We're building a small chalet-style log home, breaking ground within the next couple of weeks. The site slopes down from the back of the house down towards a lakesite. There will be a walk-out basement, with the lakeside the most fully exposed part of the basement walls.

In our last couple of e-mails back and forth, our builder has now told us that we need to get log siding from the supplier of our log package to cover the exposed foundation walls. We are a very tight budget, and such siding was not in the budget. We told him that while log siding all the way down would look fabulous, it's just not in the budget. His response was that the lake end of the basement at least must have some sort of covering. He still suggests log siding, or at least board and batten siding like what will be on the gables of the house.

Do any of you, especially those of you who are builders, know why this would be? We see houses with walk-out basements all the time that have just exposed concrete. Is there some functional reason for his "requirement", or just aesthetics?

We're not opposed to having it covered, obviously we'd prefer to be able to, but we have to keep a tight reign on the budget - we haven't even broken ground yet, so who knows what unexpected true necessities lie ahead that will require more $$ to be thrown at them.

THanks for any help or advice you can provide.