HATTIE: (Voiceover) Oregon Log Homes will build whatever the customers want, and because of their notoriety, they deal with many large, complex, expensive projects. They are currently working on a home which sits on Lake Tahoe. Randy has built this model to demonstrate solutions he has developed to solve a problem.

RANDY: One of the themes as far as logs in this entire house is that logs never end. They just keep on continuing. For instance, this is a rim log here. This is the same diameter as this. This log continues up and over.

HATTIE: (Voiceover) He will videotape the model with three different options, then send the tape to the architects in San Francisco.

The model will be sent to the construction foreman at the site. Randy estimates the finished cost of this home will be about $18 million. There's really more to this than meets the eye when you first look at it.

RANDY: Yes, it's been a great project for us.

HATTIE: (Voiceover) The people who live in log homes say there's nothing like it.

TED: As you can see, they're beautiful. They just lend themselves to a very natural setting and people appreciate that now. I live inside a piece of art. I truly do.

HATTIE: (Voiceover) Every business has its own language.

MIKE: This is a chink-style building. It's actually called a full-scribe, where we scribe the log. This is a spline where a two-by will go into. This is a check. We primarily use dead-standing timber. From the tree drying out internally, this check is created. And once that happens, the sawmills can't use it. You can imagine if you cut a two-by-four out of that, that it would fall apart.