Log Home Restoration Across Florida

Florida's Log Home History, North to South

Florida has been building with logs for as long as it has had settlers. When the territorial Legislative Council first met in Tallahassee in 1824, it met in a log building. That same year, the soldiers who founded Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River put up what their commander called "the best log buildings I have ever seen." In Baker County, the Burnsed Blockhouse was built in 1837 from squared, hand-hewn yellow pine with dovetailed corners, and people lived in it until 1966. In Taylor County, the Whiddon family's 1863 dogtrot log house still stands at Forest Capital Museum State Park. As late as 1899, friends of the Raulerson family rode in from Basinger and Fort Drum and spent three days raising a log house at the settlement that became Okeechobee.

The wood came from Florida's own forests: longleaf pine on the uplands and cypress in the swamps. Turpentine and lumber ran the economy in town after town, from Pensacola's yellow pine port to the sawmills of Live Oak and the cypress logging of the Big Cypress. Today's log homes stand on rural acreage, lakes and rivers from the Panhandle to Southwest Florida. We've been caring for them for 42 years.

One State, Very Different Climates

A log home near Tallahassee and one near Fort Myers face very different weather, so the right care depends on where you are:

• Freezes. Tallahassee averages about 27 nights a year at or below freezing, and Mayo about 27. Fort Myers and Naples average about one freezing night a decade. In North Florida, freeze-thaw cycles open up checks and joints. In South Florida, heat and moisture do the damage.
• Rain. Pensacola averages about 68 inches of rain a year and Walton County about 65, among the highest totals in the state. Gainesville and Tampa get about 48–49 inches.
• When the rain falls. In Fort Myers and Naples, close to 80% of the year's rain comes May through October. The Panhandle gets winter rain from cold fronts as well as summer storms, so there's no long dry season.
• Heat. Fort Myers averages about 120 days a year at 90°F or hotter, and Ocala and Crystal River about 110.
• Hurricanes, statewide. Michael (2018) in the Panhandle, Idalia (2023) and Helene (2024) in the Big Bend, Irma (2017) up the peninsula, and Charley (2004) and Ian (2022) in Southwest Florida all left their mark on homes in our service area.
• Termites. Native subterranean termites are found throughout Florida. UF/IFAS reports that the invasive Formosan subterranean termite is established in most coastal counties and major metro areas, and that the Asian subterranean termite is spreading in South Florida.

What That Means for Your Log Home

The basics don't change anywhere in the state:

• An annual log wash with soft brushes and a low-pressure rinse, never a pressure washer.
• A UV protective coat every third year, as appropriate.
• Tight chinking and caulking.
• Bottom logs kept dry and off the soil.
• A walk-around after every big storm.

What changes is where to look first: open checks and freeze damage in the north, sun-faded stain and wet-season mildew in the south, and storm damage everywhere. Find your area below for local details.

Related services: Maintenance Plans · Log Home Inspections · Log Rot Repair

Climate figures: NOAA 1991–2020 normals (Tallahassee, Mayo, Pensacola, DeFuniak Springs, Gainesville, Tampa, Fort Myers, Naples, Ocala, Inverness stations). History: Florida Historic Capitol Museum, USF Tampa Bay History, City of Macclenny, Florida State Parks, History of Okeechobee County (1978). Termites: UF/IFAS.

Our Service Areas

Each area page covers that area's log home history, its climate and what it means for your home.

North Central Florida — home turf

Live Oak · Mayo · Lake City · High Springs · Alachua · Gainesville · Williston · Ocala · Crystal River

Big Bend & Northeast Florida

Tallahassee · Crawfordville · Jacksonville

Central & South Florida

Orlando · Tampa / Lakeland · Okeechobee · Fort Myers · Naples

Panhandle

Marianna · Walton County · Crestview · Pensacola

South & Middle Georgia

Valdosta · Tifton · Bainbridge · Macon · Savannah