How Much Did You Spend On Your Log Home?

[Cy]

I think such high estimates are coming from how people are "tricking" their homes out with very nice amenities.

That's kind of what I was thinking, too. I don't need "fancy." In fact, I've never had "fancy" in my life and I'm perfectly fine with that. I grew up in a very poor part of the Appalachian Mountains. I would be perfectly content with a solid, functional, and simple log cabin.

Some, like me, want to build to be free of a mortgage. I would rather build my own house than buy a 150K house with 200K mortgage interest over the next 30 years.

This is my goal, too. I HATE debt with everything in me. I'll turn 40 in two weeks and I've never had a car payment in my life. That doesn't mean I've driven nice cars...just functional cars that get me where I need to go. My car now is a 13 y/o Honda. I saved up for it, traded in my old car, and wrote a check for the difference. That's just the way I roll. And I'm very interested in the idea of building a functional (but not fancy) log cabin and paying for it as I go (for as little money as humanly possible).

[eduncan911]

There are several threads just like this asked many times on the public side. It never changes: Take the class for training, to learn how to build, to learn how to save, etc. Depends on time to build, source of materials, where you build, etc. We aren't therapists (well, LHN may be) to convince you or not - we are here to help you build! The main website had the articles and info for the rest to convince me.

Land, $0 - $500,000 your choice.

Foundation, $500 - $30,000 depending on your ingenuity and how long you can wait.

Logs, $0 - $30,000 depending on your ingenuity and how long you can wait.

Building supplies (rebar, nails, lag bolts, etc), $500 - $25,000 depending on your source and ingenuity.

Code-enforced building supplies, $0 - $25,000 depending on your county, size of home, building inspectors mood for the day.

Town & count permits, $0 - $35,000 depending on where you live and B.I.'s mood for the day.

Flooring, $0 - $25,000 depending on your ingenuity and how long you can wait.

Roofing, $0 - $30,000 depending on your ingenuity and how long you can wait.


...starting to see a patter here? Time vs. Sourcing vs Permits.

And I didn't even get into labor and rental costs, which can be completely free by doing it all yourself using the LHBA Skip Lifting System for logs and roofing (yes, you can lift a 2500 lb log by yourself using the techniques taught in class), or hiring out teams and renting machines to do it for you.

This is why the money you spend on the class, aka lifelong training in all areas of the above, is something you'd never regret. That knowledge will be with you for the rest of your life even if you never build a log home.

That $150k average mentioned is what people invest into their homes to do it their way - some spent that much to get it done quickly, others spend that much due to many other factors above. Many have done for a tiny fraction of that cost, and many have been done for a lot more.

Every single build is different. The training you receive in class clarifies all of it and how to afford it without a mortgage. And, they give you the tools and knowledge to make the proper estimates yourself to know exactly how much it will cost you.

[rckclmbr428]

Anything in life boils down to these three things: Good, Fast, Cheap. you only get to pick two, which excludes the third.

[eduncan911]

Anything in life boils down to these three things: Good, Fast, Cheap. you only get to pick two, which excludes the third.

OK, ignore my previous post... This is much better!

FYI, that guy has built dozens and dozens of log homes.

[panderson03]

My car now is a 13 y/o Honda. I saved up for it, traded in my old car, and wrote a check for the difference. That's just the way I roll. And I'm very interested in the idea of building a functional (but not fancy) log cabin and paying for it as I go (for as little money as humanly possible).

welcome Cy.
my Honda's 17 years old

[btwalls]

We had to do a loan for the land but the house we are paying as we go. One thing to keep in mind is that building it on your own you may be able to pay as you go.
When you buy a house for $150,000 most are taking out a loan and not really paying for it up front but over 15-30 years with a lot of interest so that the real cost is well over $150,000. We will pay for our house our right over 5-7 years and be well under $150,000. Again I don't know the cost.

[Shark]

X2....
(my message is too short, please add 10 characters...haha)

We had to do a loan for the land but the house we are paying as we go. One thing to keep in mind is that building it on your own you may be able to pay as you go.
When you buy a house for $150,000 most are taking out a loan and not really paying for it up front but over 15-30 years with a lot of interest so that the real cost is well over $150,000. We will pay for our house our right over 5-7 years and be well under $150,000. Again I don't know the cost.

[Shark]

It won't .

That's fine, it's your money, have fun & enjoy the class.

[edkemper]

I will never forget the story about one of our members building one. I think they spent something like $28,000. And complained because $12,000 of that was for a really fancy fireplace. I may be off on the price by stating them too high. But you get the point.

Even those that build a $150K place, it's valued at far more than they spent. You can't compare a place built our way with a regular stick frame house. A stick frame ain't gonna last as long and will be expensive to heat and cool. One of ours, no matter the price is something that'll be around for generations.

Then again, I think most of us think of cheap more about building without a mortgage to save a hundred grand on a 30 year mortgage. Then add the cost to heat and cool on top. Plus we don't build in the now traditional residential housing developments.

[eduncan911]

Hehe. Actually, I'll be building beside $400,000 - $800,000 stick frame homes in our development (each lot about 2-4 acres) - all less than 5 years old.

They have no idea what is coming their neighborhood! He he...

(Though, we are in the far back corner of the development)