Log Home Illustrated, May/June 1995

The April 1997 flood that inundated Grand Forks, Minnesota destroyed Pamela and David Kvidt's historic 1937 French Eclectics-style, two-story home and some of its much-loved antiques. Finding themselves suddenly homeless and living with Pamela's parents in their home on a nearby lake forced the Kvidt's to think about building another home.

"We had bought the lot next to my parents three years earlier," recalls Pamela, "but we didn't know what we were going to do with it."

The flood changed all that. David says that they were planning to build on the lot that summer, but the flood set them back a year. Pamela recalls it differently. She thinks the flood forced them into taking action with their plans to build. Out of that tragedy, however, came a new life-a cottage-style log home with Arts & Crafts flourishes-and the realization of David's dream to own a log home.

A friend's collection of decades old log home magazines triggered the idea for the log home's style.

"We came across a photograph of a log home with lots of peaks and a cottage feel in an old 1984 log home magazine," says Pamela, "and that was our inspiration."

One of the things the Kvidts salvaged from their flooded Grand Forks home was its magnificent cherry door. "It's an arched door with leaded glass window lights and that big chunky hardware you see on those old doors," explains Pamela.

"Basically," adds David, partner of Lunseth Plumbing & Heating in Grand Forks, "we designed our entry around that door, because we wanted something from our lost home."

The Kvidts found their log home manufacturer in an odd way. "We were on our way back from viewing another company's log home on the lake when we saw a sign for Northwoods Log Homes, Inc. of Laporte, Minnesota," recalls David. The couple took a chance and drove up to Laporte. What they saw at Northwoods Log Homes pleased them greatly.

"We like the texture of their logs," says Pamela. "We have two small children and the other company's logs were rough. Northwoods mills their logs so they are smooth to the touch."

"It's a small, family-run business," adds David, "and they are very personable and easy to deal with."

Bryan Kerby-whose father, Ray Kerby, and his grandfather, Burgess Bach, started Northwoods Log Homes in the early 1960s-became the salesperson and provided initial sales design input for the Kvidts before designer Dick Lyons stepped in. The Kvidts showed Lyons their sketch and the magazine photographs that had been their inspiration. Northwoods Log Homes was able to modify a preliminary design that the Kvidts had worked on with Melby Construction Company, a local architectural firm that had never built a log home before. It was one that was easy for Melby to follow because of the unique design system that Ray Kerby and Dick Lyons developed, allowing them to precut every bit of log work that goes into their homes.

David recalls the care Northwoods took in instructing the general contractor, Brad Lizakowski of Lizard Construction in Thief River Falls. "Northwoods had a guy out there assisting at the start. They engineer every log, and number them all, like a Lincoln Log set. They're very detailed."

"We are a three-generation log home business," explains Bryan Kerby, "and we've been precutting log homes for over 40 years. Every bolt hole, every spline cut (for door and window jams), every cut in the log work is done in our shop from detailed drawings. The logs are then labeled and numbered for construction on site, according to the blueprints we have drawn up."

With this unique system, says Bryan, who was one of two Northwoods employees who offered on-site supervision during the construction process, there is no need to be on site with a chainsaw.

"Even with no experience in log home building," says Bryan, "they were able to do a wonderful job by using our complete blueprints, which start with the foundation and proceed all the way up to the roof truss. We also produce a 60-page manual that further explains the process."

The Kvidt's design presented a unique structural challenge for Northwoods Log Homes with regard to the second-story log construction. "Normally, we use post and rail construction on anything above an 8-foot wall," says Bryan. "With the Kvidt's home, we got into areas that were anywhere from 30 to 44 courses of logs high."

Pamela says they purposefully waited until November to begin construction, to allow the red pine (also known as Norway pine) logs to age further.

"We thought we'd be dealing with settling for years," admits David, "but the house was engineered to allow for it. The carpenters and cabinetmakers all knew what to do about it."

"You can hear creaks every once in a while," says Pamela, "but it hasn't affected the trim work or the doors, because they left a space of an inch and a half around them to account for the settling." "So far so good," says David.

When it came to designing the interior of the 2,300-square-foot log home, the Kvidt's turned to local talent. Delrea Schefter of Ethan Allen of Fargo, N.D., had a hand in the design, as did Julie McWalter of Carpet Connection Plus of East Grand Forks, who did the flooring and tile work.

"We had a lot of trusty workers," says David, "including the cabinetmaker Dave Breidenbach, who really did some amazing things with the cherry wood cabinets, doors and trim." To give the impression that all the cabinets were built right into the logs, Breidenbach scribed them all, including the fireplace mantle.

"We're used to living in small, cramped spaces," remarks Pamela, "because we've lived in so many old homes, but Dave put cabinets in little areas where you'd never think to put things."

What started as David's dream log home has, after three years, grown to be the home of his family's dreams as well. "Our children also love it," says Pamela. "In the summer we're on the lake, in the winter we skate and snowmobile." Even some of the antiques from their flood-destroyed Grand Forks home have made their way into the Arts and Crafts cottage design.