Introduce yourself

Hello all

We live in the north of England, a place called Leeds

We are thinking seriously of selling our house and buying some land and building a log cabin

I have my own building and maintenance company so looking forward to the challange

The log cabin market in the UK is not very mature, the only info I can find is for kits, which doesn't seem to be the way forward

I fancy buying the logs and doing it myself

Unfortunately I am unable to attend any of your courses, so I cant use the information in the members area. shame

However I hope to learn plenty from you knowledgeable folk in the good old US of A

First thing to do is find some land, which is not easy here, most if not all of your States are bigger than England!!! which is about 424 miles long and 209 miles wide

I will also need to find out where I can buy the logs etc

Speak to you soon

Regards

Phil and Sarah and the kids

Yea, gives clear meaning to "limited resource". Heck, some days, my job has me driving further than both the length and width of England combined! Still, I'm always amazed there are rolling, open fields over there.

My vote is for Port Isaac, Cornwall, for reasons I imagine you can guess.

By the way, there are members in Canada, Japan, and a few other countries, so don't rule them out. ;-)

We could use some grand old British folks in the association. My husband and I are in the middle of our build near Nashville, Tn. You guys really should give it a try. Wish you could go to the class. So much to learn and it would probably end up saving you lots of money.

9 ii. Bring nn9 9 0 po g

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Originally Posted by Flatline

Hello all

We live in the north of England, a place called Leeds

We are thinking seriously of selling our house and buying some land and building a log cabin

I have my own building and maintenance company so looking forward to the challange

The log cabin market in the UK is not very mature, the only info I can find is for kits, which doesn't seem to be the way forward

I fancy buying the logs and doing it myself

Unfortunately I am unable to attend any of your courses, so I cant use the information in the members area. shame

However I hope to learn plenty from you knowledgeable folk in the good old US of A

First thing to do is find some land, which is not easy here, most if not all of your States are bigger than England!!! which is about 424 miles long and 209 miles wide

I will also need to find out where I can buy the logs etc

Speak to you soon

Regards

Phil and Sarah and the kids

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Jump across the pond :)

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Originally Posted by Prissy Pink

Welcome Yogip. Sounds like an awesome place to build but very cold. We're building in Tennessee. We're loving it. Nothing remote here. We took the course last year. Welcome to the forum.

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not really that cold at all most of the year, thank you it is a really awesome place to build, as Teresa mentioned in her post, we were out at the property the other night and there was a small herd of elk standing in the water bugling. Hardest part is still trying to find larger diameter logs then 14"

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Originally Posted by panderson03

welcome to the Family, Teresa:)
would LOVE to live in the Yukon. beautiful place to have a cabin.how long is your building season there?

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We are able to start prep work in April, but won't be able to pour footings until May, after that we are able to build till end of October easy Also remember that most of the summer we have 24 hours of daylight, so no problems working until midnight. Pretty excited for the coming year :-)

Thanks to all that for the kind welcome

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Prissy Pink

Welcome Yogip. Sounds like an awesome place to build but very cold. We're building in Tennessee. We're loving it. Nothing remote here. We took the course last year. Welcome to the forum.

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Thanks Prissy, looking forward to telling our story as we build a dream estate on a pristine lake, how are the trees in Tennessee?

We've got great poplar trees. Some of ours are 24 inches in diameter. We got them from a logger close by. Our cabin is 40x40.

Yogip,

Sincerely, you truly need to come and take that class and here is why. You are probably very well educated in the current method of foundation, however, if you do no follow the correct method of foundation and log support ,the logs will crush the first floor and compress to ruin the remainder of the building. I hate to be the one waving the red flag but it just must be done. Do not build a log home using current foundation support methods! Take the class!

Blondie

Hello all.
I'm signed up for the February class in Las Vegas; my flight is booked, hotel room in Harrah's already paid for, and my vacation approved, and I'm looking forward to attending and moving over into the members side of the site. No need for the, “Take the Class” mantra. I'm taking it, without doubt.

A few years back I purchased 3.3 acres of land in S.E. Alaska from the state.
Lot's of “No's” there that I like.
No roads, no utilities, no taxes, no close neighbors, no building permits, no zoning regulations, no building inspections. :D

Some other very nice upsides; I have a little over 450ft of saltwater shoreline on the fjord, two small streams one of which may be suitable for microhydro (depending on how it's flow varies over a year).

Downsides are that I'll need to bring everything in by boat from a public dock about 3 miles away (not so bad, really), and that prices for anything are going to be higher due to shipping costs.
That and the fact that I'll only be able to work on the place one a year for about 30 days at a shot as I work overseas. Each time I travel to the property it will be nearly 36 hours of travel time one way.

Currently my rough plans are:

February 2016- Attend the Class in Las Vegas
Summer 2016- Fly up to the property to clear the building site, pour the piers for my foundation,
maybe install a water tank on the property, and possibly cut down some trees for
the house.
Summer 2017- Stack the walls and get a roof on the structure.

I have issues I'll need to overcome:
Limited time on site each year.
Inability to get any heavy equipment on site.
The site is moderately sloped, so the downhill side of the home is going to be well off the ground.
No place to store tools or materials until I build it.
No way to gradually collect tools and materials (I'm overseas 11 months of the year). I'll have to time the arrival of ordered tools and materials to coincide with my arrival.

So while this isn't going to be a cake walk, for us it's doable and my wife is fully behind this. She was raised in a home with outdoor plumbing, cooking over a wood fire, and either growing or gathering 90% of their food. A log home in the woods is just her cup of tea.

welcome, LowKey.
sounds like you have a plan!
how big were you thinking of building?
Alaska's a beautiful place for a log cabin!!

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Originally Posted by LowKey

Hello all.
I'm signed up for the February class in Las Vegas; my flight is booked, hotel room in Harrah's already paid for, and my vacation approved, and I'm looking forward to attending and moving over into the members side of the site. No need for the, “Take the Class” mantra. I'm taking it, without doubt.

A few years back I purchased 3.3 acres of land in S.E. Alaska from the state.
Lot's of “No's” there that I like.
No roads, no utilities, no taxes, no close neighbors, no building permits, no zoning regulations, no building inspections. :D

Some other very nice upsides; I have a little over 450ft of saltwater shoreline on the fjord, two small streams one of which may be suitable for microhydro (depending on how it's flow varies over a year).

Downsides are that I'll need to bring everything in by boat from a public dock about 3 miles away (not so bad, really), and that prices for anything are going to be higher due to shipping costs.
That and the fact that I'll only be able to work on the place one a year for about 30 days at a shot as I work overseas. Each time I travel to the property it will be nearly 36 hours of travel time one way.

Currently my rough plans are:

February 2016- Attend the Class in Las Vegas
Summer 2016- Fly up to the property to clear the building site, pour the piers for my foundation,
maybe install a water tank on the property, and possibly cut down some trees for
the house.
Summer 2017- Stack the walls and get a roof on the structure.

I have issues I'll need to overcome:
Limited time on site each year.
Inability to get any heavy equipment on site.
The site is moderately sloped, so the downhill side of the home is going to be well off the ground.
No place to store tools or materials until I build it.
No way to gradually collect tools and materials (I'm overseas 11 months of the year). I'll have to time the arrival of ordered tools and materials to coincide with my arrival.

So while this isn't going to be a cake walk, for us it's doable and my wife is fully behind this. She was raised in a home with outdoor plumbing, cooking over a wood fire, and either growing or gathering 90% of their food. A log home in the woods is just her cup of tea.

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So, what's the problem?

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Originally Posted by panderson03

welcome, LowKey.
sounds like you have a plan!
how big were you thinking of building?
Alaska's a beautiful place for a log cabin!!

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Yes, it is.;)

I know the mantra here also includes the sage wisdom, "Build as small as you can afford", and I think I'll be complying with the spirit of that bit of advice even if I vary a bit from the letter of it. Presently I'm thinking of building, over time, three structures (one per year, maybe) that I can connect after the fact with enclosed walkways. So it may end up in the 3000 sqft range 4-6 years down the road when they're all done and tied together, but the first year I actually start to build something that falls between 600-1200 sqft. I'm already thinking square structures vs rectangular or other shapes. With the slope on the property (not to mention the over abundance of unusually large ,compared to lower 48 sized> black bears) I think I'm going to keep the uphill side of the house at least 8 ft above the slope (I want a wrap around deck with very wide roof overhangs).

So, small to start...yet large-ish later on down the road..

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Originally Posted by loghousenut

So, what's the problem?

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Uncertainty about when to prep the logs, amongst other things.
We get around 140 inches of rain a year, and humidity is just a bit high as you might imagine. I've talked to locals, who say that as long as I keep the logs off the ground that there shouldn't be any issue with rot, but I'm not sure if I should peel them first (should be easier, and all other things being equal what I'm inclined to do) or to leave the bark on to protect the log from mold, ect. Obviously I won't be there to turn them over the year they sit.
If I could/can swing it, I'd build a bare bones shed to keep the rain off of them, peel them, and let them air dry for a year*, but I'm worries that they would warp over that year without being rotated periodically.

The trees will be felled in the summer. It's the period of the year with the least rain, and I'd like to avoid working way out in the woods during the short winter days, in a freezing downpour if I can. :cool:


I know some of this stuff will get covered in class, and some of this might be better planned after class, but given the travel/time constraints I need to have my ducks in a row as much as possible well before hand.



*That way I start the build with a pile of logs to stack, not a pile of logs to peel and then stack.

lowkey, logs require very little prep. with our way of building it is preferred to fell the trees when the sap is down but it is not required. after felling, peal them. after pealing, spray with preservative. be sure to have your logs on log racks. if your logs are racked for a year they would definitely have the potential to warp. might consider a team of guys for your 30 days to cut and stack the logs in 1 30 day period of time? took us 9 days to stack our cabin's log walls:)

If your logs sit off the ground on sacrificial logs only at each end, there will likely be problems with sag. However, if you used 4 or more sacrificial logs spaced evenly, far less likely to have a created log warping problem. Just one idea to help.

Lowkey,
Our logs were on racks from 2 to 4 years because we did our own logging and it took a long time.
We had almost no warping of logs and if you are talking 2' logs and rack them as Ed said I don't see how they would do much warping.
Of course we were using Hemlock and there are no straight hemlocks anywhere in the east so I guess warping is relative like anything else.
And there are ways to use warped logs if you have a couple. Also if you put your racks up on short logs to get them further off the ground it helps with the vegetation growth up between them while they wait. Vegetation is one of the worst things on your logs especially in wet climates.

If your logs are anywhere near as crooked as mine, you will rack them with the crown up and pretend to yourself that they are getting straighter with every week in the sun.

New guy

Just found this today and super excited to learn and join the community

First and very important question- when yall say total cost or built for $xx,xxx

Are we talking turn key with plumbing, wiring, heat/AC etc?? I'm think cant be but have to ask

You're going to get a few numbers, and they do vary. Some include land, some do not. Some have upgraded kitchens, some do not. And so on.

Big factors include DIY vs. hiring pro's, using logs from your own land vs. buying an trucking, and how big the finished home is. Others will chime in soon, but please do not get frustrated looking for a single number. That's too hard.

And welcome!


Peter

Tex, I think 100 people would give 100 different answers to that cost question. I have 4 young kids and a wife that grew up in the suburbs. I figure I should be prepared to add at least one zero to what would be good enough for me. I'd love to be a younger, single, with no kids, LHBA member but then I'd probably end up being that crazy guy that lives alone in the woods... I guess that last part could still be in my future :D

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Originally Posted by allen84

LHBA member but then I'd probably end up being that crazy guy that lives alone in the woods...

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Hey!



:-)

Thanks - I understand about land cost and home "options" fancy high dollar stuff. I was just talking about the house as a whole as in move in livable turn key for $60K as example plus cost of land and extras. I have no doubt I can do the work as I am very mechanical in nature.

Welcome, Tex. I'm in San Antonio, are you in Texas?

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Originally Posted by Tex

Thanks - I understand about land cost and home "options" fancy high dollar stuff. I was just talking about the house as a whole as in move in livable turn key for $60K as example plus cost of land and extras. I have no doubt I can do the work as I am very mechanical in nature.

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Just remember the old adage, "You can do it fast, cheap or good, just pick two." If you build fast and cheap, you will lose quality, if you build cheap and good, it won't be fast and if you build fast and good, it won't be cheap.

We chose cheap and good and had a great 10 years getting it done!!

Im in the Austin area

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Originally Posted by Tex

Thanks - I understand about land cost and home "options" fancy high dollar stuff. I was just talking about the house as a whole as in move in livable turn key for $60K as example plus cost of land and extras. I have no doubt I can do the work as I am very mechanical in nature.

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Mine would have been about that, except I hired a hand. Add $15000. 24x24.

Sent from my VS986 using Forum Runner

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this site and am excited to learn about building with logs. My husband and I have been living on our land in north central Washington for about 4 years in a smaller park model trailer and are about ready to build a house that is NOT pre-made out of plastic. The wild fires swept through our land this summer (right after we had paid it off) and as a result, we have some of our own standing fire dead ponderosa pines that must be cut soon and we figure there are about a quarter of a million acres of the same sort of timber in our county, that may be for sale.
What do you all think of building with fire killed logs, if the inner log is okay? Or are there hidden aspects of this that need to be evaluated?
Thanks for any advice.

Those Pines are worth next to nothing... Unless you turn them into a log home.

We are building ours with Ponderosa Pine. Fire killed would have only made them better. Don't sit around thinking about it too long or you will find yourself stuck with a bunch of punky firewood and buying house logs. You are at the right place here.

PS... What diameters are those logs?

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...psqcoq39d5.jpg

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Originally Posted by Tex

when yall say total cost or built for $xx,xxx

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I have seen this question asked for the last 10 years. I have several clues...
If you are a minimalist then my best guess will be about 5 to 6 times the cost of your logs.
If your wife requires almost any thing (like a walk in tub) that will drive the costs up... maybe as much as 10 to 15 times as the cost of your logs...
If you take more than two years costs will go down. If you need to build it in less that one year it maybe impossible but certainly will increase the cost.
If you take more than 6 years cost will go up because stuff will change.
If you plan almost everything, use association plans, stick to the plan, have your wife agree with the plan, construct more than one model, have wood heat, simple kitchen and bath, and finish in less than two years, then you will be amazing... and will have the smallest possible cost.

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Originally Posted by rocklock

If your wife requires almost any thing (like a walk in tub) that will drive the costs up... maybe as much as 10 to 15 times as the cost of your logs...
.

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I'm thinking if you're married, especially with kids, this probably is a fact at minimum. I would NOT consider my wife high maintenance at all and she's a cheapskate compared to me but I also know her expectations...which don't quite add up right, but you get the idea I'm sure. I have about 900sq.ft. of storage that's almost over half filled of cheap or free finishings that suit the budget and her critiques. I've also been fortunate and waited quite a while for the right stuff.

Hi evryone. Im another newby to the list. My name is Philip (outdoorcountryboy). I hope to learn a lot here, because Im tired of the hipe from all the log kit companies. Im gona build my log house myself one way or another. I think this is where I should have started. Look forward to meeting new people and getting some education.

p.s. Im also new to posting on a forum. not sure I know what Im doing but please bare with me, Im a quick learner. any direct personal emails to help me will diffenantly be

appreciated. outdoorcountryboy@gmail.com

Welcome aboard newbie Philip. Here on the public side you might wanna not show your email. The spambots will have their way with you. If any of the members want to get ahold of you privately they can post a personal message though the forum.

If you are really done with every kit house peddler telling you how all the others do it wrong and only they have the true secret, then read on and see if you agree with me that LHBA has the real secret and everyone else has it all wrong.




Well maybe they are not ALL wrong, but if you want to build your own log home with your own hands, stick around. LHBA can get you going down a track that that leads toward success. You can be as lazy and dumb as I am and still figure out how to build a solid home that your Grandkids can leave to their heirs.





PS.... We are doing it without a mortgage. Try that with a kit house.

Tried to use the "reply to thread" but it didn't work. My husband took the class in March of 2014 and we have been scouring the members forum ever since. We are finally ready to start posting but unsure how.

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Originally Posted by outdoorcountryboy

Im gona build my log house myself one way or another. I think this is where I should have started. Look forward to meeting new people and getting some education.

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Philip you are exactly the kind of person that this forum is meant to attract. You have a lot of reading to do and I would sign up for the Feb class ASAP.

But first you need to understand one thing. Our method of building is for those that are unskilled. I have built my log home and you can see the pictures and several videos below. If I had to cut a notch even now, I would be in big trouble. I can measure, drill a hole in a log and beat the cr@p out of a re-bar to secure the log.... I am not finished with my log home but I have enjoyed the experience.

If you look back at page one of the topic, I asked a question about how to clear my land... That was over 10 years ago... Hard to believe, but I am still having fun and the wife still is changing stuff...

Not to drive anyone crazy, but I only work on my log home about 3 or 4 months a year...

Hi loghouse nut and rocklock. Im all signed up for the 2nd feb class.