log cabin kits?

[TedH71]

Went to check out a litter of Aussie pups and the guy said he assembled his log cabin house in less than 1 week but assembled the body frame for 3 days and then 1 week for the rest of it. Said it was very easy due to it being a kit and that he, himself, works in construction and remodeling. I really liked the porch design and the fact that the living room and kitchen had a really open layout (very important if you're deaf like my fiancee and I are) and the kitchen was large enough to make me feel excited about wanting to cook. Has anyone had experience putting together a kit or have recommendations? Only thing I didn't like was the fact that the logs were'nt scribed like in natural format but were cut in a way they look sort of like lego blocks. Am I making sense here?

[Rouen]

I've never built a cabin but there are several companys that sell the kits, a friend has a moosehead cabin, most of them have the lego block design to keep the logs in place and make building faster, do a google search on "log cabin kits" and you should find a bunch.

[NickieL]

I've never considered this before....what an excellent idea!!

[painterswife]

My first home was a "log home kit" First floor was formed logs that fit together like lego. My parents and I built it.

I was 30 years old(female) and first time home owner. We built it on wekends over one summer. I think it was 24 x 36 and two floors(second floor was not log)

It is very doable but not as quick as you think.

Jill

[glenn amolenaar]

Ted, There are two excellent log home sites www.lhoti.com and www.loghomereports.com both of these sites have member forums and lots of valuable information. If you can't find the information you want feel free to pm me I'll try to help. Glenn

[Hoop]

I put together a kit. My own. Cut the trees, had them milled flat on 3 sides, let them dry for a year, and put it up.

Anyone that tells you its easy or quick would lie about other stuff as well.

And it goes without saying, getting the walls up is just getting your feet wet. You'll need to frame the roof, finish the roof, ventilate, insulate, install doors/windows, install electrical, install plumbing, install water delivery system, install septic system, floor coverings, kitchen cabinets & countertops, bathroom fixtures, heating system, partition walls, paint/stain, lighting, interior doors, trim, and a host of other things.

[pheasantplucker]

Lincoln Logs (The Elk Pond) Kit contained logs, doors, windows, roof, subfloor, porch, joists, for about $32,000. Assembly took 33 days, for outside shell, roof, doors and windows, interior framing for walls, steps, but did not include insulation, tile for bathroom, plumbing, tongue and groove floor. Mine has two bedrooms, two baths, kitchen, L shaped great room, loft and porch. I'd say this guy is BSing you if he can build anything much bigger than a big minibarn in three days.

[paulaswolfpack]

Summerwood has good kits,paula
http://www.summerwood.com/

[knuckledragger]

Before you go the "kit" route, heck out www.loghomebuilders.org. I've done some research, and I really like their approach. I have not attended their class yet, I intend to sometime in 2008.

[sugarbush]

The kits cost more than a stick built house and as stated above are only the exterior shell, they don't inclued the interior...... if you own the trees you can gave a kit milled pretty cheaply.

[just_sawing]

I own the sawmill and have carpentry skills and the equipment. Heres is the problem that I have. There isn't a log home in the world that doesn't have periodic matenance more than conventional buildings. They gather there energy saving from being a heat sink not insulation. The log home is only for the love not being what is best.

[WindSongAcres]

We just built our log house last year - had a professional crew lay the logs and dry it in - then we did the rest. Ours is approximately 2000 sq ft with full unfinished walk-out basement. It took 4-5 guys over 20 days to dry it in and then took us over 3 months of work to finish the interior. Lots of work - but it's the most liveable house we've ever owned. And cedar smells good!

[Ed Norman]

I know a guy who got the cutoff ends of those lego logs from a factory. He built a cabin, probably 25X40 or so, and none of the pieces are over 5' long. Really nice cabin up in the mtns.

[coalroadcabin]

TedH71,
Our handcrafted walls went up in less than two days, so I guess if you know what you're doing you can stack the walls (either milled kit or handcrafted) pretty quickly.



I just have a hard time believing he finished his house in a week...........roofing, framing interior walls, wiring, plumbing, installing interior wall covering, staining, installing kitchen cabinets, laying flooring--all of that stuff takes time.




BTW, Hello Glenn. Nice to see a fellow lhotian here!!
~Susan

[glenn amolenaar]

If you construct a log building properly with, longer roof over hangs or porch and good quality stain sealer and build the walls correctly (seal air leaks) it will out last any 2x stick building and be easy to heat/cool. There is more to it then stacking logs. Windows,doors,insulation quality materials. It takes a lot of labor and time unless you are happy with a " GOOD OLD BOY" kind of a building. Glenn