True North Log Homes

We came to True North Log Homes in June 2020 to discuss building a new cottage in 2021. We had a wonderful meeting with the sales rep, and provided them with a copy of a plan we liked. Weeks passed, and we did not receive anything further. We had our Architect draft the plan, hoping this would assist and we provided that to True North in CAD format. Months passed, and although the sales rep was very diligent in updating us, we still did not have a rendering or pricing. 8 months later to the day, we are still waiting for final pricing. I do believe that the product is quality, however, we decided today to move on, leave the design deposit and find an alternate builder. We are cognizant of the restrains during COVID, but having gone out of our way to attend meetings hoping to move this forward it is just not happening. I do applaud the efforts of the front line staff, and hope that the design/estimating Dept can come to grips with their effect on the customer base. This is in no way malicious, but certainly relevant for customers hoping to build. We stood ready for 8 months to sign a deal.

We are building a log home with this company now. True North Log Homes is a truly Canadian company with the best work ethics one can hope for in our time. By reading the reviews, I realized that it would be helpful to understand the building process to avoid some frustrations which are inevitable in such a large project.Let us start from the design stage. The company has quite a large selection of standard project plans. However, you are here to build a dream home. Therefore, some significant revisions will be done and the team of engineers will help all the way through it. Every revision of the initial project includes a lot of drawings and checks against the building code. Understand that your project will mutate into something unique and different from everything the company has built before. Therefore, check together with the team all dimensions, 3D models, and elevations. I recommend putting scaled cutouts of your furniture on plans to be sure that everything precisely as you like it. Do not forget to check vertical dimensions as well!True North Log Homes company makes most of the material necessary for the project. The company is responsible for the functional supply chain of parts that they do not make themselves. They have organized tours of the factory which I highly recommend to understand what is going to be delivered to a construction site, how it will be labelled, and packaged. The delivery schedule is critical as well as the site preparation.Log Project Management (LPM) is a subsidiary of True North Log Homes. They do not make homes, they build them. If you want to develop the project with another builder, it is highly possible. We decided to hire LPM for our project. LPM shares the same work ethics of several generations of Muskoka entrepreneurs. They love the land and want to make it better. I know that you are going to ask True North Log Homes about the construction cost and they have no idea. It is not because they hide something. The design team does not know about any part of the home which is not included in the delivery package – HVAC, all electrical, plumbing, IT and security, landscaping, internal doors and closets, drywalls, floors and many other things. LPM has an only vague idea based on the previous experience. Therefore, the construction budget is your responsibility! Take it seriously to avoid significant cost overruns. You are building a high end home.I highly recommend hiring all trades assuming that they are going to finish the entire project because all the customization you wanted translates into limited drawings and verbal communications. Your plumber will be the only person remembering where all things are. A new one will have an incredibly hard time finishing the project.Another requirement is the dedicated local project manager on the site at least three days a week for the entire project. Otherwise, everything will move very slowly, the trades will ask you for advice and I expect that you will have no idea. It is also required by the building code and insurance.Good luck! You envisaged it and reality will exceed your expectations.

We purchased our True North Log Home in March of 2015. The dream of living in a log home on a property with a sunset view became reality a few short years later. Working with the team at True North was a pleasure and always felt like you were their #1 priority. We had looked at other log home manufacturers over those years, but True North was the ticket to a pretty much maintenance free log home life. We wouldn't trade the experience of this build for anything. It was definitely a dream come true. Loving every minute of it.

My husband always dreamed of building a log home - owning one is even better. We enjoyed working with the True North designers, engineers and management team to create this dream. Our family has enjoyed living in our home for the past 12 years. The same level of customer service and attention to detail continued when we built a log garage to complement the home. Currently working with them on our new boathouse and an addition to the existing cottage as our family is growing as well. We appreciate the ongoing support and quality of product and technology offered.

Repeatedly told our dream retirement home would be x amount. Paid drawing deposit and got a quote....OOPS. That was only materials and not labour...so our dream home just increased by ~70,000.00. If anyone doubts this, more than happy to share emails. When escalating, a sales and development manager would not respond to my questions via email, insisting on a phone call. Why, when I cannot trust what is written, could I trust what was said? We asked for a partial refund of our deposit as we had no faith in this company however wanted to be fair to the drawing and sourcing people. No reply to that at all. VERY disappointing. Again, if you would like details, happy to send correspondence proving this.

True North Log Homes helped turn our dream home into a reality. Our home is a solid built home and TNLH uses quality wood products. All the logs are cut and treated in the factory, you need to take the tour if your a log home enthusiest, their patented log system is very unique. All deliveries were met, and we actually had enough assorted pieces of wood surplus that my husband could make railing posts and wood trim for all our windows, and some custom wood coverings.Their after build service continues to be excellent, and we've been in our home for three years.Thanks B & T Evans

We are very happy with our log home but based on our experience, we would not recommend True North Log Homes. Their design had flaws that were never acknowledged and their customer service left much to be desired. A detailed letter of our concerns was provided to the president of the company but we never heard a word from him. I'm left with the impression that we were small potatoes in a market that values only very elite clients. We upgraded" to Ostaco windows but find that their product is sub-standard and their client service is equally poor. I would suggest that if you are interested in a log home

Due to health reasons I terminated my contract with True North Log Homes, only going as far as the design state. I requested a fair amount of the deposit be returned. They refused. I signed the Sales Agreement and legally they can keep my 10% deposit. But I believe their actions are ethically and morally bankrupt. They hold onto a deposit with an iron grip even though they most likely do not incur much cost.Before signing any contract or handing over your deposit with True North Log Homes these may be factors you want consider. There are other companies who have just as good log home packages.And if you've had a bad experience with this company, I'd encourage you to complain to the Better Business Bureau in Ontario Canada.Response to TN: The BBB made this decision based on the fact that I am the only complaint they've received thus far, or any comment about TN to them. That's the reason they gave me?After reading the response from TN I googled reviews of Better Business Bureaus. The reviews were varied, but probably more negative ones. I've never dealt with them but thinking about the reason they gave me it seems pretty flimsy. I need to follow my advice and look at reviews, even the BBB's.The expenses listed by TN total about $6,000. I gave them almost $23,000. And I asked for an appropriate amount be returned considering their expenses.This could go on and on. Bottom line, trust your gut, and pay attention to reviews. There have been, and will be more, unhappy people with this company. I'm the only one so far who is so vocal about it, and they threatened me when I said I was going to do this.

Our experience with this company was terrible.We engaged the company to design our dream cottage. As an engineer myself, I had already drawn conceptual plans, which I provided to TrueNorth to start the design process. We then paid TrueNorth several thousands dollars to draw the first set of plans, which could be used for obtaining a building permit. The fee was paid in advance.TrueNorth then proceeded with the design. I provided not only the conceptual design, fully-drawn to scale in CAD, but also the strict requirements of the Township which must be complied with. I was disappointed when the company's design group continued to deviate from these plans, which were often not buildable due to governmental regulation that I had communicated several times. After four revisions, we eventually landed on a good design, in line with what I had provided them in the first place. But we were still missing the section drawings that were required to submit a permit application. But right before this was concluded, TrueNorth slapped a contract in front of us, requiring a commitment for the full build. Naturally, we had no issues with this, as we fully agree that a contract is required between the parties. But after our review of the contract, we were very surprised with the following:1). Firstly, the contract was very poorly-written. Quite frankly, it was amateur and riddled with syntax errors.2). To our surprise, the quoted price for the product was no longer offered on a firm basis. They had inserted wording to state that they could basically change the price to whatever they want, whenever they wanted. Large deposits were also required, so if they presented a large price increase and we objected, they would have the ability to run away with all of the deposit money, in the amounts of several hundred thousand dollars.3). The schedule in the contract was also not firm any more. It was worded in such a way that the delivery date was merely a suggestion, and they could change the delivery date to whatever they wanted. As we are located on an island that is accessible only 6 months per year, we naturally objected to this wording. After all, we cannot accept delivery in January, when the property is fully inaccessible due to ice.4). We redlined the contract, a standard business practice, and sent back our comments, including minor changes in wording that would work for us. These comments were flatly rejected. Their sales representative, who was a really nice guy but clearly not their contract manager, stated Contracts cannot be changed

We toured the factory in March, 2016, retired and moved north to western New York in June, and began construction on our forever home" in September