Cabin Styles of Alaska

Hello everyone! My name is Jonathan. Ever since I was a kid experiencing the cabin life of camp, I dreamed of one day having one for myself. The font of this concept has gotten bolder on my bucket list over the years. Having an audio production studio embedded into this lifestyle, while also highlighting it with the surrounding beauty of Alaska is a dream I want to bring to reality.
Every journey has a beginning, and this is one of many ways of navigating this journey. Currently looking to create a discourse with this post of likeminded others intrigued with the sharing of cabins they have come across in Alaska, or just the sharing of design ideas they would love to bring to fruition creating an aspect of Alaska living with it. Please feel free to share any insights on ideas you have within this realm, and I look forward to meeting and sharing ideas with you as well.

I will also be creating a digital scrapbook to share as a collection of all the ideas and creativity that we create within this topic.

Thank You for taking the time to read.



Jonathan

welcome to the forum, Jonathan.

There's been a few AK folks on here over the years, but I don't know of any active folks on this forum who are living in AK.

I think most of us are primarily interested in building our own log cabins. It's a forum for average non-builder non-construction types interested in a mortgage-free log home to get together and share progress on their builds, and primarily LHBA style log cabins (Skip Butt & Pass method). I just moved into mine in August 2023, after building it for about 7 years, and I'm still not done. But it's in AL not AK, so to avoid clutter, I'll simply allow the links on my signature to "do the talking", if you're interested.

Sounds like a good endeavor, though; happy trails. ;)

Hello Mudflap,

Thanks for taking the time to welcome me and provide me with your insights. Thanks for clarifying and readjusting my efforts in obtaining info here. In my research I have found a variety of DIY projects that have led to professional led careers within this industry. Congrats on getting your cabin finished. I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment you are feeling waking up in it every morning. Seven years is a long time spent on a dream home and you deserve the rewards of your perseverance through it all. I dream of one day having a very nice modern style cabin attached to an Audio Studio where I can work from and continue this journey called life. It isn't difficult to find places here in Alaska that would suit perfect for the ideal landscape when you look out your future cabin window.
For the last few days I have been brainstorming a scenario that has really has me inspired. What if Elon Musk all of a sudden just wanted to live off the land in a cabin? This thought has led to so many ideas on how technology could enhance the log cabin experience without hindering the peace of mind. I love the idea of a cabin that is self efficient in the collecting and storing of energy, possibly even innovative ways to battle other attributes of Alaska's environment.
Please share with me some pictures of your build. If you could go back and leave a message for yourself that was just about to start that 7 year build, what are some top few things that would have made the experience a bit easier? It is really awesome for you to take the time to reach out to me.
Hope you have an AWESOME Day!

Jonathan

Mudflap,

Your blog is absolutely amazing! This cabin looks incredible! I really love the choice you made to wrap the balcony railing to flow with going upstairs. That project in of itself came with so many ideas you probably wanted to go with, and yet it looks stunning taking it the route you did. The island in the kitchen is a surprise too. I am impressed with how good that soapstone looks. Is this something that gets polished or was the matte finish by choice?
I am so happy for your journey and I hope you wake up very proud of the way things are looking! Soon you will be utilizing that space in the back for a garden I imagine! =)

You have a fan of your journey! I look forward to more entry posts.

Take Care,

Jonathan

https://www.reddit.com/r/alaska/comm...n_cabin_build/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by n3rdwolf

Hello Mudflap,

Thanks for taking the time to welcome me and provide me with your insights. Thanks for clarifying and readjusting my efforts in obtaining info here. In my research I have found a variety of DIY projects that have led to professional led careers within this industry. Congrats on getting your cabin finished. I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment you are feeling waking up in it every morning. Seven years is a long time spent on a dream home and you deserve the rewards of your perseverance through it all. I dream of one day having a very nice modern style cabin attached to an Audio Studio where I can work from and continue this journey called life. It isn't difficult to find places here in Alaska that would suit perfect for the ideal landscape when you look out your future cabin window.
For the last few days I have been brainstorming a scenario that has really has me inspired. What if Elon Musk all of a sudden just wanted to live off the land in a cabin? This thought has led to so many ideas on how technology could enhance the log cabin experience without hindering the peace of mind. I love the idea of a cabin that is self efficient in the collecting and storing of energy, possibly even innovative ways to battle other attributes of Alaska's environment.
Please share with me some pictures of your build. If you could go back and leave a message for yourself that was just about to start that 7 year build, what are some top few things that would have made the experience a bit easier? It is really awesome for you to take the time to reach out to me.
Hope you have an AWESOME Day!

Jonathan

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tips for myself 7 years ago...hmmmm.....

1. try to fit everything in a 30x30 floor plan. most of the kids except 1 will be gone by then, so don't worry about having enough space - a 30x30 will give you plenty of space. wife's going to say "it's too big!" lol.
2. get the foundation ready before cutting any trees. yes the trees are big enough and long enough.
3. it doesn't need to be 30' tall. just have the stairs turn before they get all the way up there, and that'll give you the headroom you need, and also keep the space you want for the living room / kitchen. You'll hate dragging 99 bundles of shingles up on that roof if you go more than 24' tall. And you'll need a bigger ladder and scaffolding, and it'll just be that much more difficult to finish. And the chinking. that'll suck too.
4. those $17 2x6x16 T&G car decking boards are going to jump to $36 a board right when you need to buy a bunch to finish the 2nd floor, so go ahead and get them all while they are still $17 each. 2x4's are going to spike in price, but just wait, they'll come back down. Subfloor as well.
5. take more pictures than you think you need of stacking logs - that's the best part; everything else is just "construction".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by n3rdwolf

Mudflap,

Your blog is absolutely amazing! This cabin looks incredible! I really love the choice you made to wrap the balcony railing to flow with going upstairs. That project in of itself came with so many ideas you probably wanted to go with, and yet it looks stunning taking it the route you did. The island in the kitchen is a surprise too. I am impressed with how good that soapstone looks. Is this something that gets polished or was the matte finish by choice?
I am so happy for your journey and I hope you wake up very proud of the way things are looking! Soon you will be utilizing that space in the back for a garden I imagine! =)

You have a fan of your journey! I look forward to more entry posts.

Take Care,

Jonathan

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thank you! it was a ton of work, too. The thing is....everyone on here with a finished home has some pretty amazing stuff going on with their homes as well. You can't beat the price to finish one, either - mine was about $20 / sq ft. Other folks on here have similar stories about their prices. If you've looked into the cost of custom log cabins, you'll know $20 / sq ft is just criminally cheap. I'm seeing folks paying $350+ / sq ft from professional builders. Anyway, this is the public side of the forum - if you take the online class for about $500, you can join the members forum. Even if you don't build an LHBA log home, you can still use the knowledge from the class to save a ton of money on a home. I'm pretty sure I saved at least $200k by taking the class. nobody on here makes any money if someone joins LHBA - it'd just be a sin not to tell you about it. ;)

Yeah, the balcony - I wanted it to flow with the rest of the house. I saw a blog from a guy who builds custom stairs and his thing was: "the simpler it looks, the harder it is to make", and that's definitely true of my stairs and railing. Just the logistics of measuring and installing the stringers and treads was a huge ordeal to try and figure out, since the pieces weighed over 500 lbs each, which made them really hard to move.

ok, so my wife found the idea of soapstone - I thought "granite" or "concrete countertops", but when she told me to look at soapstone, it was love at first sight. For one thing, it's "everything proof", that's why they use it on the tables in your high school chemistry lab. Doesn't stain, doesn't burn, non-porous, doesn't ever need to be sealed. You can cut it with a regular circular saw with a diamond blade. It's naturally anti-bacterial, so you can make dough on it right after you prep the chicken (just wipe it down first). It stores heat well right there behind the wood stove - and then releases it all night long back into the house.

but we had to really fight for it - for one thing, there's only one outfit in the entire country that will sell to the public, and they were very difficult to work with. We went through a dozen pieces online that we liked, but the company kept telling us - "oh that's sold; that one has a little crack right where you want it cut; that one isn't big enough for your requirements;" and on and on for 4 months! But we finally got one, and it cost $3k including shipping for a piece just slightly larger than 5'x5', and 1.5" thick. It weighs 600 lbs. They shipped it in a special frame made out of 2x4's and 4x4's and a bunch of foam. Would have cost about $8k if we had bought it from Home Depot or somewhere like that. And they wouldn't sell us enough to make all the counters (the piece we wanted was large enough, but the company claimed the way they had to cut it would make the other pieces too small, so we ended up doing oak counters for the sink and sides of the stove).

it came the way it looks. There's a food grade wax my wife found online that helps speed up the process of blending the natural color veins, but that's all it does - the thing will naturally get darker over time even if you don't use any wax.

Indeed...welcome! I am somewhat new to the Forum and when I am here I'm usually in the Members area. I was "recruited" by Ellsworth and the LHBA staff to help with construction documents (plans) for members having difficulty with Building Departments and/or design ideas and modifications as I have extensive experience in those areas. See my profile if interested. Altho' I started my log home journey in the "scribe-fit" camp there is real merit in the LHBA style and philosophy. It's not for everybody but the payoff is HUGE. As I have said many times, I want to retire...but no one wants to take up (or is able, it seems) my design business...so I'm currently involved in teaching an A.I. agent/assistant to design log homes. This is REALLY intimidating (read challenging). But the world does not stand still even tho' it would be nice to pause and take a look at the scenery once and a while. If there is any way I can help you on your journey just ask.

All the Best,
Greg steckler