Introduce yourself

Hi everyone,

I am very encouraged by these posts! I took the class in January of this year. Right now, I'm looking for a piece of land in the Denver area. I'm hoping to find my piece of Colorado by the end of the year. I would be curious to hear from the folks who have finished their homes what the cost per square foot comes out to. Everyone I've spoken with says that log home construction is THE most expensive type of construction, but I think it's because they haven't taken Skip's course. Any feedback would really help me rough out a budget.

I'd also love to hear from anyone who's built/building in Colorado or Texas. I currently live in the Houston area and it's been challenging to get the lay of the land from out-of-state.

Cheers,
Arwen

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Originally Posted by Arwen

Everyone I've spoken with says that log home construction is THE most expensive type of construction, but I think it's because they haven't taken Skip's course.

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If you pay someone to build your house for you, log construction is indeed the most expensive. That's because it's very labor intensive. And while a Skip style home is the best way to build a log home, one huge reason it can be so inexpensive is not because you are building with logs, it's because you are doing it yourself.

Dont get me wrong, the logs themselves are going to be cheaper than all the siding, framing, insulation, drywall, mud, and paint you would be looking at if your "did it yourself" on a stick frame house. So that is indeed a good way to save money, but the biggest savings is doing it youself.

As far as a budget; I dont think anyone can be specific about that unless you gave us a ton of details. There are so many variables that can affect it in huge ways, like how deep does your well need to be? And how much do your permits cost in your county? And how big is your house? And is your house on the grid? And how much are you doing yourself? And do you have house-log quality trees on the property?

Personally my current "starter house" itemized budget is about $130,000, not including land, and I know I'm missing stuff. Many people do theirs much cheaper, and other spend much more. But every situation is unique so it's hard to guess what you might pay.

Creating an itemized budget, as well as building a scale model, are important parts of the planning stage.

Welcome Michael :) You have come to the right place. What state are you looking to build in?
Marcus Ward

Hi, I need to ask some very basic and probably dumb questions. I have always wanted a log home. I have 15 acres of mature cedar trees in Tn. This is the cedar they use for closets, etc. Very fragrant. Can you tell I am a female???? lol Can this type of logs be used to build a log home?

I have heard of people building with cedar. It is plenty strong for the walls, which are not stress critical. Beam members are a different story. You will likely want to use a larch or a doug fir for these elements. You will need a much larger diameter if you stick with cedar. Alternatively, you can support it more (shorter spans).

Also, you might want to rethink living in a humidor. I love the smell of cedar, but in moderation. I don't know if I could sleep in a home that was so fragrant.

Skip would tell you, the best logs are the logs you got. Enjoy the process.

-Peter

Hi,

My name is Jim from Nova Scotia, Canada. I would love to take a course but it seems out of reach right now. I am planning on building a post and log home over the next 2 years for my family.

Geez, we're takin' over.

Welcome Jim, what part of NS are you from?

Hi Timberwolf,
I'm in the Annapolis Valley near Kentville. How about you?, where'r you from?

Live SE of Dallas, Texas, looking to build a home. We have a Dariy and plan on building with Cash. Have plans for a two story 1400 sq ft. house. The plan seems simple to me but a local builder wants over $160K to build a traditional stick built.

Just really out of our budget. We have about $60K cash and could come up with more if need be. Is this a reasonable budget to build a log house ?

Being a thrid generation farmer am used to doing almost anything with mechanics or carpentry / masonry / electrical / plumbing. Our build codes are rather lax as live out in the county and the government folks don't bother us that much.

We do have tractors / skid steer loaders and other machine for lifting heavy objects as well as dirt work etc.

Just looking for some guidance as to where to start. The kits we have looked at over the years are really too costly for us.


Bill G
Kemp, Texas

I love the smell of cedar, but in moderation. I don't know if I could sleep in a home that was so fragrant. < stressman wrote
Well i cant smell drywallmud-but other people who are not constantly around it can smell it. Painters dont smell paint-
or they just cant-unless its killz. I think you would get used to the smell but that might be a bad thing--not being able to smell cedar cause you got used to being around it all the time--jmo

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Originally Posted by Garlockw

Live SE of Dallas, Texas, looking to build a home. We have a Dariy and plan on building with Cash. Have plans for a two story 1400 sq ft. house. The plan seems simple to me but a local builder wants over $160K to build a traditional stick built.

Just really out of our budget. We have about $60K cash and could come up with more if need be. Is this a reasonable budget to build a log house ?

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It sounds like you are in a great position to build on a shoe-string budget:

1. You are going to be able to do most, if not all, of the work youself.
2. You have land.
3. You have relaxed buliding codes / inspectors.
4. You dont need a huge house.

Other questions I'd have might include:

1. How much will a well cost you? Or do you have one already?
2. How about septic? Can you legally do that yourself?
3. Ever dug a foundation before? Have equipment?
4. Will it cost anything to run the electric to your site?
5. Got a sawmill?


1400 sq ft is going to be easy to hit. You could do a 2 story 30x30 with the 2nd story only a half floor (loft) and be basically at that. A 30x30 is a very reasonble sized house since you can get most of your logs at around 35' in length.

I'd say you're very well positioned, especially if you can live on site in a camper or mobie or something while building.

Will 60k be enough to do a compelte house? It certainly could be, yes. But there are a lot of variables so I cant just say "yes you can". But it's reasonable yes.

Bill G.
I am also from a farming background and have similar experiences as you. We are building our cabin now.
The first thing you need to do is to take the class when it is next available. Get on the e-mail notification list of the next class and sign up fast, they will fill up quickly. Everything will become clearer after the class and you will see that what you are asking is possible. Just remember that time=money. The faster you build, the more it will cost you. Don't get too set on a floorplan until after the class.
Good Luck on whatever you decide to do,

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Originally Posted by triglav

My name is Robert - located in Ottawa, Ontario.

I stumbled upon this site yesterday and it peaked my interested. I immediately began researching land prices in neighbouring Quebec. Looking forward to learning more about log cabin construction, and also to offer help to anyone building one around Ottawa.

Cheers,
Rob

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Hello Rob,

I just joined this forum last week but have been scoping the website out for some time. I live just east of Ottawa, under 1 hour. (But I work in Ottawa) ....At the moment, I am confused to whether I should build the B&P myself through Skips class or if I should get a Scandinavian log home built by a builder in Quebec.
At this time I am just keeping an open mind about both styles of building.

Hey Marc,

I am in the same position, having just started reading about this. I will take the class to learn as much as I can. It looks like the real benefit of this is that one saves money on labour and materials by doing it all one's self. Thinking of the Chelsea / Wakefield area for land. There are lots of trees there too :)

There is something satisfying about building a house..something natural.

See you sometime,
Rob

Were in Alabama is your land located? I'll be building in N. Alabama 10 miles east of Huntsville.

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Originally Posted by rgdula

Were in Alabama is your land located? I'll be building in N. Alabama 10 miles east of Huntsville.

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Hello, we're both in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Pretty far from Ottawa, Alabama ( i had to google it to make sure there was an Ottawa in Alabama).

rgdula, glad to hear from you, our land is near Roanoke Al, close to GA border, Mt Olive or Five Points to be exact, pretty rural. we have some family there. Huntsville is a nice city to be in, my husband has some family there. when are you planning on building?. We are chomping at the bit to leave Atl, but who knows how long it will take to sell our house. Of course we will have no where to live after that, we were thinking of building a small log cabin for temporary and maybe expand later until we can take the class. I am sure we will make lots of mistakes until we know what we are doing. What kind of logs are you planning on using? I know there is lots of loblolly pine growing is that good for a log home?
Joy

Hello miltonjoy,
I live in Ashland, Al. Hope to be building soon. I went to the class in Feb and loved it. I still have so much to learn. Good luck at selling your home.

Not sure if registering is the same thing as posting a note to introduce myself. The posting process and threads are a bit confusing to me. Anyway, very interested in what LHBA offers, can't wait to attend class. Have read most threads, posted on one or two. Enjoy the commentary and learn quite a lot.

Very sorry about Skip, and very sorry I got to this too late to know him.

Located in West Tennessee. Would prefer mountains of East Tn, but like it says on site, ya, gotta work with what ya got.

One tiny favor. Maybe this is something only told in the class. If so, I will be patient. But if it is not too much, would someone please tell me how you get those 4 lift logs out of the box once the walls are up??? :-)

I just can't figure that out and no one seems to mention. Its probably so obvious, but I am an engineer. It has to be clear and logical for us. We are severely challenged in the imagination department.

Thanks, Enjoy the site and look forward to class.

dl

That is one of the many questions that I had. There were about 20 things I couldnt figure out and then when they tell you in class you will think "Why didnt I think of that?".

Patrick

I have a few lobolly but all I can tell you is that they are pine. My neighbor wanted to expand his pasture for his horses. The pine beetle were moving in so he said to take whatever I needed. So, I have about 110 pine logs to start peeling this weekend. I am hopefull in having all permits by the end of Sept. I would like to have the shell completed before winter.

Bob

If you can't they'll tell you in class, but Skip would tell you to be smarter than the log. BTW, I'm an engineer too.

-Peter

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Originally Posted by cntrydan

One tiny favor. Maybe this is something only told in the class. If so, I will be patient. But if it is not too much, would someone please tell me how you get those 4 lift logs out of the box once the walls are up??? :-)

dl

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Helicopter.

Thats the only way. ; )


Really though, I find the question you ask to be a little different than normal. The more usual question related to the lifted poles is 'how do you get them up to begin with????' Now... to give a little hint. Do you need the lifting poles for anything else once the log lifting is over with? Is there any reason for those poles to still be logs? There's more than one way to skin a cat... ; )

All of this is covered in depth in the class.

Hope you have some help with those logs. So I guess any pine will do. There is a saw mill in Roanoke, I wonder if that will come in handy when we start to build? Seems like once you start peeling, it's like a train going down a hill- theres no stopping. That's very ambitious and I am sure you can do it, Rob. Insipirng to know that something like that can be accomplished so fast. good luck. Maybe we could catch a glimpse of your place sometime while your in the process?

Joy

Hello Jim,
My name is Brandon Griffin. I have been a member for about 3 years now. Although I took the class 3 years ago I still brouse the forum a couple times a week to see what's new.

I'm writing because I'm moving from Utah, where I live now, to Nova Scotia. I'm planning on going to dental school up there at Dalhousie University. I would love to drop in a lend a hand on your construction project. I've been a wood worker since I was young. I haven't always had time to do it, it I sure enjoy it when I do.

I was surfing the web and found a gentelman building a slip form masonry cabin up in Nova Scotia. I should google that again and see if I couldn't find his web sight again. Slip form is a nice compliment to logs.

Maybe we'll run into each other soon. If you would like to email me at GriffinBCB@hotmail.com that would be great. We'll talk to you later.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, by Helicopter. Black Hawk or Huey??? Why didn't I think of that? Well, actually, I did. But since I didn't HAVE one in my toolbox, and they don't rent them locally, I thought I would just ask. Good to know the class includes standup comedy ! :-)

Yeah, I thought of the chainsaw too. Then wondered if they might serve some purpose within the box. It seems a shame to take the chainsaw to them, and a bit difficult as well, felling a tree inside the box. I am sure there is a way, I'll be patient. Thanks for the indulgence.

dl

Thanks, I am sure it will come to me. I see you are a stressed enginner. I thought we were all stressed. It goes with the territory.

dl

I have an opportunity to buy red pine logs grown in Michigan. They are 32' long , 12" at the base & 8" at the top. They have been debarked using a pressure washer & have been sitting cross stacked for two years under tarps.

My question is, would these logs be ok to use for my log home? They have not been treated & were cut in the fall.

Tom