Building systems
Log, timber frame and SIP homes in Ashton — who actually builds them here
Published · every figure below was checked against its primary source on the date shown.
The one lane where Ashton is genuinely deep
Most rural corridors have no specialists at all. This one has two firms with decades in timber and panel work, which is unusual for a field of six builders and worth knowing before you assume the system has to be imported from Idaho Falls or Bozeman.
| Builder | Based | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| Ron Palmer Construction | Ashton | Building here since 1994. Stick-frame, log and structural insulated panel work — the deepest combined timber lane on the corridor. |
| Western Builders | Chester | Steed family; Idaho registrations RCE-1785 and RCE-8714. Publicly described as a log home specialist, BBB accredited and A+ rated. |
| Steve Pinther Custom Build Homes | Ashton, 412 Main St | Started 1978 — the longest-running builder on the corridor, and the longest local record of any kind. |
Three systems, three different questions
- Solid log — the wall is the structure and the finish at once. It moves as it dries and takes load, so the detailing around openings and services is the craft, and experience in it is not interchangeable with framing experience.
- Timber frame — a heavy structural skeleton, usually joined and left exposed, with a separate enclosing envelope. You are buying a visible structure and then insulating around it, which is why timber frames are so often paired with panels.
- Structural insulated panels — factory-made sections that carry load and insulate together. The envelope goes up fast and continuously, which matters on a corridor where the building season is genuinely short.
What does not change, whichever you choose
“Section 3. Ground Snow Load: The ground snow load shall be … 90 PSF. for the Ashton District…”
— Fremont County Ordinance No. 2005-02, Section 3 (county-published PDF, retrieved 13 August 2026)
The district figure applies to a log house exactly as it applies to a framed one, and so does the 32-inch minimum frost depth. The wall system changes how the load is carried, not how much load the county requires you to carry — and the question of which snow-load figure your engineer designs to is if anything sharper here, because heavy roofs over open timber spans leave less room for approximation.
Questions worth asking a timber builder
- What have you finished in this exact system in the last two years, and where? Corridor addresses beat portfolio photographs.
- How is settlement detailed at windows, doors, stairs and services?
- Who engineers the roof, and to what ground snow load?
- How is the energy code satisfied for this wall assembly under the adopted 2018 IECC?
- What is the realistic sequence against this season’s weather, and what happens if the envelope is not closed before winter?
Related reading on this site
- The 90 PSF question — the roof-load decision behind every heavy-timber span
- The county permit path — the file these builds run through, same as any other
- What a build costs here — making bids across different systems comparable
- The builder table — the full corridor field, not only the timber lane
Common questions
Who builds log homes around Ashton?
This is the corridor's deepest lane and it is genuinely local. Ron Palmer Construction has built in Ashton since 1994 and runs stick-frame, log and structural insulated panel work. Western Builders, out of Chester, is a log home specialist holding Idaho registrations RCE-1785 and RCE-8714.
What is a SIP?
A structural insulated panel — a rigid foam core bonded between two structural facings, produced in a factory and set as large wall and roof sections on site. The panel carries load and insulates at the same time, which is why it is treated as a building system rather than a type of insulation.
Is a log home more expensive than a framed one?
Usually, and the reason is labour and material rather than complexity for its own sake. What matters more for budgeting is that log, timber frame and panel builds are priced by different trades on different schedules, so comparing them against a stick-frame bid requires the same care as comparing any two bids here.
Do log homes settle?
Solid-log walls move as the wood loses moisture and takes load, which is why log builders detail for it deliberately around windows, doors, stairs and anything plumbed or wired through a wall. It is a known, designed-for behaviour and the reason experience in the system matters more than in conventional framing.
Does the snow load change if I build in logs or panels?
The required ground snow load is set by your county district, not by your wall system — the Ashton District figure is 90 PSF. What changes is how the roof structure carries it, and a heavy engineered roof interacts differently with a timber frame than with trusses on stud walls.
Are these systems harder to permit?
Not inherently, but they lean harder on engineered drawings, and the county file has the same requirements either way. Fremont County has adopted the 2018 IRC, IBC and IECC, and the energy code question is one the three systems answer quite differently.
Can I have a timber frame without a full timber house?
Yes, and it is common — an exposed timber structure over a great room with conventional or panel walls elsewhere. It gives the visible effect people want from the system without committing the whole envelope to it, and most builders working this lane will quote it.
How do I choose between the three?
Decide what you want the wall to do — be the finish, hold the roof visibly, or disappear and insulate — then ask which builders here have finished that system recently. On a corridor this small, recent local experience in your specific system is the useful filter.