Sit back and hear the story behind the family business, known for its world-class log and half-timbered homes.
Find out how we produce beer sustainably.
Meet our team and see the log homes they have built for their families.
we dream of
Also custom built log homes
From parents to children, since 1979.
Each member of the Kinsman family designed and built their own log or timber frame home.
Our children and grandchildren grow up believing that "home" is synonymous with the warm scent of Swiss stone pine.
So we know exactly what it's like to dream of living in a Confederate home.
And after more than 40 years of helping people like you...
We know how to guide you from "I have an idea...".
Regarding "I wonder how that would look with wood frame accents..."
And finally, until the moment you say, "It's absolutely perfect!"
As are the countless happy customers who write to say things like...
I have done 3 things well in my life; marry my wife, start my business and build a Swiss wooden house.
Al Kaminsakas, Toronto
In 1979, Rick Kinsman got a job at Bobcaygeon. The company needed drawings for the first log home sold.
Rick had no experience with log homes, but he did have design and architecture experience. So he drew up the plan for the first house and then helped saw the logs in the workshop.
Rick thought the job was done once they loaded the material onto the truck. But nobody else had a trucker's license, so Rick brought the first set of logs onto the property.
When they arrived the builders said:"Who will help us put this together?"So he stayed and built the first Confederate log home ever built.
Rick Kinsman never left the company. Now he is the sole owner of the 1867 Confederation Log & Timber Frame.
Along with his sons Andy and Rich, he runs the family business dedicated to manufacturing the finest log homes and timber structures in the world.
We're small and specialized with a team that's like family (even if they're not relatives). We know the name of every client who builds a Confederate home.
Like the homes we build, we are building a company that will stand the test of time. A company that we can pass on to the next generation of Kinsmans. This requires a lot of commitment to our customers.
Sustainably manufactured
Log houses and wooden structures
Each Confederate home is custom built and hand finished, an art we keep alive in the age of mass-produced homes.
Our goal is that your log or frame home will look as impressive 100 years from now as it does this year.Building homes that last is part of our commitment to sustainability.
We have been a green company for over 40 years. It has always been important to us to show it, not just say it. Therefore, we have received accreditations from third parties.
First,We use white pine from sustainable forestry, a renewable resource. For every trunk removed, six more are planted.
Our logs are made from the core, but we sell the cuts to marinas for boat logs and the smaller pieces to campers for firewood.
Even sawdust is given to the farmer as mulch. (And by the way, this farmer's grandson is now a Confederate handyman in our shop and chop logs.)
Nothing is wasted.
Instead of kiln drying our carefully selected logs, we naturally dry the logs over time.This is a zero-carbon process that also produces the finest finished logs.
We've been building like this for over 40 years because we also love the environment. That's why we live in nature ourselves.
Some of our customers are choosing to go completely off the grid, and a Confederate home can support that lifestyle.
Talk to us about the construction of your sustainable wooden house.
KNOW THE CONFEDERATION
Meet
Behind the 1867 Confederation Log & Timber Frame Company
Rick relative
President and Owner
An original member of Confederation Log Homes, Rick has been in the log and timber frame home business since 1979.
He designed, cut, supplied and assembled the first Confederate home ever built.
Rick prides himself on being a problem solver and idea generator. Whatever problem we have, Rick has solutions for every part of our business.
This positivity pervades our entire culture here at the Bund.
Rick Kinsman and his wife Bev built their first Confederacy in the early 1980's. In one of the early planning books, there is a picture of little Rich Kinsman next to the tree trunks.
The Kinsmans later built their second and current Confederate home on Lake Boshkung. They found a property that was part of an old children's camp. Rick and Bev created a floor plan that became the inspiration for our show home at Confederate Headquarters.
Over the years we've built countless versions of Rick and Bev's four bedroom, four bathroom open plan home. It has everything you could want: two double sided fireplaces, a solarium, wet bar, pool table, sauna, basement, covered decks, open decks, two garages...even a custom boathouse! !
parents Andy
Vice President of Operations
Andy began working directly with 1867 Confederation Log & Timber Frame at the manufacturing facility in 2002.
In 2007 he completed his carpentry apprenticeship as a state-certified carpenter. Andy Kinsman uses his engineering knowledge to oversee operations, including draft and design, production, shipping and receiving.
A few years ago, Andy built the Green Woods Confederacy Home, a model that won the People's Choice Award for Log Home Living of the Year.
Andy and his wife Tiffany wanted waterfront land for their growing family (Findley, Grady and Beckham). When he found wooded land by the water, he cleared it for his next build: a log home in Little Bob Channel.
rich relative
Vice President of Sales
When you come on tour, you can play Rich... And Rich is usually the one who answers your emails (with remarkable speed).
Rich graduated from Canadore College and Nipissing University in 2007 with a Diploma and a Bachelor of Business Marketing degree. During his school days he worked in the factory in the summers, cutting and assembling houses.
Rich joined the Log & Timber Frame Confederation in 1867 straight out of school. He says that since then, just one day has felt like work, even with Rich coming over on the weekends to show people around.
"I feel happy because I can be part of people's happiness every day",says rich.
Rich and his family now live in their second home in the Confederacy. Here is its construction history:
"Kim and I built Elwood to raise a family and live happily ever after. We had our son Richard Kinsman V (when Richard Kinsman the fifth) and Kim was pregnant with Mak (Makayla) when we got an offer for Elwood. It was too good to refuse.
So we built Revelstoke. We now have 145 acres of land where we camp, hunt, play, make maple syrup and have countless campfires. The wooden Revelstoke structure features five bedrooms, a wood-covered outdoor deck, a solarium and a basement bar/lounge.
We love it... so much we almost never leave!”
Dedicated Confederacy Team
The team that runs the Confederacy is also like family.
You'll meet some of the team members as you work with us to build a log home or frame out of Confederate wood.
The federal government's experienced designers are at the forefront of the process.
Our friendly support team helps us make the process smooth so we can meet your deadlines.
Craftsmen and craftsmen are at the heart of what we do. You will meet these dedicated people when you see your custom home assembled at our facility before it is delivered to your property.
contact us
Confederation Log Homes has an experienced professional team and highly qualified staff. It was great to be able to trust you and the Confederacy to make this happen. The layout is absolutely stunning and we will enjoy our new home for years to come!
Count and Chorus