Member's Side - Enough Knowledge and Experience?

[John W]

My question is, is there enough knowledge on the member's side to carry you through?

Obviously, you take the course. Let's say you buy the LHBA plans (good reviews from what I read in the forum). Sounds like you learn in the class what will get you under a roof with a shell. I can grasp that will get me through that part. Carpentry I'm okay with, everything I don't know, and there's a lot, I can learn or figure out without tragic mistakes. I can follow a plan.

What I don't get is where you get the knowledge for plumbing and electricity. I'm neither of those guys. My biggest journey into the plumbing world has been taking up a couple toilets to tile our bathrooms and putting them back in. I'm a woodworker, definitely not an electrician. I can physically do what's required to wire a house, but to know which type of wire, which breaker, etc, is crazy out of reach for me.

I think my best solution would be to only buy land where my immediate neighbors are a plumber and electrician. My land search might take a while. ;)

[JeffandSara]

Hi, John--

Lots of folks who are building a year-round home (not a getaway cabin) hire out one or more parts of the building process, either because they don't feel they have the knowledge, they want to save time, and/or they don't enjoy that part of the process.

I like your land-buying criteria plan, though. Hope that works out! ;)

Sara :)

[blane]

John,
I am like you as far as no experience in plumbing and electrical and actually 0 carpentry skills to boot. I have found some good resources in how to books found at Lows and Amazon to help me in those areas. You Tube videos have also been very helpful. Breakers and wiring codes should be understood by the folks where you purchase the materials and they have always pointed me in the right direction. Actually my BI has been extremely helpful and I believe he wants us to be successful in our build to the point that every trip he makes he throws in some tutorial guidance.

If I can do it, anyone can

[loghousenut]

John,

As we speak there are a ton of folks building their LHBA home who could not have built their own home without the class and the members side of the forum. Relatively few of us had ever built before and most have never worked in the construction trades.

Were it not for LHBA, I think the only log home solution for most of us would have been hiring a kit house company to build our log home. That means we would have payed someone else to wire and plumb our kit house.

In my case, I think I would have tried to figure out the plumbing and electrical on my own if I were not scared of failing an inspection. If it were not for those building inspectors I would have used the internet, my local plumbing/electrical store, and the members side of the forum and it woulda worked out fine.

Instead, I asked around and found a skinny young plumber, who was allowed by his boss to work on the side, and I hired him to do all the plumbing under the main floor. I paid him about twice what I make per hour and it was a total bargain. He got about $1000 out of me and did a bunch of things right that I might have done differently. He bounced and slithered between floor joists like a ferret and the job was done in no time.

He recommended an electrician who came out and charged me $300 to map out our circuits, dictate wire size, and get us lined out on how to how to make it all look right and act right. I hired these guys knowing that I would pay them what they are worth and I feel like I got a bargain. They will both be back to help finish things up.

When the inspector came out there was nothing to change and he said it looked like a pro did it.

I also hired a crew to put the steel on our roof. We could have done it but I am scared poopless of heights and the roofer wanted my '63 Olds convertible. I hired help with the excavation and foundation but wish I would have bought an old cat and done it the slow, fun way.

We all have skills and lacks of skills. Some of us do it all and some of us hire a lot out. Some of pay for it as we go and some of us borrow money.

I have talked to skoodles of successful LHBA students after their build. There are a folks who are glad they are done, some who would never do it again, and there are folks who loved every minute of it and keep building. Virtually all of them are proud of a home that they could not have built without LHBA. Never have I met someone who built their own LHBA home, who wished they'd built a kit home. Folks who are too stupid to change the oil in their truck (honesty can be painful) build LHBA homes that make your eyes pop out when you walk in the front door.

John, if you do an image search, or Google "log home problem", you can spend hours reading through the horror stories that are rife in the log home industry. There are log home sites on the net that exist solely to connect contractors with log home owners who have $30,000 problems. I have never see a LHBA home problem there.

None of it has anything to do with LHBA homes. Our problems are on the members side, and they are problems in the form of questions that have answers. Thirty times per day there are posts about questions, answers, invitations, success stories, offers to sell tools, advice about buying tools, heck it doesn't stop. We share it all and it has been fun being one of the sllllooooooowwww builders who gets to watch people go from "I don't know if this LHBA thing can work for me because..." to "I signed up for the April class and I'm going to wet myself" to "Class was great, thanks Ellsworth and Steve. Now we are rethinking the rest of our lives" to "We got our CO (certificate of occupancy) today!!!"

It all happens at your pace and, yes, there are answers to every problem on the LHBA side. Trust me, no matter how special you are, your log home building questions are probably routine on the members side.



As for your land buying criteria, I think you want the electrician to own a backhoe and the plumber to own a cat (dozer). Now go change the oil in your truck!

[rreidnauer]

Ex-electrician here, so I'll be able to assist when you get there. I too, still need to learn plumbing. Neither is rocket science. Code books are a good place to start.

[project]

i just wish I could take the class to get into the members side. With my work schedule it could be several years before it works out and Im not going to wait that long. I have helped on 2 scratch built log homes so Im not a total newbe but am trying to learn all I can here before I get started.. Once I get moved to Arkansas where Im going to be building I would be more than happy to help anyone thats building in the area with electrical or plumbing work..

[loghousenut]

Hey Project,

It's a weekend. Heck, even Noah musta had time for a quick weekend in Vegas! If you're that busy at work you could probably afford to pay Ellsworth and Steve to fly out to your place and tutor you personally.

[John W]

Thanks all for the input.

I think I'd take a road similar to LHN and get input on layout, exactly what I need to put where. And help with labor anywhere the mistake would involve ripping up floors, concrete/foundation. There are just some things you HAVE to get right the first time.

[rckclmbr428]

I build these homes for a living, and I'm on the members side, heres a little teaser of the current project I have going on
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk122/rckclmbr428/IMAG1414.jpg

[donjuedo]

That's a "Log Mahal"! E-Normous!


Peter

[donjuedo]

John,

When I was about 24, a co-worker at my new job told me he was retiring, to build homes. I liked (and still like) that idea, but said, "Aren't you afraid you might mess something up?" His answer really changed my perspective (I'm 50 now, and still remember). He said if you mess something up, you just fix it.

That's obvious on the surface, but made me realize that if I really look at each problem, look at how it's been solved before, and ask questions at Home Depot or Lowes, the SIZE of mistake I might make is only just so big. Re-work might be annoying, but not catastrophic. I'm fearless now, except for concrete, since second chances are hard to come by with that. But I may still tackle that, too.


Peter

[mario kadu]

My question is, is there enough knowledge on the member's side to carry you through?

Obviously, you take the course. Let's say you buy the LHBA plans (good reviews from what I read in the forum). Sounds like you learn in the class what will get you under a roof with a shell. I can grasp that will get me through that part. Carpentry I'm okay with, everything I don't know, and there's a lot, I can learn or figure out without tragic mistakes. I can follow a plan.

What I don't get is where you get the knowledge for plumbing and electricity. I'm neither of those guys. My biggest journey into the plumbing world has been taking up a couple toilets to tile our bathrooms and putting them back in. I'm a woodworker, definitely not an electrician. I can physically do what's required to wire a house, but to know which type of wire, which breaker, etc, is crazy out of reach for me.

I think my best solution would be to only buy land where my immediate neighbors are a plumber and electrician. My land search might take a while. ;)

John,

I'd lie and say we planned it this way....but...better to be (dumb) lucky than good... We only have 3 neighbors near our land, one is an electrical contractor with 12 kids... LOL... He is ALWAYS looking to make a little extra $$$ the other is the very bored retired President of the Stone Mason's Union. If I buy the materials, he will build it just to keep busy or get some of his buddy's to help out for beer.

[loghousenut]

Let me guess... The third neighbor has a condo in Tahiti and a ton of air miles and no use for either of them.

[panderson03]

Mario, you LUCKY dog!! how'd you manage that one??

[mario kadu]

801802803well....woof woof..... the good luck continues.............. my third neighbor is a heavy equipment operator - just this week we finally met our other nearby neighbor, Dennis, who 'just happens' to be a heavy equipment operator and he owns several back hoes and a couple of bull dozers. Our property is on a private road, Dennis and our nearest neighbor, Greg both live on the same road but past our property. They had installed a gate on the road just before you enter our property. They put in the gate a few years ago and wanted to set it up with power and remote controls but there was no near-by electricity. I've made a deal with these guys that later this summer, once my power panel and electrical meter are installed, they can connect to it and get power to the gate, and I'll cover the electric bill. In return, Dennis will do the grade and trench work on our construction site and Gregg, who 'just happens' to be the retired President of the Stone Mason's Union will provide free labor on any stone and brick work we will need. Greg built the stone pillars that hold up the gate...
... now if I can just find that guy with the condo in tahiti...

[Zetmandu]

mario, now that is just some tremendous luck there. Not that you could pick your neighbors, but you also made some of that happen by being generous with deciding to pay for the electricity for the gate, sometimes one helps make their own good fortunes by just being good people

[project]

Hey Project,

It's a weekend. Heck, even Noah musta had time for a quick weekend in Vegas! If you're that busy at work you could probably afford to pay Ellsworth and Steve to fly out to your place and tutor you personally.
my work schedule is 15 days on and 6 days off and the 6 days off never seem to be on the right days.. Its frustrating to say the least!!!!

[loghousenut]

Drilling rig?

[Deedee]

Let me guess... The third neighbor has a condo in Tahiti and a ton of air miles and no use for either of them.

HAHHAHA LHN you crack me up all the way across the pacific!!

[John W]

Mario, I'd like to hire you for my property search! Again, thanks all for the replies. I think $1,000 for all the under floor plumbing is a steal. Like Rod said, it's not rocket science, but it is knowledge. I just need somebody to tell me what to put where, and I think I can do most.
Peter, I'm fearless now when it comes to home improvements, but anything I've worked on can be corrected. Everything I've tried has turned out okay, just a matter of jumping in and doing it, learning as I go. Same will apply to the BIG project of building my own home.

[project]

i work for a large drilling company but not as a rig hand. I went from being an engineer for one company to a mechanic for another for the benefits and money but the schedule sucks. Ive got about 3 years to go and Im gonig to retire all together.

[hammerhead 67]

Take an ad out in your local cheapie bargain paper.
"Looking for retired plumber and electrician to advise and teach on a project home. Will pay going rate"

Get them to come help with layout and instructions. Then YOU go to work. Have them come back to inspect/correct before you call the county codes inspector. Win Win. They get some $$, teach someone who is really interested in learning, and get to watch YOU do all the hard work. You get expert advisers, knowledge, and save money.

[project]

That's a good idea!