New to the Pubic side - General questions

[carolinacouple]

Hello everyone. Looking at attending the June class and building a log home myself. The wife is acually somewhat supportive (yea!). Her family has decent size farm here in eastern NC with a fair amount of woodland (20-30 acres). It's my hope to havest the logs needed from it. The species is of course Southern Yellow Pine. Just wandering will this species work well for a log home. Your feedback would be much appreciated.

[Shark]

Yep if they're big enough SYP should be just fine! Bring your wife to class too.

[carolinacouple]

Thanks Shark. After posting I saw the same question in a later post(duh). As a follow-up, Can you quantify big enough?

[Zetmandu]

Hi CarolinaCouple,

Looks like we are almost neighbors. I just attended the class in Feb and plan to get starting harvesting some trees off my own land in the next couple of weeks. I have just received my plans and need to make a few modifications to them and get them stamped by an engineer and will get started on the foundation next. Where are you located out east?

[carolinacouple]

Hello. Great to hear we are not alone out here on the east coast What size house are you building? Species of trees? Part-time building or full-time? Details, Details, Details. (Ha Ha)

[Zetmandu]

Hey,
I am doing the 30x30 with a few small modifications. Looks like right now I will have a mixture of woods, mostly pine but some oak in the mix too. Like the class will tell you, build with what you have and thats what I have on my land here. It will be part time building, but I live on the land now where I am building so that will make it easier to slip out and work a few hours here and there that I might not be able to if I lived a distance away

[carolinacouple]

Sounds alot like the situation we will have. Sorry, we live in Kinston/Greenville area. I wouldn't mind checking out your build when you get further along. Maybe chip in some labor to get some hands on. I'm looking at a 3-4 yr. window and need to go ahead a get in the June class if I'm to go for this. I assume your feeling confident after the class. How long have you been contemplating doing this?

[Zetmandu]

Well you arent that far away from me and once I get things rolling Im sure I will love any help I can get.

Yes, the class filled in a lot of the blanks and questions you still have after reading over things on this side. You wont be disappointed you took it.
I started thinking about a log home about a year ago, and probably like alot of the people here was looking at kits, but the more I read, the more I realized I didnt like them and all the possible problems. Then it was pretty much a no brainer when I realized I had the several thousands of dollars of lumber staring me in the face they were going to charge to bring my logs in and all it was going to take was some of my hard work and time reap the benefits

[carolinacouple]

Well, I now know what someone adrift on the ocean with no water to drink must feel like. Took a walk through the woods on the property I'm looking to build on and found very, very few trees that would be of the size I would need to build with. So sad.

[loghousenut]

Carolinians,

So what's the problem? It just means that the woods on your property will have 100 more good sized trees still standing 5 years from now. Logs aren't that hard to come by and they will be worth more than you have to pay to get them to your building site. Most of us are in the same boat (reference to the adrift on the ocean comment) that you two are and it's working out fine.

If you have a chunk of ground with trees of the size that you thought were house logs, you have a nice property to build a log house on. You won't spoil the property by not logging it... You'll make it better.

Now stop your whining, take the class, and get out there and find logs that will build your home and count your blessings. . Ha hahaahahaa!


PS... A little tip as you are looking at standing timber... If I can hug a tree and overlap my fingers, I consider that tree a prospective house log. If my fingers don't touch, it is a nice, large house log. If my Son and I hug the tree and my fingers touch his, we consider that tree a prospective ridgepole. By our own choice, none of the trees from this log home came from our property. It'll work out how ever you make it work out, and it'll be fine.



http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/loghousenut/Wow/Rooffinally042-1.jpg

[Scoutman]

It's looking great LHN!

[BillnChristi]

Bee-U-tiful home, LHN! First time I've seen a close-up photo of it, I think. Thanks for the tip on prospecting potential house logs. Now, i'm gonna be a REAL tree-hugger (literal and non-political). LOL Although, hubby's arms would make better yardsticks since he's 6'3".

[carolinacouple]

Well all is not lost as we live in a region that is heavy in the production of timber(SYP). I"ll just have to do some leg work and source my material. We are still looking at our schedules to see if we can make the June class. Anyone ever transported their on logs from a reasonable distance, say you cut some trees on a friends property and move them to your site, how did you do it?

[Harry]

Hi Zetmandu / Carolinacouple

Glad to know that there is members close(r) to me. I am an hour east of Greenville and 3.5 hrs from Bennet.
I'll be glad to help out where I can !

Greetings
Harry

[carolinacouple]

Hello Harry,

Have you built yet or are in the process. Love to pick your brain sometime.

[Zetmandu]

Hi Harry,
Glad to see there are some of us on the eastern side of the state. Was feeling all alone over here. Have you had the chance to take the class yet, building it yet etc?

[carolinacouple]

Well we did it. Just took 2 of the last 3 spaces for the June class. Now the waiting game begins.

[carolinacouple]

Harrry, What town are you in/near?