Anyone from Florida?

[BStone]

We are considering the class in WA and would like to talk with someone from around here that has been.
I saw the name Mark O'Brien on on of the webpages. Anyone know him?
Are you there mark?
Thanks

[Mark OBrien]

Hey there BStone, I do live in Daytona Beach. I've been gathering tools and have quite a collection of just about everything I need except for rope for my tackle blocks and a few other odds and ends. With the explosion in property prices here in FL I haven't found the right piece of land yet. Some lots are going for $12,000.00 to 30 grand per acre around here and if you go up to Palm Coast, I've seen city lots selling for $245,000.00 for less than half an acre!!! I'm currently looking for land in TN or MO to build on. There is another member over near Gainesville named FLCOWGIRL who will be building soon near Ocala starting in January. I've made plans to work with her on my off days to gain some invaluable experience. I work in the flooring trades right now. My son and I install carpet, tile and wood laminate floors. Give me a shout out and maybe we can get together and swap ideas. Take care, Mark

[Mark OBrien]

Here's a real good Idea...Take the class! It will give you some invaluable experience in not only how to build your own home very inexpensively but also how to live a good life with good values and have fun while on this sojurn. If you are serious about living morgage free or darned close to it, Take The Class!

[Curtis]

Hello, I live in Port Orange and have lived in a log cabin when I lived in northen arizona. It was poorly constructed but I loved it anyway (wasn't mine). It was probably one of the coolest experiences I have had, this is why I want to do it my way this time.
After the hurricanes trees should be easily available even now.
I was hired locally to remove several because I was the only guy in the neighborhood with a real chain saw.
My only problem at the moment is finding affordable land back out west. All of the damn californians are driving prices up.
I am thinking about taking the class in February depending on my work load.

[Mark OBrien]

Curtis, hey there neighbor. I'm in Daytona Beach, just off of International Speedway Blvd. about a mile east of the Speedway. If you really are interested in building your own log cabin, Take The Class! It is an invaluable experience for you and will help empower you in becoming independant of conventional thinkers and a soul sucking mortgage. I can think of nothing worse than spending the next 30 years making a bank richer from my sweat equity.

[Curtis]

Hello Mark,

One thing for sure is the fact that I am not a conventional thinker. I'm not a survivalist or an anarchist, I just cant' stand having neighbors closer than a couple of acres. When I was living in the cabin out west I had wild life, stars at night and quiet to think with. I find that difficult to do here in Florida. Too many damn New Yorkers blowing their horns. Out west I could go to the national forest and walk for hours. I will probably take the class in February and end up building a small starter cabin for experience and then move to a larger cabin project. Right now I am doing research on mass heaters and septic systems. I used to be an electrician when I was younger so I have a pretty good idea of how a cabin should be wired after living in one that was wired like crap.

Curtis

[dbtoo]

lived in a log cabin when I lived in northen arizona.
Where in Northern AZ? I have 40 acres in Show Low, with a mobile on it. I want to build a log home there. There is still acreage available here, but not too much with tall pines, though.

[Curtis]

I lived outside of Prescott. The last drought and the bark beetle have knocked out a significant portion of older pine in that area. Trees are easy to come by, removing them is a different story.

[Sue]

Hi Curtis. I also live in Port Orange. I took Skip's class 7 years ago and am now at a time when I can finally build. You will really enjoy the class and wait till you see Skip's home. WOW! I got to stay there for 2 nights when I was there for the class. I have 20 acres in Tennessee, but want to buy more so that we can build to sell. Then build on my 20 acres the log home that I want to live in. We should get together with Mark and talk about all our plans. Also I want to go over to Gainsville when Jennifer gets her logs and help remove the bark. Let me know guys, Sue.

[edgelore]

i don't live down there, but i have a very close friend who does... further out north/west from most of you though. i'm leaving to go to the class in just over a week (WOO HOO!!!) and had a curious question.

are there any special considerations for building with logs down there? is moisture a problem? anyone planning to do anything different than the baseline standard from the class?

i can easily see building something small for my friend in FL on his property as a test run in the future and wanted to start thinking about limitations / special considerations / hurricane-proofing etc. for the environment down there. thanks!

[DAVID C]

HEY FELLOW FLORIDIANS. my name is david and i live in port richey fl. i am going to the 10th 11th. june class cant wait. i like the idea of meeting anyone from fl. to compare notes with after we all attend the class. great way to network and meet new friends. we should keep this link alive so that we can keep up with each other and give/get some advice. so fellow floridians feel free to start the chat. hope to meet some of you at the class this week.. david c. 8)

[MistyAndRuss]

Hello
We live in the spring hill area and will be taking the class. We will be leaving Fri. night. Can't wait to get there. We are looking to build in Tn. Can't stand the florida life any more.

[JamesF]

Hello
We live in the spring hill area and will be taking the class. We will be leaving Fri. night. Can't wait to get there. We are looking to build in Tn. Can't stand the florida life any more.
I went to the last class and had a really great time.

I learned more than I thought was humanly possible in those 2 days :D It was probably the best money I've spent in the last 20 years.

If y ou think you're excited now, just wait till after the class and see how excited you are then!

[dbtoo]

hope to meet some of you at the class this week.. david c. 8)

Unless Steve and Elsworth have changed the format, you may want to write the state/city you are from on a piece of paper and your userid that you are using on this forum.
The pace of the class is such that the instructors don't have time to have individual introductions of everyone. (And with privacy concerns, etc. not everyone may want to.)
Take the initiative and do it yourselves!

Steve/Elsworth, if you pick up on this thread, if you design a seating chart and make participation optional, people could put their names, usernames (if they have them yet), and locations on the chart. Then people can review it during breaks and hookup with the contacts that are near them. Tell them about Frappr too, and update it when they can after the class. Thanks guys. Wish I could take the class again!!

[DAVID C]

HEY FRIENDS, MY BROTHER -IN -LAW AND I JUST TOOK THE CLASS THIS PAST WK.END 10TH 11 TH JUNE PROBABLY ONE OF THE TOP 5 THINGS I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE!!! THE INFO WAS FAB. ALL THE GET STUFF FREE AND BUY CHEAP METHODS WHERE PRICELESS , THAT ALONE PAYED FOR THE TRIP EVEN IF I NEVER BUILD ONE-----BUT I WILL!!!! WE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF BUILDING A WORK SHED 10X10 IN MY BACK YARD WITH PIERS CHINKING AND ALL, JUST TO GAIN SOME MEASURE OF EXPERIENCE WHILE WE GATHER OUR THOUGHTS AND FIND LAND ETC. TENN/ VIRGINIA IS LOOKING GOOD STILL FINDING GREAT PRICES FOR A LOT OF ACREAGE. IF WE CAN WE WOULD LOVE TO MEET EVERYONE AND HAVE OUR OWN KINDA FL. CHAPTER FOR HELPING AND SHARING IDEAS . LUCK TO ALL DAVID C :D

[jscrews]

Hello Floridians,

My wife and I just signed up for the Sept class today. If anyone is already under way on there log home construction, we would love to come take a look and lend a hand to get some experience. We're in Lakeland.

Jeff

[MistyAndRuss]

Well Russ & I are getting on our way but we won't be building in Fl. We are heading to Tn mid aug. to look at land.We purchased the 30x30 plans to build the first house. The plan is to build one for practice sell it then build the one we want. And it already sounds like we will be building one for my mom and dad. It just cost to much to live here for the pay scale.