Jim and Mary Haider first approached us with an idea about owning and running a log home Bed and Breakfast in Maryville, TN. After researching Bed and Breakfasts, they noticed none of the current businesses were log homes. Jim and Mary had been to numerous log home shows and eventually decided to partner with us. We were excited that they did, and eager to get down to work designing and building one of our custom log homes to be their new bed and breakfast.
After a short amount of time, it became clear why the Bed and Breakfast industry didn’t have many log homes. One of the requirements for this type of business is the use of fire sprinkler systems. At the time of the build, it wasn’t immediately obvious how this was to work with an exposed beam, heavy timber roof system on a 6×12 log home. Another issue was the location of the home. While mountain living is a very popular location for log home owners, the need for large amounts of pressurized water is typically not a concern of most well systems. This presented even more of a challenge, due to the use of several large, air driven, soaking tubs, a hot tub off of the master bedroom, steam showers in all of the master suites, and an industrial dish washer with large demands for a fast moving water supply.
After getting the specifications on the water needs, we developed a plan to use part of the basement for water storage. This is a fairly common practice, but in this situation, the tank was a bit larger than usual, making this storage system unique.
As our founder has always said, “We can even put a house on the moon. If you have the money, we’ll call NASA and see what it will take.” Most people have easier goals in mind; and while Richard Branson wouldn’t be the first name we typically think of when beginning a project, we will do what it takes to make sure a project is done the right way.
The next step was to come up with a plan for the sprinkler system. While sprinklers are also common, the heavy timber roof and the number of sprinkler heads needed were also a little out-of-the-ordinary. Our construction foreman devised a plan to bring the sprinkler heads down flush with the bottom of the heavy timber rafters. This made the number of drops fewer and allowed for a cross bracing to be put in with matching material, thus disguising the system.