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Hello all,
We are Michael & Alice St.Clair. We are land owners with a house but would like to build a log cabin. We also have standing timber. We have not attended a class yet but want too. We have looked at floor plans, kits, etc. We are hoping to be able to do this.
Alice
Senior Wishful Thinker
I'm sure that with the LHBA class and membership, coupled with your own dreams, desires and perseverence, you turn that wishfull thinking into fruitfull results.
Again, welcome.
Hello World,
Michael & Alice St.Clair here. We are land & home owners looking into building a log cabin. We have not taken any classes yet, but are looking forward too! We have looked at floor plans, kits, pricing, etc.. We own or have access to over 150 acres of timber, but it may not be the right type. We look forward to learning.
Alice
Senior Wishful Thinker
Welcome Michael & Alice!Quote:
Originally Posted by wishfulthinkers
The type of timber you have is one of the least important issues. More important is are they reasonbly straight, how tall are they, how big around are they, and how much taper do they have? There are some types of trees that dont make very good house logs, but most work perfectly well. But even those other issues (size, taper, etc) can be worked around once you understand the butt and pass construction methods.
But all this is covered in great detail in the class, which I recommend you take :)
Looking at floorplans and dreaming is great and very much encouraged. Just dont get your heart set on anything until you take the class. The knowledge you gain in class will revolutionize the way you think about log homes and log construction.
Anyway, welcome!
Hi all from Florida
Really looking forward to a class date. I'm saving up my vacation days to work around a possible class date. Does anyone know the possibility of a class before the end of this year as I have to use my vacation days or lose them by year end?
Would love to build log cabins and sell them every 2 years till I could save and build my own dream place. I agree debt free is the way to go especially in these times.
Looking forward to meet people at the next class.
Steve
I am finally on board with my husband about moving out the country, now I have him on board to this web site, it's addictive, we are eagerly awaiting the next class, worried that I won't get in a class b/c of the popularity of it though. We have a site in rural Alabama. Hey, what can I say, the land is cheap. Anyone from Alabama out there? Trying to prep our home to sell so we can get out of this mortgage.
Hey all!
Finally decided to join after a couple of weeks of going through just about everything on this site haha. Currently I'm overseas doing contract work with KBR, but I'm planning to head back to Washington state when I've reached my financial goal. After finding this site (which I'm so glad I did), I've decided to build a log cabin of my own instead of those overpriced stick homes (and log cabin kits) hopefully in a couple of years. I'm so excited about the idea of building my own home! I'm hoping that the class will eventually be available again; just reading about it kept me up all night haha. Thanks for dedicating a site like this for everyone interested in building their own home.
hey steve, how are you.
Hi Steve,
I am new to the forum and was wanting to know how to post pictures of my logs on the site so I can get more feedback for my issues with my logs.
Thanks!
Smokey
A lot of people here use Photobucket. http://photobucket.com/ It's free.
Smokey,Quote:
Originally Posted by smokey
Smokey, from reading another post of yours I saw that you already own a log home (I presume a kit home) and are trying to resolve problems created by having short overhangs. Anthony at http://www.bearfortlodge.com is a member who has done extensive renovation on an older log home (not kit) but he may be able to give you a lot of insight on the work he has done.
I also recommend taking the class if you ever have a chance. You might just learn some ideas as to how to prevent these problems in the future saving you more restoration headaches!
I've spent the last week or so absorbing the forum for non-members and searching the web for butt and pass pictures and construction examples. I think I linked into LHBA from an article I saw on building a micro-house on a trailer.
I had no Idea that log building would consume my interests and thoughts so quickly. Previously, I've always been interested in Victorian construction (I have already rebuilt my 1890s Victorian in Santa Clara.) Now, I have to build with logs. It's so perfect for what/where I want to be.
I've been looking to buy land near the Trinity river for the last 20 years or so... just never pulled a full-price trigger yet. There's been places that I KNEW I should have bought, but the time (and wifely agreement) just wasn't right. Now, I have a much stronger desire to get... out... of... this... urban... hell.
I signed up for the class notification last week (and got my wife to agree to come to the class before she really knew what I was planning! Heh. Heh.)
Now: Must... wait... for... next... class. (Hope it's soon!)
LeighG
Welcome, LeighG. Sounds like you've been bitten by the log bug, but good. You'll find many like minded folks here. It's good that your wife will be attending with you. You'll both be glad that she did because then she'll understand all your crazy log speak and will be able to better participate in the entire planning/building process. Keep digesting all the stuff in the forums (there are tons of it) and congratulations on starting this great journey. If we can help in any way, just ask. Again, welcome aboard.
JD
Ive been an avid reader of this site since i stumbled upon it while doing research for building my very own log home. while waiting for the class i have been researching materials on log home building and have found so many different techniques that its truly overwhelming. it makes sense that skips method is the best so thats what my wife and i are going to pursue. We just want to live the best life possible without having to worry about the high cost associated with being a home owner. we are so excited about building our own log home and cant wait to get started. thanks for every bodies hard work to keep this site up and running and cant wait to attend the next class and start building our log home. look forward to talking to you all. Rob
Rob,
Welcome aboard. There is many ways of making a log home. In my opinion, the "best" is full cope scandinavian chinkless. However, this method is very labor intensive and difficult. I can't do it, and this method will definitely do what I want to have.
Anyway, welcome aboard. I'm glad you and your wife are planning to make this endeavor. Enjoy the ride.
-Peter
Sorry to have to school in front of the "new kids" Peter but Scandinavian chinkless is definitely not the best method. :-P
Butt and pass is definitely the best. I like sittin' inside, looking at my corners, and seeing the logs line up. Chinkless makes the logs all staggered-looking. I hate that.
Chinkless? Puh-lease, I LIKE the look of chinking. Rock hard mortar beats the modern stuff any day of the week. The less labor the better. I want to work as little as possible on my logs. Knowing that my logs have been cut along its length would just irk me to no end.
So sorry. You are clearly wrong. ;-)
I happen to like the corners of a "saddle notch" style. And I would (my wife, mainly) like to see little chinking inside, hard or otherwise. However, these concerns are truly secondary.
I have a friend that says "there are no right ways, only varying degrees of wrong." I was just trying to point out that even some members don't consider B&P the "best" (Skip even made a few SC structures).
It depends on what you like. I do like B&P, don't get me wrong. I just happen to like SC incrementally better. I however will never build SC. B&P is just so much easier.
-Peter
"Butt and pass is definitely the best. I like sittin' inside, looking at my corners, and seeing the logs line up. Chinkless makes the logs all staggered-looking. I hate that."
Sounds like CDO to me, its like OCD, but the letters are in alphabetical order, like they should be.....
People might like the look of scandanavian chinkless better but it's not the best method.
You have to cut grooves down the entire length of the log. We talk a lot about how bad it is to cut into logs because it exposes the growth rings and that's the first and easiest way for water to get in. And water is the enemy of your log home.
SC method cuts into the logs more than any other method of construction. I would say for that reason it's probably the WORST way to build a log home. You'd be better off just notching the corners and leaving the logs whole down their length.
The ONLY thing SC does is reduce your chinking, but you still have to chink and now you've got capilary action working against you.
Butt and Pass is the best method because it does the least damage to the logs, which protects them from water. Also a BnP has the advantage of no capilary action because the only way two logs touch is in a point or in a line, NEVER in a plane. SC has plane connection between logs everywhere.
Hi, really like the forum. I would like to build a log home on a piece of property I have in North Fork, Ca. I am grateful for all the great discussion here.
My real name is Laurie and hope this is something a woman can do. I am a teacher, worked in animation and teach it now. Just want to build myself
a little pad in time for retirement. I'm going to really enjoy reading the wonderful things here and seeing the great examples.
Laurie
Yes, a woman in resonably good health can do this. Here's a gallery of Pam's log home: (Scroll down to see her with her pink chainsaw!)
http://www.loghomebuilders.org/image-galleries/student-log-homes/pams-log-home
Well, let's qualify this statement. I'm a woman and I've carefully studied the stories of the rest of the 'woman built' homes because I want to build a house too. But what I see is that most of the women who are building are not really building by themselves. There are husbands, ex-husbands, adult sons and even boyfriends heavily involved. I know there is one home in the photo gallery that was built by two women together but I don't know how much they subcontracted out various tasks if they did at all. Dorothy Ainesworth also is credited with buiding both her log homes but she was enabled by her strapping boyfriend and adult son.Quote:
Originally Posted by Klapton
Sure a woman can build this type of a house by herself. But I can't site any one particular woman who has done it alone without significant support. But most of the men building also have significant support from others. Honestly, I don't expect to do it alone. I'm not going to pour my own foundation. I hope to harvest enough logs out of my 11 acres of forest but I don't intend to fell them myself. It's not that I can't cut a tree. I cut plenty of trees to clear deadwood but it was suggested to me that I should hire an experience logger to cut the trees for my house. So if anybody, man or woman, wants to build a house like this, he or she has to know what they are willing or able to do. Some things I really do not want to do...like straddle that ridge pole out in space. (I think of Vern Street whenever I imagine doing that!)
So as I plan for my future house, I'm building a base of support. My sister's boyfriend has a construction and landscape business and has offered to pour a foundation for me. I've already met someone in Oppenheim, where my land is, who is my connection to heavy equipment. So, to qualify the "reasonable health" requirement, a woman can do this just like the men do...with a network of support and a subcontractor here and there!
Frances
IMO There is nothing more appealing than a good honest woman who can swing a hammer and get her hands dirty!
Laurie, you may want to look at the loghome built by a single mom/waitress named Mrs. Ainsworth. It wasn't our B&P method but she built a great home. (and she endured the agony of building it twice as her first one burned to the ground). You can find her articles on the Mother Earth News website. There are quite a few female LHBA members here and there are many wives who haved helped their husbands with the construction process. OTOH even if the women decide not to help in the physical part of building they can help out with moral support, the organizational process (permits, hiring subs, shopping for deals, getting supplies) cook up vittles and give massages. :)
Skips method is the easiest way to build a loghome (and IMO the BEST way) and anyone with some courage and determination can do it.
Kola
The LHBA is the most "CAN DO" group of people I know, Laurie, for women or men. If you are looking for support for your dreams, this is the place. Check out the examples and progress pictures of members who have or are currently building, read the forum posts, and get an idea of the building method. Also, see if there are any LHBA member-built homes in your area so you can see the real thing.
I took the LHBA class this past January (hello spiralsands, fellow classmate) and it was a liberating experience that taught me about human empowerment (and of course, building method). And I was coming from an architecture background. There is a change of thinking that comes about - learning to not limit oneself, finding a determination to make your log home happen, and looking at one's future in a more authentic way.
As another LHBA single woman, I know that my log home will happen and not falter in that belief. I'll prepare diligently, work hard, change preconceived ideas and priorities when necessary, and then go for it, expecting "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear" and that the resources will be there if I have done my part. That is the faith part. Then there is the learning part and the thinking-about/designing part and the building part. I know I will seek help in all these areas when needed. It is working so far, step by step.
The other LHBA women here are especially my inspirations. But the wonderful men are as well. It's all about the "Can Do" thought. Being a woman means you bring a different set of talents to the process; perhaps sheer determination like Dorothy Ainsworth, or the ability to envision a more efficient building step, or even the land you already have. ;)
It is good to see you chime in for your very first post Gypsykat!
:)
Kola
Thanks for your kind welcome Kola. It's great being a part of this community.
Hi,
My name is Mike I am in the Navy and about to wrap up 12 years of service, mostly deployed. My wife and I want to go country and buy some property and build a home. We have a big family already and want more kids. So we have been researching Log home building. Thanks and God Bless..
Hi, Frances---Quote:
Originally Posted by spiralsands
I thought that your comments here were quite realistic and wise, especially considering I think you're still in the planning stages (? I'll have to surf over to your site later).
Having designed and built our own Skip-style butt and pass home, my husband and I have both an even firmer belief in the merits of Skip's methods and a greater respect for the challenges and dangers of this or any other construction style (but especially one that involves heavy timber/logs).
We highly recommend both the class and the building methods, but it's important to remember that being successful in this sort of endeavor requires a hefty dose of commitment, ingenuity, patience, endurance, common sense and both physical and constitutional strength. Having at least two people working closely and compatibly together throughout also is a HUGE advantage, in our opinion.
Best to everyone. Sara
PS... Frances, visited your photobucket. What beautiful land! Good luck to you! : )