Any Experience Building a LOG CABIN in Hawaii... Big Island? (Hilo: sale, house)
Big IslandThe Island of Hawaii
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hey, how about a Haiku house? Haiku Houses It's kinda like a tropical log house. They've even built a few of them around here so you can go see the houses before starting.
Haiku Houses are stunningly beautiful, yes, based on traditional Japanese "post & beam" construction. I have a Haiku Houses catalog on my bookshelf that I take out every once in a while and look through wistfully. Because they are also stunningly expensive.
Yurts aren't designed for a tropical climate, they are designed for a high steppe climate. Folks wax poetical about them occasionally, but they are even less tropical than a log cabin.
Bamboo is very, very hard and termite resistant. See Why Bamboo? for more information.
I downloaded the brochure and the prices look reasonable - depending on size, style etc.
Mickey
Oooh and they have one on sale. Wonder how long it takes to get that approved for set up here......
I've heard bamboo does very well on the BI, my landlord got termites in his wood flooring so he tented the house, ripped them out and replaced with bamboo floors no more termites.
I had a bamboo pole that I used as a fruit-picker, and it was eaten by termites. So the old saw (pun intended) about termites never eating bamboo is false. That's as far as my experience goes, but my opinion goes on...
Those Haiku houses look OK, but nothing more than a construction technique, and nothing like a "cabin" or a "kit" in price or appearance. Plus, they seem a bit outdated compared to the similar Indonesian-style that is popular now. The Honsador house kits are so much island-style. Turn it into the trade-winds, add a huge covered lanai (or use the carport like everyone else), paint it green and put on a metal roof, and you have yourself an island home.
I live in a very large log cabin that was NOT a kit home. It is true that the logs are a bit much for the termites. And, log homes are a bit much for your banker, also. You will NOT be able to finance more than about 70-75% of the home value as 'kit cabins' are thrown in there with 'manufactured housing'.
Just a heads up.
I had a bamboo pole that I used as a fruit-picker, and it was eaten by termites. So the old saw (pun intended) about termites never eating bamboo is false.
Exactly. Maybe elsewhere termites are not a problem for bamboo, but on the Big Island they are.
There's a guy in Keaau who has designed a very interesting line of metal connectors for building space-truss type structures from bamboo. He designed the big tent like shelters at the Hilo dump recycling stations. From reading through his materials I remember that part of his deal was doing a bromate soak of the bamboo to make it less termite-tasty.
Exactly. Maybe elsewhere termites are not a problem for bamboo, but on the Big Island they are.
There's a guy in Keaau who has designed a very interesting line of metal connectors for building space-truss type structures from bamboo. He designed the big tent like shelters at the Hilo dump recycling stations. From reading through his materials I remember that part of his deal was doing a bromate soak of the bamboo to make it less termite-tasty.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I live in one
