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[Builderguy]

Okay, I had been researching log home building. I came across this site and it changed everything I had thought. I was finding log home building to be very expensive. It still seems like a major undertaking. What are the downsides to building from scratch? Harvesting your own logs etc seems pretty overwhelming to a newcomer. How many of you have really built your own homes from scratch? Give me some input.

[drmnoflogs]

We were in the exact same boat. Researching log homes and finding that in order to afford one, we had to downsize our dreams drastically, or wait until our kids leave home and get into something very small we could call ours. I just took the class in September, and yes, it is a major undertaking, but it will be SO worth it. The biggest challenge we see is the work and time commitment. It will take us a few years to get our house going, and a few more years getting it "finished", but the first month we are in our home and don't have to pay a mortgage will be the greatest month of our lives. I can't give you any advice from experience b/c we haven't started yet, but I can tell you that taking the class was the greatest investment of my life. You will hear that over and over on this site. You will also hear from others who have built or are currently building their homes. If you are serious about living in a log home and living your dream, you should take the class! It looks like there are still a few seats left for the February class. :)

[rocklock]

1. Log home building is as expensive as you want to make it. Log Homes are not inherently expensive. The site teaches a way of building that has many advantages that enables someone that is low skilled (me) to complete an amazing structure. The only thing that is really required is a bunch of diligence and hard work.
2. It is a major undertaking... and you need to get your family on board and a bunch of other stuff...
3. The down sides are many. You will be learning about lots of stuff, get use to it. You will unnecessarily bust your ass on weird stuff like stacking logs. You will have a spud in your hands and hate it. You will spend all your money on stuff like tools, tile and toilets... There will be major hurdles to leap over. You will find out about water, soil and lots of dumb stuff that you have never thought of before. You will bore your friends and relatives with stories about what you found on Craig's list.
4. Don't harvest your own logs. I had some one else do it. I also had some one else do my roof...
5. Just like any major undertaking, not everyone builds. I did. I guess the most meaningful thing that I can say is "you get out what you put in" times two or three... At 67, I am thinking about building another in a couple of years... Check out MY Log Home on my photo bucket site...
Dave--> The unaimed arrow never misses....--> If can, can. If no can, no can... Hawaiian Pidginhttp://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s274/flintlock1/

[loghousenut]

Builderguy, Don't fret it too much. You found the site and it changed everything you thought about log homes. That tells the entire story. You are already hooked and the process will change your life as you let it play itself out.
I don't know what percentage of folks who take the class go on to build their own home but i do know that the class effects everyone who takes it. At any one time there are dozens of us with a house at various stages of completion. There are probably thousands of LHBA students who have built over the years.
The downsides of building from scratch are the same as the downside to rebuilding the transmission in the Suburban on your own. It can be dirty, heavy, nasty work and there's the off chance that you'll break a nail or two. With the proper tools and the right guidance from other folks who have done it, most of us who start the project will finish with admirable results. Just like rebuilding the transmission, building your own log home can be made safer and less complicated by hiring out some of the work.
Most of us hire out the logging but I found it to be one of the more enjoyable parts of the job, though it probably woulda been cheaper for me to hire it done. Many of us hire out some of the roofing, plumbing, and electrical also but there are many LHBA members who do it all ourselves. Your user name would suggest that you have dabbled in the building trades. Your previous building experience probably won't hurt you too much as you build your log home.
As you build you will either commute to the site or live onsite. It'll be a major part of your life and it won't be over in the near future. When complete you will own whatever you built without a mortgage unless you got in a hurry and decided not to follow the advice of your fellow LHBA members. You'll be proud of it and it'll be the coolest house in the neighborhood. There is something special and tangible about a log house that was built by the owner. Yours will be as personally yours, as mine will be personally mine.
It will be the strongest house you have ever lived in. Your loved ones will feel safe and secure in the house they build with you. While I'm on the subject of loved ones... Make sure that Mrs. Builderguy (Buildergal?) is completely on board with this hairbrained scheme you have to house her in her own log home. She should attend class with you just as Mrs. loghousenut did with me. Your plans and activities will seem tedious and unproductive to her if she hasn't been through the process with you.
You can succeed and you can survive the process. We just got the roof on ours and I am ready to start logging for the next house (but I hope the wife talks me out of it). It'll be a lifechanging experience just like having kids, cancer, winning the lottery, getting fired, and all those other worthwhile endeavors that may be behind or ahead of you.
PS. I have no monetary interest in LHBA or the class. I write this only because I remember being in your shoes.

The family in the mancage are recent class attendees and will start on their log home next year.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/loghousenut/Wow/Emersonelks11-10006.jpg

[rckclmbr428]

For most people on the forums it comes down to one thing, how hard is it to build your own house vs how hard is it to pay off a 30yr mortgage? most everyone here chooses to build vs being a slave to the debt and interest. Log homes can be as expensive (go price some kit homes at over $200 a square foot) or as cheap (google dick proeneke) as you want. some of our budgets are more then others, some build cheap and upgrade as they get cash. either way, welcome to the forums, poke around, its do able.
<a href="http://www.WileyLogHomes.com">www.WileyLogHomes.com</a>

[Basil]

well, I didn't log my own trees (although i did mark them for the loggers) and i didn't do my own plumbing or electric, and i didn't shingle my roof. So you see, if there's a job you don't think you can do, hire it out! If you think you can work through it, you do it yourself and save some money. I'm glad I did it now, but it was hard. Long hours. Constantly tired. Lots of stress. But, three and a half years after i started, i was moving in. Without the bank. So yes, you can do it. It takes commitment and resolve. You have to learn to ignore all the people that will tell you you can't do it. I envited all the people that said i couldn't do it to the housewarming party.

[Shark]

These guys already answered it better than I could, but just wanted to add, I'm another member that took the class, &amp; we are living in the house we built...mortgage free as well.

[ramblinman502]

im building two from scratch right now ( but theyre not for me ) we harvested our own trees cuz the "logger" became overwhelmed ( was one of the most fun parts of this build ) took down an old stone house so we could use its stone for the stem walls and fireplaces. took down a couple old barns so we could build the cabinets and built ins out of them. set up two of our own mills to mill siding n decking. harvested and milled some cedar so we could make some picnic tables to eat off of. ( we did also buy some wood ) took down 3 170 year old log cabins and used some of that wood in this project too. well be making some furniture. fabricating our own counter tops.
we did ALL of this in the last year. we should be sewing both of these up by the end of march. it has been more fun than i ever thought i could have. and i get to do it all over again starting in march AFTER i take a weekend off when these are done : )
one of my favorite quotes... "Leap, and the net will appear"
Taking the class changed my life. and the lives of a couple of the guys that work for me. no small feat. best of luck whatever road you take!

[Builderguy]

Thanks for all the great comments. I am a builder/realtor, and a dave ramsey elp. All this cost cutting and watching every $$ is right up my alley. What type of foundation did you do? I have mostly done monolithic slabs for homes, but blocked when needed and poured a slab on top. Are yall doing conventional? I Have heard alot about piers, and that looks like it would REALLY cut down on the amount of concrete needed, which is a major cost in any building endeavor. I hope to take the class in Feb.

[Yuhjn]

Moving to the other thread