When it comes to building a log home the ideal property characteristics are different than that for a stick frame home.
Especially for a DIY butt and pass log home (less so for a kit or off-site built hand crafted log home).
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A) For a kit home, all the wall materials typically arrive on a flatbed trailer. A standard forklift can easily unload and set everything in a normal sized front yard.
All the wall components (milled timber products) are usually fairly short, at around 12 feet in length. It's easy to move them around the jobsite by hand and erect a wall.
B) Handcrafted log homes typically use full length wall logs, that uses real logs and the length is typically 'full wall length.'
Generally all the notch work is done at a builder's log yard, and then shell is dissembled, shipped on a flat bed and/or logging truck to the final jobsite where it is put back together.
All the on-site shell building can be done with a crane, which often can remain in a single location during the entire build.
Styles A and B above are great for small lots, an acre or even less.
C) Butt and Pass log home construction uses full length logs, length of wall + 16" to 24" for the over-dangle (a part of the log that sticks out of the corner).
And all log processing is done on site, which means the property needs to be larger than for styles A and B.
There needs to be space for laying out logs for peeling that does not interfere with the foundation area or the designated septic area.
Typically the logs are moved with a telehandler and placed into the walls, which means there needs to be additional space around the foundation for driving a telehandler and the length of log that it is carrying (the log is typically perpendicular to direction of travel, it makes for a wide load).
So the first property criteria when it comes to building a log home is lot size.
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Another important issue is the soil conditions as it relates to septic fields. Ideally the property should be eligible for a gravity septic system.
That style is easy to install and can cost as little as $5000, they seldom fail, and they require minimal maintenance.
Any other septic style/method can add a large amount of expense and complexity / maintenance onto a build.
New city sewer hook ups can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000.
An aerobic septic system or above ground sand system, both of which is a specialized, can easily cost $12,000 to $20,000.
They also fail at a greater rate than a traditional gravity system, and require more intensive maintenance.
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Driveways! This can be preference, but it also matters for construction.
A driveway that is very steep, or that has sharp turns, makes it very difficult to move logs and supplies to a log home build site.
We've had one member who pulled each houselog up his driveway with an ATV by placing an axel/wheels at the midpoint of the log, iirc it was due to difficulty getting a logging truck up his driveway.
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Feel free to add your own tips below, the ones above are just the start.
And some tips might be personal preference, age dependent, et cetera.
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Originally Posted by allen84
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