Introduce yourself

[crayon]

Hello all. American citizen currently living in Switzerland and moving back to California to start a new job and, hopefully, get my mom (who still lives in Alaska) to come and live with us (due to my father passing last year). Used to live in Seattle and never got around to taking this class when I was up there. Now that I'm going to be back in the SF Bay area (again) I'm looking forward to finding some piece of land in Truckee maybe and building a place where we can all go and hang out in the summer or as a base to ski from in the winter. Kind of got hooked on the whole log home idea way back when I was sixteen and floating down he Forty Mile River in Alaska as part of a Youth Conservation Corps team. You are really out in the middle of nowhere there and at one point we came around this bend in the river and there was this great log house sitting there (not some abandoned miner/hunter cabin). It always stuck in my head. Anyway, I actually don't get back to the US until the first week of April so, unfortunately, I can't take the class in March otherwise I would. Hoping they don't have the dreaded '5 years between classes' as is mentioned. That would be kind of...not good. :-)

[StressMan79]

888, you'll want a minimum of 1 usable acre around your home for staging, maneuvering, etc. Log Home ppl want privacy, so if selling it is even a possibility, 5 acres + is required.

There is at least one member building in Japan right now. his place is GORGEOUS. It can be done even in cm/tonne/etc.

[Plumb Level]

Hi Ron - welcome. Sorry to hear of your loss.

That pumphouse photo looks like it belongs on a postcard.

[Danita]

Hi Everyone! I'm Danita, a Grandma from North Louisiana! I just signed up for the March class!! I have been wishing and hoping and trolling LHBA for almost 10 years!! Finally! Whew! Well, I just wanted to say "Hi"! I'm going over to dance with the new ones that have just signed up for the new class. I'll be back....

[panderson03]

Hi there Danita! welcome. so happy you've decided to join us

[marronnin]

Wow, Danita... you win in the lurking contest. We'll see you in Vegas!!

[Mosseyme]

Some_guy
There are several builds ongoing in the smoky mountain area.
take the class and join us. We would welcome a youngun round here.

[Mosseyme]

Some_guy
There are several builds ongoing in the smoky mountain area.
take the class and join us. We would welcome a youngun round here. We are out of Murphy.

[Danita]

Thanks, I'm a great example of never giving up on my dreams!

[chokonen888]

Hi,
Welcome to the forum! Lake Arrowhead is in San Bernardino county, I think? Before you buy land, check out what kind of permits the county would require and how much they cost. California can be very expensive for permits in comparison to many other states. As for the size of the land parcel, remember that you will need a place to store your logs while building and room to maneuver around the building site.
Sarah

Yep, that's the area. The "California Log home" on here is in neighboring Big Bear so it's definitely possible...as to how much of a headache and $$$, definitely need to research it.

888, you'll want a minimum of 1 usable acre around your home for staging, maneuvering, etc. Log Home ppl want privacy, so if selling it is even a possibility, 5 acres + is required.

There is at least one member building in Japan right now. his place is GORGEOUS. It can be done even in cm/tonne/etc.

Hmmm, most of the reasonably priced lots are around 0.2~0.5 Acres. I guess there is also the possibility of buying larger land with a small home on it already and living there as I slowly build. One quick question...if 1 Acre is the minimum for staging, what would the minimum be if hiring a builder that had all the needed equipment? As far as privacy goes, not a whole lot up there if you want land with lake rights...even less if you want a lake view. BUT, the upside is the proximity to LA and the local community has quite a lot of good stuff going for it.

[chokonen888]

Forgot to mention, although I was planning on the March class, I just had something thrown at me on that exact weekend here in Japan Any idea when the next class will be?

[Taz]

Another newb here who just today got turned on to this site by my BIL-matter of fact I have been on his computer for the last day reading.
I just signed up for class notifications as I also am unable to do the March class but excited to catch one soon.
No versions of grandios size and 800-1000sf and loft so imagine 1200-1400 sf tops. No land yet and been looking for a year. Northern MN - WI - MI been in my search.
I know there is a recession going on but the people selling don't seem to know that. lol Crazy prices like they were in 2006 and 2007 remain on everything I want. The "want" may be changed if this continues.
Name's Taz - or nickname anyway. I was pretty wild when young like a Tazmanian devil I''m told. It stuck

[panderson03]

Hey Taz, welcome to the LHBA site! glad you're here. after you take the class, come visit our build and give us a hand. we can always use help! we're we're building in northern mn. got the 36x36 garage under roof last year (will be finishing getting it weather-tight this building season) and will be stacking logs on the cabin this year too. So we DEFINITELY need the help

[Jim McKenzie]

Ok, here is mine.

I'm just about to turn 59. I've moved to Massachusetts again (this time Cape Cod) to finish out my careeer. I'm an IT guy, a Chief Information Officer and work in a suit all day...just the type of guiy to build a log cabin.

But I've always wanted to live in one....now to retire in one. I'm getting ready to start looking for land, probably in the western Mass, New Hampshire and Vermont areas. Somewhere near Lake Winnipesaukee would be ideal.

I have no carpenter, electrician, plumbing or other handyman skills and the thought of building a cabin frankly both excites and terrifies me. I'd like to be "done" with it in about five years, so I think my timeline may be good. Need to take Skip's class first before I do anything, but start a new job Monday with no vacation for 90 days. Hopefully an East Coast class if they are still run occasionally.

I''ve been lurking and reading quite a bit, and looked at a slew of the blogs. Very impressed with the homes the students have built.

[Cruiser]

Jim,

Welcome! Don't worry about not having the experience, most here didn't have any or very little before building. It can be overwhelming to think about doing this yourself. The key is to look at the build in steps. If you break it down that way, its not so intimidating. It is a lot of work, but enjoyable work, well at least most of it. Your 5 year time frame will work perfectly without rushing you at all. We are glad to have you on board and look forward to hearing from you more often.

[Timber]

Hello, My name is Ron, Have a couple of acres in the Oregon Cascade Mountains. Bought the bare property 10 years ago, and put in a small wood shop, and a trailer house, to be used as a temporary living quarters which I am still living in. My wife and I had planned on beginning construction of a small log house this spring, but I lost her to breast cancer last summer.

I still hope to get started someday. I'm not new to the handcrafted log home business. My family and I built a log home in Idaho, and I worked for a while as a handcrafter for Oregon Log Homes, and a couple of other places. Also have made lots of artistic rustic furniture. Heres a picture of the pumphouse I built 10 years ago. Built from windfall logs that were on the property. I took the picture recently.

that picture looks to good to be real, you must have some photography skills,love the black n white

[jrdavis]

Jim McK,
Welcome -- You find a lot of I.T. folks here. Some have even updated their profiles to reflect it.
We've have folks from all walks of life. CIO's to Preachers, Farmers to retired. Handicapped to brutes (like LHN)

So make yourself and home and we look forward to seeing you on the other side.

JD

[John W]

To all the recent folks that are slightly older than me (I'm 50), you're keeping my dream alive! Like Danita, you rock! I know I won't be able to start for several years and think sometimes I started down this path too late. But it's just not true if you believe it will happen. It came from an unlikely source (I'm not a big fan of hollywood stars), but I seem to quote it fairly often. Will Smith was talking about his childhood and how his dad made the kids build a long brick wall over the summer that was the front of his shop. He said you don't have to build a wall in one day, but if you lay a couple bricks down every day, pretty soon it starts looking like a wall. So like Cruiser and others have said, break it down and do it piece by piece, and pretty soon, it's going to start coming together. And of course, step one, and I should follow my own advice...Take The Class.

[ronwoodcraft]

Thanks Timber, Photography is my main hobby right now. I have learned that taking advantage of the right lighting conditions helps a lot.

[ronwoodcraft]

To all the recent folks that are slightly older than me (I'm 50), you're keeping my dream alive! Like Danita, you rock! I know I won't be able to start for several years and think sometimes I started down this path too late. But it's just not true if you believe it will happen. It came from an unlikely source (I'm not a big fan of hollywood stars), but I seem to quote it fairly often. Will Smith was talking about his childhood and how his dad made the kids build a long brick wall over the summer that was the front of his shop. He said you don't have to build a wall in one day, but if you lay a couple bricks down every day, pretty soon it starts looking like a wall. So like Cruiser and others have said, break it down and do it piece by piece, and pretty soon, it's going to start coming together. And of course, step one, and I should follow my own advice...Take The Class.

Yes, I like seeing these folks on here too. I'm 53 and have not worked with logs for 10 years.(Other than 1500+ pieces of rustic furniture.)

[edkemper]

JimK,

Did you ever see the Cable "reality" show of the family of little people that built a pretty impressive farm in Oregon? Trust me, you can do it.

I'm 61 in a few days. I'm in the process of arranging for bilateral Total Knee Replacements this year. Then I have to get another round of surgery on both shoulders. I could pay for extensive rehabilitation or build my home. Trust me, you can do it.

Welcome.

[Danita]

ronwoodcraft, WELCOME! LOVE the picture! It literally took my breath! thanks.
So, so sorry about your wife. This is a great group of folks here to "chat" with. Thanks for sharing with us.
Do you have a link to photos of your furniture?
Your photo reminded me of Wyoming winters--beautiful! I lived up there a few lifetimes ago. Wouldn't want to again, but I'm glad I did it.

To all who are nearing 60 or above, I've been hearing for years that 60 is the new 40! Even if there are a few replaced joints we are still alive and dreaming!

Danita

[ronwoodcraft]

ronwoodcraft, WELCOME! LOVE the picture! It literally took my breath! thanks.
So, so sorry about your wife. This is a great group of folks here to "chat" with. Thanks for sharing with us.
Do you have a link to photos of your furniture?
Your photo reminded me of Wyoming winters--beautiful! I lived up there a few lifetimes ago. Wouldn't want to again, but I'm glad I did it.

To all who are nearing 60 or above, I've been hearing for years that 60 is the new 40! Even if there are a few replaced joints we are still alive and dreaming!

Danita

Thanks Danita, I have a website, but I placed it on hold, since I don't have anything for sale. Also had a difficult time editing anything in it since my wife built the website.

I have lost a lot of pictures over the years due to computers crashing.

However I do have a few hundred pictures in photobucket. Unorganized and not public. I could start a thread and post some pictures, or make a sub album in photobucket and make it public. (Or both?)

Thanks for your kind words,

Ron

[happyquilter]

I'm 58 and going strong. Just took up downhill skiing last year! My mom is 86 and vigorous. She still tent-camps with us, sleeping on the ground on a air mattress. So I figure I will enjoy our log home at least 30, maybe 40 years! Then it will be a lasting legacy for the generations to come.

Shari

[loghousenut]

To all who are nearing 60 or above, I've been hearing for years that 60 is the new 40! Even if there are a few replaced joints we are still alive and dreaming!

Danita

Heck, I'd be happy if 60 were the new 52!

I'll be 58 on the 15th of this month. If I can do it anyone can.

[rocklock]

I just had my 68 birthday...
Stacking logs keeps me young... OBTW my BP is 110/70 today...
Shari, my wife is a quilter as well.... Do you have a long arm?
I was born in Tacoma in the same hospital as my mother and just down the road from where my grandmother was born... Have you folks looked for land in the rain shadow of Sequim? Getting 11 inches of rain in a temperate zone is very cool.

[Kick Forward]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Josh and I'm a recovering 9-5 worker slaving over a 30 year mortgage.

Just kidding, I'm currently still addicted... Ok, no more bad jokes.

I'm 30 and will be married for two years as of this June. My wife, Abigail, and I live in Eastern Pennsylvania, but we're planning on selling our home and moving to Kentucky where most of her family lives now. We've been looking at property for quite some time now, but our house is currently not ready to be put on the market, and with the economy how it is... not sure what to think, but I'm staying optimistic.

I'm a ux (user experience) designer and work from fairly large companies such as Adobe, Nike, Pfizer... I was definitely the artsy one of the family. My grandfather was a professional artist/photographer, but somehow that skipped over my dad's generation and I got a double dose of it. Growing up, I was also very good at math. Dare I say I even enjoyed it? My high school math reached did not care so much for me, in fact she kicked me out of two classes within the four years I had her. I think she mostly didn't care for the fact that I got regularly the highest grades in my graduating class, yet knew I never studied and really cared.

I went to community college after high school because I wasn't really sure I wanted to commit to a good four year college and studied art. I picked up web design as a degree and have been successful as a ui designer ever since. You can see some of my (older) work here: www.joshnittle.com (I'm not trying to solicit work, just giving background). My work has been featured in top magazines, I've won tons of awards, and most recently, been featured on display at the Museum of Modern Art in NY.

All that aside, I'm not sure how much longer I can do this. I'm good at my job and it's hard to walk away when I'm able to provide for my family, but sitting behind a computer day in and day out is just zapping away my passion. I grew up an artist like I said, and being that I was naturally gifted in math, I thought I'd always be an architect. I've even doodled what I thought my dream house would be like as a kid and followed stories on architecture. I think building a house has always been in my blood, and hearing everyone's perspective on how they live really makes me feel at home here. I've just signed up for the next class this March and something inside me is telling me this is the beginning of a turning point in my life.

Well I'll stop blabbing on, I'm sure we'll all get to know each other in the years to come. Here's a short video trailer from our wedding our friend shot. We got married at my wife's parents' farm. A log barn is second on my list after my log house!

- Josh Nittle

[Danita]

Hi Josh, I love weddings so I watched the whole video! and smiled. Thanks! see you in March...