Im new and need advice ...

[Tngal]

Me and my husband have started talking about building a log home - as we have 4 children .. And we are wanting a more farm type setting for our boys to romp on as well as our horses . I have looked at kits and just wasnt that impressed and i have been reading up and the BnP seems to be the way i want to go .. but not my hubby . Hes wanting a turn key type home . While im thinking it would be cheaper for us to build our own home the way "I" want it of course . If yuns could point me in any good directions , and posts, blogs, pictures, ect .. i would be very grateful as after seeing some of the homes on this site im thinking that this is something that we could do as a family and then have a finished product that we could live in and be happy . I also have questions about logs and all those goodies which im hoping yuns will be able to help me out with in the long run .. as we are still looking for that "perfect land" while we get our house ready to sell . Thank you in advance for any and all help !

[blane]

This experience has been awesome for my entire family. It has helped me to instill work ethics in my children (5) that a turn key home would never have done. We have the same aspirations for our children to have a more simple life and this has been the beginning for us. Feel free to check out our blog. You can look at my sons blog as well, he keeps his updated more than the official blog.

[loghousenut]

You'll have a hard time building your own log home with your own hands unless it is your husbands idea. I'd say the same thing if it was the wife who were not on board. If this is not the dream of both of you it'll be the biggest mess you'll ever get divorced over.

I don't know the magic word that will grab his attention and suddenly light the fire. I and my Wife have known that this is how we wanted to do it since we went to class together. We have loved every minute of the process and it has been a great experience for our Son who is about to turn 20. I wish I woulda done it earlier when he was younger... No I don't... I'm tickled to be doing it right now. When we are done we will own it free and clear and it'll be the coolest home in the neighborhood.

The neighbors and folks at work think I'm crazy. They come out and see the place or look at photos and they say "Wow that's cool but I'd never want to do it". They make jokes about how I'm too old. They rave about how long it's taken to get to this point. They wonder why we're not done yet. They offer to buy it from us if I'll only get off my dead butt and get 'er done. They don't understand, and I don't understand why they don't understand. Your husband doesn't understand, and I don't understand why he doesn't understand. I know that if the idea does'nt grab him by the throat and shake him, it won't work. I think it is some kind of a mental disorder that makes me/us feel this way. I'm glad that I am infected.

For some strange reason I don't feel like it has taken too long or too much labor to get our home to this point in the build. We are doing if fairly slowly and yet it seems like only yesterday that we started clearing land. I'm in no hurry to get it done and that bugs a lot of people (including my Wife) but it'll get done right on time and she's sticking like glue right beside me. It has taken a lot of sweat and a bunch of money to get to this point and yet it hasn't seemed like work and we have been able to afford it without really changing our lifestyle much.

It has made my Son into a man and helped to prepare him to tackle the world in his own way. He has done things that most of the kids at College just haven't had a chance to do. He has failed a time or two and made the kind of mistakes that build character. He has also piloted the machine that hoisted a 13,000 lb ridgepole to its permanent perch at the peak of our roof. He has learned a lot about trust and overcoming doubt and self-doubt. He has come up with some great ideas that solved a problem or two. He could build his own home at any time and I sincerely hope it happens at least once for him and his family.

Our Son didn't go to class (too young at the time) but has learned by doing. He knows why the LHBA method works and why the LHBA method makes a home that will last for generations. Since he was a small Boy he has seen and touched log homes and kit homes that have log rot and are a structural nightmare after standing only 10 or 20 years. He's seen log homes with settling issues that have sticking doors and cracked windows. He understands, as we build our home this way, why those problems are no concern to us or his Grandkids. This Home will be standing, and it will be strong and comfortable, long after the builders are dead and buried. Our Son has no experience with a 30 year mortgage and has never gone through a repossession or foreclosure.

Your marriage is a whole lot more important than any home is. If your Husband catches enough of the bug to get excited about it you should BOTH go to class. Once he is bitten you should hold on with both hands 'cause it's gonna be a wild ride. If he is like my friends at work and wanders away from the LHBA web site to go back to solitaire, then it won't work. Either way, it is probably a great time to purchase land.

Good luck to the both of you.

[rocklock]

Tngal;
I'm new and need advice...
I agree with the housenut...
I built because my wife and I are in complete agreement even though she doesn't know beans about construction...

Buying a turn key log home is a bad idea. Especially if it means a mortgage. Good turnkey log homes are very expensive if they are done right...

LHBA is an educational organization. We are here to provide ideas, encouragement and some experiences. Building a log home is a journey. You and hour husband need to supply the motivation...

Visit the web site and do the due diligence... http://www.loghomebuilders.org/

You might also look at my photobucket site. I have a video the explains part of the process...

Good luck

[edkemper]

On the other hand;

Think about it this way. Most of us here will spend about 2 years actually building our homes. Give a little extra, call it 3 years. The way I look at it is we'll own our homes free and clear after about 36 months of labor.

Your husband will be slaving away at his job to pay for his turn-key home for another 324 payments. A shocking way to look at it but it's real. Just think of what he could do for his family if he had those 324 payments in his pocket. Remember the cost of college is rising faster than the cost of living.

Read everything on the site and share the most enticing stuff with him you find. It'd be hard to spend much time here without finding others "just like us." If he warms up to the idea, this may be for you. If he doesn't, you can still have a rich and wonderful life, as long as you hang on to your family.

At the very least, you'll learn about the value of Costco Muffins.

Welcome aboard.

[Tngal]

Thank you all so much for being so kind and well truthful ! We have built sheds for the horses and he had no problem with doing that with me ,However, Im thinking hes just worried because this will be something we invest a lot of time into and will one day live in it for the rest of our lives !! I have shown him this site and so far hes pretty amazed that just normal every day people =) have been able to make some of these amazing homes . So , I'm hoping this site and pictures and info will help push him in this direction of building ! I would like to ask if there's any blogs related to indoor plumbing / electric and heating and air as that is his main concern as he has been looking .. if i can get him sold on those .. Im pretty sure i can help him see the light that this would be the best way for us to build !!

[Blondie]

Hi,

We are all just normal people. We do not have, wait, very few of us have any background in these specialties. But what most folks have done is hire the electrician(etc) to instruct us and oversee the wk we do on our houses. I have helped my Dad pull wire in their house. I watched as he hooked it up.
Most of it was simple logic, for the rest I will need a licensed electrician to guide me or pay him to do it for me. Yes, I am a single woman and I will do it with help.

Blondie

[rreidnauer]

Utilities? There is very little one can't do with a little bit of time researching what they wish to understand. Electrical, in my opinion, is ridiculously simple, from service entrance to light bulb. Anyone can learn that. (though, if three and four-way switches are used, it tends to confuse people )

Plumbing too, is quite basic. The trickiest part of that really, is assuring the plumbing is properly vented. I think this task can be handled by most with a little bit of reading.

HVAC might be the most difficult of the three. Here, quite a few things have to be sized correctly. (furnace BTUs, AC tonnage, trunk line dimensions with proper stepdowns, number and size of registers and ductwork for rooms) The good news is, you can get someone to do the design, and you could install it yourself.

Basically, utilities are no different a challenge than building the home itself. It's just a matter of gaining some knowledge so it doesn't appear as mysterious as it does to you now.

I do have a thread ongoing on the member's side of the forums detailing the construction of a full septic system installed by myself. I never done one before, and built it completely unassisted. It's not rocket science, I can assure you of that.

[blane]

I am getting close to plumbing and electrical on my build and I have 0 experience on those things. But I have friends who do, including my BI who said he would show me how to do it. So I am betting you guys have friends who have knowledge in those areas. Everyone I talk too about those things seem to echo what Rod says (ridiculously simple). The hardest part of the build will be the roof in my opinion. I will not have HVAC in my home but I will put in a wall mounted AC unit that should handle my needs. As for heat, I will have a propane monitor and wood. With 18" thick walls in moderately mild climates I think a well insulated log home will out preform a stick built home any day, so depending on what part of TN you are in I would think a simple system would do. The KISS method applies very well at LHBA.

[Timberwolf]

Thank you all so much for being so kind and well truthful ! We have built sheds for the horses and he had no problem with doing that with me ,However, Im thinking hes just worried because this will be something we invest a lot of time into and will one day live in it for the rest of our lives !! I have shown him this site and so far hes pretty amazed that just normal every day people =) have been able to make some of these amazing homes . So , I'm hoping this site and pictures and info will help push him in this direction of building ! I would like to ask if there's any blogs related to indoor plumbing / electric and heating and air as that is his main concern as he has been looking .. if i can get him sold on those .. Im pretty sure i can help him see the light that this would be the best way for us to build !!

While I may not be "normal" in the traditional sense, I can assure you it can be done. We broke ground 2 1/2 years ago, while my wife was pregnant at the time with our 3 child. I will be dried in in a week or 2. Not fast, to be assured, (but I also work full time, and spend time with my family as well) but you can do it, if you really want too. For those times where you are worried about being able to perform a certain task (electrical) rest assured, there are ways to get it done, and professionals who will do it for you, probably at a discount, just to add "the coolest house ever!" to their project wall, and I guarantee you, it will cost a whole bunch less than a "turn-key" house.

And if at any time you run into a wall, the members of this association will be there to lend a pile of knowledge and experience, and quite possibly, a hand.

Good luck on your decision(s).

Oh, and the Loghousenut is wise... very wise...