Features

Property Highlights

• Custom built log superstructure
• Tranquil private setting overlooking one of Wisconsin's “prettiest” views.
• Spectacular great room with 28 ft vaulted ceiling
• Magnificent entrance gates
• Grand master suite with opulent master bath
• Extensive use of natural wood and stone
• Gourmet kitchen
• Unique handcrafted window seats
• 2 home theater systems
• 2 Private elevators
• Custom, rotating, outdoor hot tub
• Unmatched craftsmanship
• Too much to list—this property must be toured to appreciate!

Property Description

A log estate of this magnitude requires a location to match its unique structure. Situated on 24+ acres, this 6200 sq. ft. 4 bedroom, 4.5 bathroom estate has a tranquil view of rolling hills overlooking a 6 mile valley, and was heralded by the Wisconsin State Journal as having one of the prettiest views in the state. Beautiful in every season!

Cozy, yet elegant, this spectacular estate is truly a one of a kind, built with staggering native red and white pine logs up to 40 inches in diameter and some over 45 feet long. Extensive use of natural materials including slate floors, Colorado flagstone, colorful river rock, granite, marble, hickory trim and cabinetry add to the natural theme throughout the home.

Numerous novel amenities including a revolving hot tub, two private elevators, log vanities, massive handcrafted window seats and countless additional finishing touches truly make this home one of the most exclusive log homes available.

Property Details

• Address: 26740 Cooper Hill Road, Richland Center, WI 53581
• Bedrooms: 4
• Bathrooms: 4.5
• Lot size: 24+ acres
• Livable square feet: 6,200
• Total square feet: over 8,300
• Log and stone custom construction
• 4 levels
• Library
• Game room
• Laundry rooms on two floors
• Gourmet kitchen includes Dacor, Viking, KitchenAid
• Kitchen seats 16 at the 15 foot granite table
• Built-in hickory desk unit
• Built-in antique cupboards
• 2 home theaters
• Dumbwaiter
• Central vacuum system
• Large wrap-around 3rd floor balcony
• Intercom system
• Unique handcrafted window sills/seats
• 28' vaulted tongue and groove ceiling
• Natural stone fireplaces
• Central high efficiency heating, air conditioning and humidifying units
• Fireplaces specially designed to heat home evenly with high efficiency air handling system
• Paved blacktop driveway
• Deck: over 1,200 square feet
• Gated entrance ways with remote and key pad
• Outdoor rotating spa
• Furnishings offered but not included in price
• Location: 1 hour drive from Madison
• 3 hour drive from Chicago or Milwaukee
• 30 minute drive to Tri-County Regional Airport (LNR) (Accommodates Jet Aircraft)

Offered At: $3,600,000 (under replacement cost)

Owner:
Danny Mockler
Cell: 231.649.8708
Email: danny@logxury.com

Structure

Logs:

Before the building process began the logs had to be located and transported to the site. Each log was hand picked and select cut specifically for this project. Some of the larger logs are well over 100 years old (predating the Chicago fire) and are not very readily available in the Midwest region. Adding to the difficulty of locating the logs, not only was the diameter an issue but, because the house was designed so that there are no butt joints the logs needed to be relatively straight over a long (50ft) span. Because of the weight of the massive logs (some over 10,000lbs. each) each one was individually handled with a forklift or crane. Logs of this age had bark of over 1.25inchs in thickness. In order to preserve the natural character and contour of the wood, the peeling and cleaning of the logs was carefully done by hand.

Superstructure:

• Completely hand crafted and assembled on site, the the home's shell, alone, took nearly 9 months to construct.
• Skilled craftsmen hand scribed each wall log with a "Swedish cope"cut to fit the underlying log.
• All of the corners are joined with a "saddle notch" which affords tremendous strength and rigidity to the structure.
• The log crafting was done so precisely that no chinking was necessary. An expandable caulk was all that was required to seal the home from air and moisture.
• Even though the logs were allowed to air-dry for some years before the the finish carpentry started, logs this size take from 15-18 years to completely dry and stop shrinking. In order to prevent problems from this shrinking each interior wall had to be built in 2 parts (the top part suspended from the ceiling) and pinned together with steel rods to allow for shrinkage.
• All the mechanical systems, walls, and windows were designed in such a way to allow the logs to compress without causing damage.
• The superstructure, including the walls, balcony supports, A-frame, roof perlins, and tie logs are exclusively red and white pine.
• The railings on the wrap-around deck are white cedar.

Craftsmanship

Even with its custom design, novel amenities, and numerous features, the home would be incomplete apart from the impeccable craftsmanship and attention to detail with which it has been constructed. As is evident throughout, countless additional time and effort was spent on the finest details to ensure the highest quality finished product ...Must be toured to appreciate!

Trim:

Full-round pine logs were taken to a saw mill and cut lengthwise to produce boards that maintained their natural character and contour on both edges. Each peace was then ripped down the center of the board producing two symmetrical pieces of trim. After planing, sanding and selecting each one individually to match with its adjoining piece, the trim was ready to be stained, sealed and finally installed. This type of trim was used around the doors, windows, base boards, fascia and to cover the compression joints on all of the suspended walls.
Although the majority of the home has the natural pine trim, the kitchen and dining area display a beautiful array of Hickory cabinets, paneling and trim.

Caulking:

Most log homes require chinking between each log in order to seal the home from the elements. Because of the special "Swedish Cope" and "Saddle Notch” method used by the craftsmen, chinking was not at all necessary. The scribing of each log to fit the contour of the log below it resulted not only in tremendous strength but also was so precisely fit together that a special expandable caulk was all that was required to seal the home from air, moisture, and insects.

Scribing:

The finish carpentry is all but standard when dealing with logs of this size. Fitting the trim, tile, walls and all of the fixtures where they meet the logs was meticulously accomplished with use of the compass. Craftsmen used this tool extensively to carefully ensure precision fits.

Stone

Throughout both the interior as well as the exterior of the home, many local and imported stone finishes combine with the logs and wood trim to give the home an exclusively natural theme. From the massive boulders complementing the lush landscape to the intricate mosaics defining the beautiful bathrooms, the extensive use of stone completes this nature-lover's dream.

Exterior:

• Foundation: River Rock
• Front Porch: Cherry Flagstone
• Entrance Gates Abutments: River Rock
• Landscaping Boulders: River Rock
• Various sizes/colors of Granite landscaping stones

Interior:

• Fire Places: River Rock
• Hearths: Colorado Flagstone
• Kitchen counter tops: “Uba Tuba” Granite
• Laundry Room counters: “Black Galaxy” Granite
• 3rd floor Bath: Polished Marble and “Black Galaxy” Granite
• Extensive use of various sizes and colors of Slate throughout the entire home.

Home Theater

Not your typical home theater design! The great room and the first floor family room are great places to get cozy by the fire places, enjoy the beautiful view or entertain your guests while watching your favorite movie on the integrated projection home theater systems.

An audio/visual closet on the main level accommodates the electronic components. Both systems are controlled by a touchscreen.

1st floor:

The first floor system features:

• 92" fixed screen.
• Sanyo 16:9 projector
• Infinity 5.1 surround sound system
• HD satellite television

2nd (main) floor:

The second floor system features:

• 134'' powered Draper screen
• Infinity 5.1 surround sound system
• Sanyo 16:9 projector
• A giant antique loggers saw conceals the large screen when not in use
• HD satellite television
  

Fireplaces

Because Midwestern winters are known for being long and cold, coupled with the fact that the home was built on the highest (windiest) point in the county, the engineer designed a heating system to evenly and efficiently heat the home. Specialized masonry fireplaces are used as the main source of heat while hi-efficiency gas forced air furnaces are used as a secondary source. While the fireplaces provide plenty of BTU's through a large return-air system, the furnace blowers are used to evenly distribute the heat throughout the entire home. Using this system, aided by the high R and thermal value of the massive logs, the home can be adequately and evenly heated by just one of the fire places even in the dead of winter!

1st Floor Unit:

The stone used for both fireplaces came from the Baraboo quarry.
Each stone was hand-picked for it's size, shape, and color.

• Installed on the first floor is a wood burning Kozy Heat AruaFlame masonry fireplace.
• 90,000 BTU's @ 73% efficiency
• The flue is a high quality Simpson Dura-vent DuraPlus Triple Wall Chimney Pipe
  (Rated for continuous use at 1000°, intermittent use at 2100°)
• Large masonry wood box adjoins the fireplace affords a substantial wood supply.
• Classic Log Mantle
• Colorado Flag Stone hearth (over 20 feet in length.)

2nd (main) Floor Unit:

• Installed on the main floor is a wood burning Kozy Heat 432 bay style masonry fireplace.
• 130,000 BTU's @ 73% efficiency
• The chimney from the main level is an advanced technology which uses multiple linings consisting of volcanic pumice aggregates and refractory cements as well as a particular grade of expanded clay aggregates known as Leca. This specialized masonry lining system is one of the safest and most efficient liners for masonry chimneys. The flue was designed to withstand chimney fires without compromising the integrity of its walls, thus protecting the home from the risk of fire.
• Dumb waiter brings wood supply from ground level.
• Colorado Flag Stone hearth

Custom Features

Window sills:

Few of the amenities included in this rare estate can be described as conventional--the window sills are no exception to this, as each of the 32 windows on the second, third, and fourth levels boast its' own handcrafted log-slab seat. The carpenters precisely scribed and fit each sill to the contour of the adjoining logs giving each sill its own unique size and character. The sills range in size from 2 1/2" to 6" in thickness.

Out-door rotating hot tub:

Hot tubs are a great way to relax and socialize, but someone always gets the boring view--not so here, as the hot tub revolves so that everyone gets a chance to enjoy the gorgeous panorama.

• Nearly 8' square this tub has 44 therapeutic jets, a pedisage, and a cascading water fall.
• There are also 24 fiber optic lights to remain constant or constantly changing.
• A control panel on the deck regulates the speed and direction of the hot tub.
• An ionization package eliminates the need for chlorine while keeping the spa water always fresh!

The hot tub supports are two octagons fabricated with heavy gauge 2x6 steel tubing separated by a giant bearing/gear rack allowing the tub to rotate safely and smoothly. (The 6' diameter bearing was for the turret of a military tank and is rated to withstand 250,000lbs of thrust!) The entire assembly rests on an enormous 40 inch diameter log set on a footing.

Elevators:

• Unique custom built private elevators were installed on the third level providing access to the spacious lofts.
• The elevators can be controlled from above, below, or on board, and can be key-lock disabled.

Entrance gates:

Massive logs that have been scribed, crafted, and bolted together form a fitting entrance for this grand property.

• The gates are controlled from inside the home (at the intercom system) from the entrance gate keypad or remotely from your vehicle.

Dumb waiter:

Serving the fire place on the main floor the dumb waiter allows wood to be quickly and easily transported from the ground level up to the Kozy Heat fireplace in the great room.

• The dumbwaiters can be controlled from above or below,and can be key-lock disabled.

Wood Finishes

Exterior:

In order to preserve the beauty and protect the integrity of the wood for a lifetime, the exterior of the logs has been treated with a high quality synthetic preservative stain that lightens over time. No need for sandblasting or stripping as with organic resigns, simply reapply the coating as necessary.

Interior Logs:

Many log homes are notorious for being dark and sometimes even depressing. To avoid this feel, the builder designed the home with plenty of large windows affording an abundance of natural lighting. In addition to the many windows a light stain was specially formulated and applied to all of the interior wood surfaces.

The finishing process on the interior of the logs was quite costly and extremely labor intensive.

• Prior to staining, the interior of the logs were carefully sandblasted with a special corn-cob medium to remove the outer layer yet preserve the natural grain.
• Following the sandblasting process, all of the logs were painstakingly sanded with 60 grit orbital sanders. *Many places were unable to be reached with the power sanders requiring them to be sanded by hand.
• Finally, a 100 grit sander was used leaving a smooth and soft finish.

Interior Trim

The interior doors, trim and railings were coated with the same stain as the walls. In addition to this stain, a high-quality clear protective finish was applied to these surfaces, highlighting the beautiful wood grain and leaving a satin sheen which is both durable easy to clean.