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Log Home Store Ordering and Shipping Information

There's a fair bit of information here, so grab a cuppa, hunker down and you'll learn about all there is to know about ordering, paying and shipping.

Secure on-line ordering:

This site uses a secure on-line shopping cart system. With this system you can confidently order on-line as your credit card information will be transferred in an encrypted form. If you prefer to order off-line please click here.

Shipping:

We strive to keep shipping costs as low as possible. To find the shipping costs prior to submitting your order, simply input your zip code (works for the contiguous United States), and your shipping costs will be automatically calculated and displayed.

You'll notice that at approximately 200 lbs (we call it 200 units as it's only loosely based on weight), we currently offer free shipping (again within the contiguous United States). See the Free Shipping information below for additional information on this.

If expedited shipping is needed, please ask for the options available.

Alternately, you can use the calculator at UPS for a rough estimate (our actual rates are often less).

If you have a specific shipping preference, please let us know. Otherwise we will choose the method, based on the information listed here.

Please note that we occasionally will use the US Postal Service when the service or rates are advantageous and for most book and video orders.

If expedited shipping is needed please contact us directly so we can discuss the various options available.

We do not offer COD.

Note: Shipments to Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada normally go by Mail with Alaskan shipments also going by barge when appropriate...UPS is beginning to be competitive in this market, thus we may be using them when appropriate.

Shipments to other countries generally ship by Mail and we will offer you both the Air or Surface shipping options, when available.

We can utilize a variety of carriers based on package weight, size and destination. The shipping charges incurred on your order do not include custom fees or import duties, which may be incurred when your package reaches your country. We have no control over these charges and cannot estimate the amount. We recommend you contact your customs office for specific information.

For orders going to Canada we generally find that shipping by Mail, whenever possible, incurs less custom/brokerage hassle and will arrive in a more timely manner over shipping UPS. (UPS has a habit of passing all items through a broker which in itself incurs a fee- then they tack on the custom fee etc.) To lessen the hassle, some Canadians ask us to ship to a Mail Box facility or friend on the US side of the border and then cross over to pick it up.

We currently do not ship to Nigeria, Indonesia and a whole bunch of other countries. If you're in doubt contact us.

Free Shipping:

We currently offer FREE shipping to the contiguous United States on orders of 200 units or more...a unit being approximately 1 lb. Thus, 4/5 gallon buckets of finish now qualifies for FREE shipping in then contiguous United States.

FREE shipping does have some limitations...primarily on low value, bulky items that are expensive to ship. Examples of this are Reels or large boxes of backer rod, full boxes of Manilla rope or Oakum. We also charge separately for copper products as these are custom orders and ship direct from the manufacturer. We'll contact you with total charges prior to shipping on these items.

Shipping Internationally:

We have much less control of what happens to items shipped out of the United States. There is little or no tracking ability, queries to UPS or the Postal Service cannot be initiated until 30 days after the package has shipped, and then it can take months for them to make a determination as to what happened. (and usually your package has shown up by this time).

When shipping to Canada we prefer to ship by Postal Service. UPS and Loomis have a policy of running everything through a border customs broker which can add $25-$30 to a shipment (plus several more days). We have heard that, at times, there are truck loads of packages waiting in long lines,  to clear customs entering Canada. As some packages are not scanned at this point it's difficult to know when your shipment even crosses the border.

Not all is gloom and doom when shipping to Canada. Most smaller packages (books, videos, hand tools), arrive in under two weeks. It's the odd package that takes 4-6 weeks for no discernable reason that's so frustrating.

Shipment damage:

Merchandise must be inspected upon receipt and any damages or shortages must be reported to us immediately. Remember, shipping damage is often the responsibility of the shipping company (UPS, US Mail, common carrier). They expect to be notified as soon as possible. If you don't notify us, we can't notify them.  There is often a time limit for reporting any problems to the shipping company.

Processing:

Most orders can be processed on the same day they are received but occasionally there may be a delay due to an item on backorder or an incredible number of orders received in a short period of time. We will attempt to notify you if there will be any extended delays on your order. When you place your order please make sure to include your telephone number and email address in case we need to contact you. Please expect a slight delay if you pay with a personal check due to bank processing time.

Payment:

We accept checks, money orders, Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Cash is gladly accepted also as long as you bring it to our store in person. We currently Do Not accept PayPal or on-line checks. Sorry

Price changes:

Unfortunately, prices are subject to change from time to time but we will contact you before fulfilling your order if such a change occurs. We strive to keep our web site up to date as to pricing, however our printed catalog often has seen several price increases throughout the year.

Fine Print

and more fine print

Returns:

The item needs to be unopened, unused, and in the case of finishes, sealers, chinking, in the original container. Please contact us before you return any item.

Returns must be requested and authorized within 60 days of purchase. And returned to our warehouse within 90 days.

Unauthorized returns may be refused. We need to be aware of what is coming back to our warehouse so we can properly process your return and credit your account.

Items are normally returned for one of these reasons:

You changed your mind, ordered the wrong color, item, size, amount or just plain ordered the wrong stuff. Geez... you're only human.

In these circumstances:

We charge a 15% restocking fee plus any shipping fees that we may have subsidized.

An example of this may be when we offer a special promotion with free or discounted shipping to you. If, by returning some product, your original order would fall below the Free Shipping amount, we'll now charge you these previously discounted fees as we no longer can offset these shipping charges to us with the sale of products.

You may also forfeit any quantity discounts if the amount of returned products lowers your "true" order to below the quantity discount level. You'll also need to return the product to us and pay the shipping charges.

And finally, you'll be charged to ship the correct items to you, (in the case of changing your mind on colors).

All in all, it's much better to carefully calculate quantities, colors, sizes to reduce the chance of returns. We have color charts and estimating charts throughout the site to assist you in making choices, as well as wet samples of many of our finishes...see below for sample info.

We also offer a Sample Program where you can order up to 5 samples of various finishes to test on your project prior to purchasing the actual products needed. We charge $6 to help offset shipping on these. (Check the sample page for all the particulars as some few brands have an extra charge).

We made a mistake.

We sent you the wrong item, wrong color, wrong size, or just plain got it wrong. Geez. . .we're only human. When this happens, we strive to correct the problem as quickly as possible. We realize that many times our mistake has placed you in a time crunch and you want the correct products. . . yesterday. Depending on the type and quantity of products in question we'll discuss with you the best method to return the products and to get you the products you need. This might mean waiting for a return of the original product prior to reshipping the correct product, (we can issue a call tag or you can take it to a UPS call center - Mail Boxes Etc. and we'll credit or reimburse you for the shipping fees), or with your permission we may bill your credit card for the new product pending receipt of the original shipment at which time we'll credit back the original charges and any shipping charges you incurred in returning the wrong products to us.

Still got questions? Never fear, simply contact us.

Videos & DVDS's are a special issue. We do not accept returns on opened videos and dvd's. Sorry.

Liability:

We assume that you will read all directions and use all the products we sell in a safe manner. Our liability is limited only to the replacement cost of the item and then in only specific circumstances. With respect to finishes and chinking, please verify that you received the correct colors and items upon receipt, not after you have applied them. We're only human and there will be an occasional mistake, however our liability is limited to the replacement cost as noted above.

If you have any questions or comments regarding our shipping policies, please contact us using any of the methods listed below.