The four-bedroom house a stone’s throw from the Helena National Forest has the look of hewn logs and suits its rustic setting. But the walls of Welch’s house, built in 2006, are made of concrete. The roof is green metal.
“I wanted a house I wouldn’t have to worry about during the fire season,” said Welch, who spent part of his boyhood on this property. Now retired as a regional sales manager for a tool company, he divides his time between Indianapolis and York, about 20 miles from Helena.
The faux logs that Cultured Log Systems http://concretelogs.com/ of Missoula began producing commercially in 2004 form the walls of 30 houses around the country and are in a couple of golf buildings at the ultraexclusive Yellowstone Club north of Yellowstone National Park. Work on a Louisiana hunting lodge is nearly finished.
By SUSAN GALLAGHER - Associated Press
Full Story: http://helenair.com/articles/2008/05/26/state/101st_080526_faux.txt