it 26 years. It was still working great, I changed it out to save on gas bills. Does that say that Armstrong still builds a good system? Who knows, they all have a bad run of design flaws here and there. I always tell people to buy a brand that has a parts supplier in town because they all fail at some point. Nothing stops a Trane but UPS if you know what I mean.

Chris, Seeing that you are in Oregon, I assume you may be talking about heating ducts with no A.C. If this is the case on older homes, I would not push the issue but rather say that insulating may be considered. Along with that I would add that if A.C. is added the ducts must be insulated. Of course this all depends on the code at the time of construction and current code. I'm in S.C. where insulation on heating ducts may not be as critical.

I was told on another message board that some of you folks might provide some tips or guide lines on inspecting log homes. Any help would be greatly appreciated. BTW, nice forum here.I'll be adding this to my favorites.