Bring your dreams, sketches, and ideas...
You are not just buying logs. You are choosing how your home will feel for decades. The difference is in the details you do not always see on a floor plan, like the wall system, how tight the home stays, and the quality of components that go into the package. This is where Ward earns its reputation.
Ward Cedar Log Homes is committed to using Northern White Cedar and offers proven construction options, including Comfort System 5™ and Ward’s Hybrid Log Home design. You can start with one of our floor plans and customize it, or go fully custom to design around your land, layout preferences, and the details that matter most to you.
Because not every family lives the same way. Your home should match your day-to-day life, not force you to adapt to it.
Jump to: Log Profiles | Roof Systems | Complete Packages | Dormers | Energy Efficiency
We don’t treat customization like an upgrade. We treat it like part of doing the job right.
Ward Continues to be Active and Influential in the World of Professional Building Construction:
- Member of the Maine Homebuilders and Remodelers Association
- Member of Maine Wood Products Association.
Make it your own
Choice comes standard with Ward Cedar Log Homes. No matter which features you choose, you will feel confident knowing that every Ward home has been designed and engineered over decades to achieve lasting beauty and strength.
From contemporary to traditional, Ward offers a variety of log profiles to suit your style. Our classic D-shaped log provides a smooth, finished look and is available in both 6-inch and 8-inch profiles. If you prefer a more handcrafted feel, there’s our handhewn log. Back by popular demand, this traditional profile has rustic appeal. We also offer a milled clapboard log profile for a more conventional exterior look.
Porches, Decks, and Garages
When the days are long and the weather warm, you’ll want to spend more time outside – entertaining friends, relaxing with family or simply enjoying a lovely view on a quiet Saturday afternoon. With Ward, you can easily extend your living space outdoors by adding a screened-in porch, wraparound deck or a gracious veranda. Or add an attached or detached garage – even a barn – matching your home’s exterior appearance.
The roof is the crowning jewel of every home we build, adding elegance, strength, and complete protection from the elements. We offer three roof systems to choose from: our uniquely designed exposed round purlin roof, traditional rafter construction or a manufactured truss system.
Don’t let sloped ceilings stop you from having the room you need. Add dormers to increase the height of the outside wall and create more second floor living space. Choose either shed or gable roof dormers to provide the exterior style you prefer.
Log Corners or Corner Boards
Choose our traditional interlocking corners for a look that’s reminiscent of yesteryear. Or square off the corners and finish them with cedar trim for a more modern look.
Curb Appeal
When it comes to the outside look of a Ward Cedar Log Home, a world of possibilities guarantees eye-catching curb appeal. Leave logs natural and they’ll acquire a silvery patina, or apply a finish, such as Q8 Log Oil, to achieve a specific color tone.
Should you choose the Hybrid Log Home, with its insulated, log-sided walls that look exactly like traditional solid log homes, you have the option of mixing and matching various exterior and interior treatments.
Beauty on the Inside
Tongue-and-groove paneling, available in either pine or cedar, comes standard for interior walls, or you can finish the interior with drywall. Some of the most beautiful Ward Cedar Log homes use a variety of interior finishes to achieve an attractive and balanced combination of color and texture.
What Ward handles, what your builder handles
Ward provides:
Precision-cut cedar log walls and joinery
- Package components selected for long-term performance
- Construction drawings and planning support
- Delivery coordination and walkthrough guidance
Your builder provides:
Foundation and site work
- Assembly and general construction
- Mechanical systems and finishes
- Local code compliance and inspections
Among many other “industry firsts,” Ward was the first to offer a complete home package and it remains one of the most comprehensive packages available today, with the highest quality components available from any log home manufacturer.
Our packages include the majority of other components required for construction, so there are no unpleasant, costly surprises and no delays resulting from extra trips made to the local lumberyard or home center. (See our complete materials list enclosed in our Planning Guide). We also use only the best name-brand materials. As a result of our ability to buy in bulk, you benefit from preferred pricing on a wide range of brand-name components. Of course, you have the flexibility to eliminate or substitute nearly any component you like.
Our Included Features:
If you prefer to buy some of your materials locally, talk to a Ward sales representative about our Cedar Starter Package, which includes the pre-cut log structure, windows, doors and roof framing system. From there you add only the components you want.
- Energy-efficient Andersen® “tilt-wash” high performance windows
- Schlage exterior locksets for security
- Schlage Bright Brass knob sets for interior door hardware
- Log walls and timbers that are structurally graded
- Pre-cut numbered and graded Northern White Cedar log walls and gables
- Complete roof system, including 30 year CertainTeed architectural shingles, drip edge, flashing and trim
- 6 panel, pre-hung interior doors
- First floor system, including AdvanTech sub floor
- Beamed loft system and flooring
- Stairs with pre-cut cedar railings
- Premium quality tongue-and-groove paneling for interior walls and ceilings to carry the warmth of natural wood throughout
- Exterior and interior pre-cut Northern White Cedar trim for all doors and windows
- Porches and decks with pressure-treated framing and Cedar decking
Design Choices
Fitting your needs is our primary concern at Ward. We know a Ward Cedar Log Home is the right choice, but it has to be right for you. Once you have decided on a Ward Home, we help you discover options for planning and pricing that conform to your needs and wishes while offering some ideas you may not have thought of.
Whether your log home is based on a traditional farmhouse, a colonial design, a gambrel, or a Western ranch, we offer more design flexibility than you can imagine.
You also have the opportunity to personally design your dream home. Bring us photos of home styles you love or a rough floor plan sketched on paper, and your dream will be brought to life. At no extra cost, our complete Custom Design Service will guide the process and help you develop a plan to specifically meet your needs. We use advanced computer-aided design software to expedite this process and make it easy for you to visualize your new home.
Rest assured that, whatever type of home you envision, we will take your initial ideas through to final finished drawings. And no matter what kind of home you choose to build, when your home package arrives on site, everything is ready for you or your builder.
Ninety-five percent of Ward Cedar Log Homes are built for year round living. From the sometimes chilling northernmost corners of the United States to the hot, humid South and the arid Southwest, Ward Cedar Log Homes are designed to withstand virtually any climate. Our homes are designed to deliver superior energy efficiency, which minimizes heating and cooling costs.
In fact, independent testing by the National Bureau of Standards has demonstrated that log homes, with their tremendous thermal mass, consume less energy than frame houses. Ward uses Northern White Cedar exclusively because Northern White Cedar offers the greatest security against moisture and stands up better to insects, decay, and heat transfer. The energy efficient Comfort System 5™ combines tongue-and-groove joinery and newly formulated caulking to keep your home warm in winter and cool on the hottest summer day. And since two-thirds of a home’s energy loss is through its roof, windows, and doors, Ward uses only the best name-brand components in our home package.
Northern White Cedar
Cedar is considered one of the world’s most highly prized wood species. With natural oils called thujaplicins found in its heartwood, cedar is highly resistant to insects, decay, mold, and mildew, making harsh chemical treatments unnecessary.
Northern White Cedar grows in abundance in the great north woods of Maine, in the heart of which is Houlton, home to our 35-acre manufacturing facility. Our round wood procurement practices and stringent specifications allow Ward to offer a higher grade of log than most other manufacturers.
Northern White Cedar offers the best insulation value per inch, is naturally air-dried for lasting stability and strength, has reliable great looks with a natural light honey color, a fine grain, and a smooth sheen, and it is easy to maintain.
