Building a Log Home By Myself... Is it possible?

[emersonelk]

I remember when we bought our first house and when we were sitting in the office with a couple of ladies signing all the final 100 pages of paper work and then we came to the page that had the total on it after 30 yrs. I grabbed my wife and said did you see how much were going be paying for this thing.Both the ladies across from us said ,yah, dont look at that number.Heck thats all i could think about at the time and it hasnt ever left.The next wont be that way,that "extra" money is going in our account.

[ncgator]

Here are a couple of interesting articles on the history of mortgages. Note the terms of the first mortgages was typically for 5 years and required 50% down.

http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/037mortgage.html

http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-...mortgages.html

Have a great day!

Jim

[LogSurfer2]

CONGRATS on signing up for class! I completely understand how excited you are....that was me & my husband about 5 months ago when we signed up! It really is the first step, and you will be amazed by the class and the teachers. Steve and Ellsworth are real people who speak in plain English, and are completely approachable & friendly. They have a true passion for freedom, and helping others obtain the real American dream!

I applaud your determination and fearlessness to want to do this yourself. I think it will be very hard, but possible. There may be days where you will curse a lot, you may even feel like your body is gonna fall apart....but I believe that if you really, really want this, you will find a way to make it happen for yourself! And don't give up along the way if you hit a stumbling block....just call on some LHBA friends and "they will come". Can't wait to see you on the members side...it is truly a fun place where dreams are seen to fruition!

[marshall]

I'm a 30 y/o female and have begun to get the log home fever with my husband. We are super excited about the idea, but I'm also a little intimidated by the tasks that lie ahead. We're no strangers to home construction or tree cutting, but this is even a huge project for us. We have a hillside picked out for our home on our 70 acres, but our current house is for sale and if it sells, we need to get in a new place pronto. I'm not sure how long this project would take the two of us. My husband says that the possibility of selling our house is great motivation to get this project started. We were contemplating attending the class this January, but I'd like to maybe get some advice on the pros and cons of doing this before I dig my heels in completely.
I think my biggest fear is getting hurt/injured or killed. All the heights and huge logs and power tools make me extremely nervous and all I can see is something going terribly wrong and regretting trying to go it alone.

I'm hoping everyone will tell me that I'm just being neurotic and that it's perfectly safe and nobody has ever been seriously injured building one of these homes. Right??

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

[StressMan79]

are you within cell reception? That is a big mitigating factor there. I have a neuro-degenerative disease, and it affects my balance/coordination/speech. Progressively so. I have fallen face first onto generators, etc. I try not to work alone nor at high places. I can still use a small electric CS, but my Stihl 052 super is a bit much for me to handle anymore.

In short, know your limitations, never work tired or take stupid risks. You can do it, it will take longer than you thought and cost more (still tons less than a 30 year mortgage).

-Peter

[loghousenut]

I'm a 30 y/o female and have begun to get the log home fever with my husband. We are super excited about the idea, but I'm also a little intimidated by the tasks that lie ahead. We're no strangers to home construction or tree cutting, but this is even a huge project for us. We have a hillside picked out for our home on our 70 acres, but our current house is for sale and if it sells, we need to get in a new place pronto. I'm not sure how long this project would take the two of us. My husband says that the possibility of selling our house is great motivation to get this project started. We were contemplating attending the class this January, but I'd like to maybe get some advice on the pros and cons of doing this before I dig my heels in completely.
I think my biggest fear is getting hurt/injured or killed. All the heights and huge logs and power tools make me extremely nervous and all I can see is something going terribly wrong and regretting trying to go it alone.

I'm hoping everyone will tell me that I'm just being neurotic and that it's perfectly safe and nobody has ever been seriously injured building one of these homes. Right??

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

You guys are THIRTY!!! It's time to live your lives and don't look back. You shouldn't be worried about living forever for another 20 years or so.

Seriously... Of course you could get hurt (or worse) building your log home with your own hands. You're no stranger to construction or tree cutting. You know what it's all about. It's work and it's plenty dangerous.

You really want to do it and you really want us to say it's OK don't you? It's OK. I almost killed my Son working on a log building once and yet his Mother let him and I work together on the home we're halfway through building right now. You'll be fine.

Take the class... Both of you... As soon as you can. You have such a head start compared to most of us boneheaded nimrods. You're young. You're in love. You have 70 acres with a perfect hillside spot for a log home. It'd be a shame to spoil it with a mortgage and a kit house that was built by some no-name "contractor". Build your dream.




Remember... Safety FIRST

[blane]

Nothing is perfectly safe and there will always be risks even in crossing the street. There have been injuries while building....broken legs, cracked ribs, stitches on and on. I am sure I have given myself many opportunities to hurt myself. I once had a lifting strap pop lose from a log that was 15' over my head after I just walked under it (that ended our day). However, if we allow our fears to keep us from following our dreams we might as well live in a bubble for the rest of our lives. I have never heard of anyone being killed from building but I can tell you it could happen. You will learn from the class how too take precautions to avoid injuries but not everyone follows them "including myself" at all times.

As LHN said you will be ok. Don not let fear keep you from following your dreams. Just don't do anything stupid like this.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KltlhNj0Vy...0/IMG_1390.JPG

I'm a 30 y/o female and have begun to get the log home fever with my husband. We are super excited about the idea, but I'm also a little intimidated by the tasks that lie ahead. We're no strangers to home construction or tree cutting, but this is even a huge project for us. We have a hillside picked out for our home on our 70 acres, but our current house is for sale and if it sells, we need to get in a new place pronto. I'm not sure how long this project would take the two of us. My husband says that the possibility of selling our house is great motivation to get this project started. We were contemplating attending the class this January, but I'd like to maybe get some advice on the pros and cons of doing this before I dig my heels in completely.
I think my biggest fear is getting hurt/injured or killed. All the heights and huge logs and power tools make me extremely nervous and all I can see is something going terribly wrong and regretting trying to go it alone.

I'm hoping everyone will tell me that I'm just being neurotic and that it's perfectly safe and nobody has ever been seriously injured building one of these homes. Right??

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

[marshall]

Thank you guys for the advice. There are definitely some very appealing aspects to building my own home and from the photos that have been posted by members, you guys have done an awesome job on your own. I know a project like this can take years to complete. I know one of my biggest problems is going to be that I will be chomping at the bit to get moved in.
Where is the best kind of place to buy logs? I've got plenty of lumber on my property, but I don't think any of it is great for log homes.

Thanks!

[rocklock]

Marshall;
I have been injured twice during my build. None of it has anything to do with logs, trees, chain saws, table saws or anything sharp. Both times I was carrying too much stuff and didn't see where I was going. The last time was about 5 weeks ago, when I was carrying a door down stairs to cut off the bottom so the new floor and the door would work...
After you go to class, they will cover getting logs, but after you com back you will be on the member side and there are many references that will aid in your search.
Also, it will help if you fill out your profile so we can help...

One thing you may do is to look at my first post. It on the first page of introduce your self... I did not even know how to clear land, cut down a tree... This forum and the classes have been my guide in building... In fact I still have questions that need to be answered...
Look at my video... felling big trees is just plane fun...

[Jane Doe]

Up at 4am to look at a property 3 hours away. 13 acres and densely wooded. Price is roughly $750 per acre. Won't take action until after the class but I find it incredibly ironic that the only other aspect of my life that gets me up this early is hiking. What's even more wonderful about this property is the location - it's in between two of the mountain ranges that I like to climb.

Mornin' all and happy after Christmas!