Thanks for that info. I had stumbled across this cob house builders review of the Jotul and the Morso. Both are without doubt great stoves. They are very expensive however and with a heat output of +5kw maybe a little big also. I was hoping to find something a bit smaller, and cuter if possible. I really appreciate your help though, thanks again

Hi Colleen, I'm a bit confused -- when you say it'd be cheaper to take a mortgage on our current home to pay for a cottage/cabin, what about what Mnk716 and Lucy (above) said about putting our primary residence at risk by borrowing against it to pay for a second home? With all due respect to the caring intention behind their replies... the idea of segregating the effects of potential default risks by segregating the selection of which properties you use as collateral... is silly & untenable for the most part. Their advice comes from a mistaken assumption that as life becomes challenging it is easy to "sacrifice" certain assets that were used as collateral and keep all other assets and portions of your financial life in simple, easy balance. The reality is; when it rains, it pours... and you'll end up "rallying ALL the troops" and using EVERY resource at hand to solve yoru troubles if/whenever you face them. That's human nature... especially for anyone who has ever been a parent. If you followed their advice and left your primary residence free & clear, and leveraged only against the vacation home... then fell into dire straights to the point where you were facing the possibility of defaulting on your monthly bills & payments; A) You would then be likely frantically trying to re-access that locked-in equity in your primary home to save your bacon (which raises two more problems; B) It would likely be too late to qualify after you fell into desperation, and C) Your legal liabilities would stretch into all parts of your life anyway. Also, when you say "especially cheaper than a vacation log home"......is there something iffy about vacation log homes? Actually, yes... doubly. A) Log homes are a construction type that are considered (rightly or wrongly.... there are many fans and defenders of quality log-built homes) riskier to the lenders. Because of this lender price a "risk premium" on top of any financing that is collateralized by a log home. B) Vacation homes are seen as a 2nd-tier payment priority risk (to understand why, we don't have to look further than Mnk716 and Lucy's feelings.) When the "fit hits the shan" and there's not enough funds to make all the monthly payments, the lenders assume that you will pay in the following order to the amount of funds you have; 1) Your primary residence, 2) Your vacation residence, 3) Your real estate investments, 4) Your consumer debt. Because of this, vacation homes are also priced an additional "risk premium." THUS, to finance a property that is both a log home, AND a vacation home, will take a double-hit increase to rates & terms. BETTER to start from the "big picture" of your total balance sheet (all your debts, all your assets, and all your available leverage (and at what levels of costs.)) Then design from that where your best use of funds will come from. *I've lurked in the Buying And Selling Homes long enough to know you're the Official Guardian Angel of the forum! WOW! Thank you so much for that "hug"! Cheers, Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner

For appearance I am hoping for something gray or tan color for the outside and either the same on the inside or wood. I want the best performance as I can but am hoping to find a sweet spot between performance and cost since they are for a cabin that will not be used a lot. I prefer something that is maintenance free on the outside. I hope that answers your questions.

Robo, this is my home. It is heated, but the heat is turned off at night, and in the other wing (also with pine floors) I only turn it on when the temp outside is 20 or lower, to keep pipes from freezing. The key to wood is to give it room to expand and contract and to protect it from water. But wood is what people used long before other materials were even invented. I happen to think wood is very forgiving. It gets better with age and wear, rustic handles mars very well, and if you don't like a mar, you just sand it out and reseal that little area.