cost of building?

[Austin_Family]

Hello - My husband and I are planning on taking the class soon. I can't wait to start build our new log cabin in the woods. We have our eyes on on a nice 12 acre piece of land out side of Clallum Bay.

My brother does foundations so we plan on having him do that and my uncle is a roofer so he'll do that for us, but I need to know how much It's all going to cost before we get started. Can any one give me any idea of how much equiptment and building materials are going to cost me? We don't need much. We just want a modest little 2 bedroom log cabin, possibly with a loft?

If any one can help that'd be great
-Shannon

[ChainsawGrandpa]

Here are two links:

http://www.loghomebuilders.org/construction-cost

http://www.loghomebuilders.org/9-week-log-home-0

Bottom line; It costs exactly as much as you want to spend.

-Rick

[rocklock]

I believe you can build a 30 by 30 with a loft for 60-70k if you do all the stuff your self... and you don't go crazy, use the tips that are in the class and take your time. Logs will cost about 12k more or less. My roof cost 12k. I have a walk out basement - with footing about 12K. The more you want the more it will cost...

[GT.]

The most easy and most frustrating ansver is "it depends "...



Usualy if people ask about cost of building, they want to know what to expect if they try to build log home.
They want to compare apples to apples....
They expect that you tell them about your own experience, that you show them some pictures and tell "this is house I build" and this is my cost breakdown of the project.



For example:



"this is my house that I build in year 19...
Here are the pictures, size,? etc.



http://loghomebuilders.org/files/images/log-cabin-driveway--ms1_0.thumbnail.jpg



For more pictures click here:?


http://loghomebuilders.org/image-galleries/student-log-homes/mike-simmons

And here is my cost breakdown of the project.



1. Land - .....
2.Site preparation
3. Permits - ........
4. Logs - .............
5. Demensional lumber.......
6. Foundation
7. Equipment, buy or rent
........and so on.............



#. Total cost of building is .......................

I think this is what people want to know when they ask us about cost of building.


Unfortunatelly if your log home was build 10? , 15? or 20 years ago,your cost breadown is intresting to know, but not helpful anymore because? since then prices for everything skyrocketed.

In last few month house and land prices are dropping like crazy, and materials and tools more often are on sale...



For example, few days ago? I bought at home depot automatic screwdriver senco ds202 14v for $79 that was one week ago for $149.99? They sell it cheap because no one going to buy them.? This situation gives us some leverage to negotiate better price for land, tools and materials.



I think if people who built log homes recently or are in building process today, give us such information, it will be most helpful priceless and honest answer possible.?



Thanks

[Loghomeguy]

It is a good question! "how much does a log home cost?" .

The answer is, that depends. There are so many variables it is impossible to just toss out a per square foot number.

First, property - some people are able to trade building a log home for property, property is much more expensive in Manhattan than it is in Wyoming.

Second, the local government: in the city of Seattle "mitigation building fees" for a single residence exceed $60,000.00 while in Bonner County, Idaho they are around $75.00 with no inspections.

Third , log acquisition, I fine the broader the range of states you are willing to purchase from, the better. I traded clearing a lot for my first set of logs and floated them across a lake behind a rowboat,,,importing big logs from where they are to a venue where the logs are small is one idea, the other idea is that states like Oregon and Montana have no sales tax, so suppose you purchase everything from one of those states,,,, 10% savings is nice,,,,,,,

If you start early, and go to garage sales and buy unwanted unused sinks, toilets, windows, etc vs paying 10x as much retail,,,,,,,,

If you buy a plot of land with usable logs,,,,,,with nothing down and -2% interest for 30 years, so I am sure you get the drift.

Innovation and time vs cash.

It was a great answer Rick tendered, "it costs as much (or as little) as you want it to cost,,,,,,

so the answer is , it depends,

Oh by the way the BEST question ever asked in class,

"How much does a log house weigh?" :) and "by the weigh" the logs in my last home weighed 286,000 pounds.

the answer, "it depends"

Mikey class of 1987


oh and um ,,,,,

"this is my house that I build in year 1991" I sold it for $299,000.00 my net profit on the home was $160,000.00

$299,000.00 minus $160,000.00 i equals a cost of $139,000.00 that included the land,,,,,, I think I could do better though and I know I could do a lot worse ,,,,


For more pictures click here: http://loghomebuilders.org/image-galleries/student-log-homes/mike-simmons


And here is my cost breakdown of the project.

1. Land - ..... $44,000.00
2.Site preparation ---cannot remember
3. Permits - ........did not get them but they fined me $1,000 and doubled my permit fee in the end,,,
4. Logs - .............barter only cost time
5. Demensional lumber-- cannot remember but it was a great part of the cost
6.Windows and skylights,,, lot of money but cannot remember
7. Equipment, buy or rent cannot remember
........and so on.............

this was easy but probably not so helpful as I did not really write it myself,,,,,, someone wrote it for me,,,,

It depends , is really the right answer, but the last home I built cost $300,000 but assesed at over five times that,,,

[GT.]

Thanks for update Michael !

[2 cents]

I agree with what GT says, when you are just starting out you have no idea of what any costs might be, so any examples anyone throws out there are helpful.
I've been asking lots of questions here lately so it's my turn to provide some info for someone, though I have limited experience just yet.
my husband & I are building a 14'x14' log "shed" as practice for our house. We chose this size because in our county you can build a structure under 200 sq ft. without having to get a permit. (14x14 is 196 sq ft.)
Anyway, here are our costs so far for the shed:
Logs... $2000
Plywood & materials for foundation pier blocks..$200
Concrete for pier blocks (7 yds @$125/yd).. $875.00
Rebar (1/2 ton #4 rebar found on craigslist).. $300
extra logs to mill into 12' long 4x10" rafters..$360
6" triple blocks (ebay).... 12@ $50 each... $600
(these will be used for the house as well, need 8 but have 4 extra for backup.)

We have yet to look for tongue & groove for the roof & floor, insulation, metal for the roof, and joists for the floor.. but we may be able to mill joists from extra wood left over from the shed logs. We had a lot of extra wood from the shed logs but it is not very big, most of the leftover pieces will be firewood.
I expect to find the remaining materials fairly cheap on craigslist. We may just tar paper the roof since the dry season is coming up, then we can wait for the best deal on some metal roofing (corrugated or other).

We should be finishing it soon and moving on to building the actual house. We are building the 40x40 size house, and have started taking delivery on the house logs. We negotiated what we feel is a very good price for a bunch of 44' long wall logs, a 54' long ridge pole, and other structural logs... should end up being about $13,000 for the house logs. The house logs will be better quality and bigger diameter than the shed logs.
Our building permit, by the way, is costing us about $5800.. we are building in western Washington state and permits can be expensive here. Our place is in a remote area but it is still within a county that is fairly picky and wants to approve of all the little details on our plans, etc.
I think that the permit cost is a good barometer of how picky the county might be with looking at your plans... just something to keep in mind (other than actual land cost and other factors) when searching for a location.

Hope that helps!
2 cents

[ChainsawGrandpa]

My guest house will be about $17,000 at about 810'.
Super insulated, radiant heat oak flooring, coffered
ceilings, glass block walls....you get the idea. Close to
being finished, and the $$ look to be on schedule.

I could have probably made it a lot simpler for $5,000.
What, how, when, and how elaborate play a big part.

-Rick

[Austin_Family]

Thanks every one for answering my questions, you were very helpfull. Thank you GT. for pointing out that the "it depends" answer can be very frustrated for some one just starting out. Even an example that might be bigger or smaller then what I willcome up with gives me some idea of what to expect.
Thanks again :)
-Shannon

[ets80]

a modest 1000 sq ft cabin with steel roofing should run you about $75.00 per sq ft

[edkemper]

a modest 1000 sq ft cabin with steel roofing should run you about $75.00 per sq ft

How does that explain a larger log home by one of our members that cost $28,000 with a $12,000 fireplace?

The "it depends" is still probably a more accurate answer.

[LogLover]

The "it depends" is still probably a more accurate answer.

The "it depends" applies to all things, good and bad, in life I'd say. ;)

Couple of energetic chaps I know just built a cabin using smallcabin plans as guide.
20' x 28'.
By begging, borrowing, scrounging and CL and other re0use centers they have it done for under $9100.
Doesn't include land costs or the well if they put one in.
$9100. !!!
I have dropped that in truck and car repairs for the kids in the past 18 months. :(

[LogHomeFeverDan]

I've heard it from a couple of folks on here, but they are so accurate. Given time..........you can build a home with a WHOLE lot less money.

[lbrowne]

I've heard it from a couple of folks on here, but they are so accurate. Given time..........you can build a home with a WHOLE lot less money.

Very true. Location also plays a role. We live over an hour from our property and are in a very low populated area with no cities nearby. I've scored some good deals, but they are hard to find and I have to calculate distance/fuel and wear and tear on the vehicles into the equation.

[AkChas]

My guest house will be about $17,000 at about 810'.
Super insulated, radiant heat oak flooring, coffered
ceilings, glass block walls....you get the idea.....

-Rick

I'd love to see pictures of the guest cabin, Rick. Especially the glass-block walls!