Before You Die (appliances, camp, price)

[Bydand]

That's is exactly what I mean Zymer. Just way too many things left out of the ad. No mention of acreage, vague when it comes to location, and nowhere does it say it is a complete package. Just that he would be willing to build a small log cabin in the wood for just under $150,000. Shoot, I'll do the same thing. 1/3 down before the project, 1/3 when it is complete, the remainder when finished. That way I could just order a log cabin kit from a supplier with no money out of pocket, hire a couple of builders I know to put it all together, and still pocket 25 or 30 grand for doing NOTHING. Hope it works out for the guy, but it is still a horrible buy.

[Submariner]

The Amish in Smyrna Falls make very nice cabins for competitive prices, and they deliver.

[BacktoNE]

The first thing my husband asked was how much land you get for that price. Our initial reaction was that you aren't getting much for the money; but as someone else stated, this builder is targeting the "yuppies" who have plenty of cash to throw around and want a place to escape to.

[contented]

from years of experience i can tell you that a log cabin is a horrible, leaky, hard to maintain structure. it has some emotional appeal for folks who luv stuff from the "days gone by".

just think of this. each rough opening has at least a single jack stud on each side of it. those jack studs do not shrink lengthwise. every single log going up the jack shrinks some and many times all that shrinkage shows up in one or two places. ta da, leak holes.

i built a few in my younger days, including some massive ones. i'd rather eat dog s_ _ t than be involved in another. if one needs that frontier appeal, build it 2x6 stick built and slap some fake log siding on it.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by contented

from years of experience i can tell you that a log cabin is a horrible, leaky, hard to maintain structure. it has some emotional appeal for folks who luv stuff from the "days gone by".

just think of this. each rough opening has at least a single jack stud on each side of it. those jack studs do not shrink lengthwise. every single log going up the jack shrinks some and many times all that shrinkage shows up in one or two places. tada, leak holes.

i built a few in my younger days, including some massive ones. I'd rather eat dog s_ _ t than be involved in another. if one needs that frontier appeal, build it 2x6 stick built and slap some fake log siding on it.

Don't feel that you need to hold back your true feelings so much.

I will say that log-homes have some of the lowest R-value walls. In terms of heating cost and holding out the cold, you might do better with plywood and no insulation.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by contented

from years of experience i can tell you that a log cabin is a horrible, leaky, hard to maintain structure. it has some emotional appeal for folks who luv stuff from the "days gone by".

just think of this. each rough opening has at least a single jack stud on each side of it. those jack studs do not shrink lengthwise. every single log going up the jack shrinks some and many times all that shrinkage shows up in one or two places. ta da, leak holes.

i built a few in my younger days, including some massive ones. i'd rather eat dog s_ _ t than be involved in another. if one needs that frontier appeal, build it 2x6 stick built and slap some fake log siding on it.

The new ones are rather nice. They do not leak if built correctly, and with the right logs. You cannot build a log home with just any type of tree. I have wired log homes that were 1 story single bedroom, less than 800 square feet, to $1,000,000 2 1/2 story behemoths that have solarium's and doors that were more money each, than I make in a couple of months. I will agree that for the most part the appeal is aesthetics. Forest has it right about insulation value. 1" of wood equals R1 generally. So to get even halfway decent insulating value you have to have some MASSIVE logs. Most of the newer ones are stud wall interior except for the main living and dining rooms just because of that fact.

All that being said, I wouldn't put one up for myself except for maybe a hunting camp. Not my main year-round home just because they are a PITA to wire and do any changes to after they are finished.

[contented]

laffin.........beekeeper, actually kept a few of my true feelings to myself but have reached the age where i hope to be able to help others by passing on what i have learned in the 45 years i was a working carpenter/builder.

[Submariner]

On the positive side I will say that structurally a log home can be very strong. If you lived underneath a sheer cliff and had the possibility of a thirty foot dump of snow hitting you straight down. Then a log home would be very smart [or moving away from the cliff might also be smart. But who am I, when folks live in hurricane areas, flood plains, tornado alleys, brush fire forests. etc].

[msina]

My sister has lived in a log home for 25 years. It was built from a kit. The only problem I remember was, over time the chimney and logs seperated, leaving a space. She had bats and squirrels getting in. She had someone come out and fix the spot and replace some flashing. The logs used for her house were cut to fit together with "flat" tops and bottoms, and there was an insulating foam that went between them to "seal" them together.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by msina

My sister has lived in a log home for 25 years. It was built from a kit. The only problem I remember was, over time the chimney and logs seperated, leaving a space. She had bats and squirrels getting in. She had someone come out and fix the spot and replace some flashing. The logs used for her house were cut to fit together with "flat" tops and bottoms, and there was an insulating foam that went between them to "seal" them together.

bats and squirrels !

LOL

That sounds like a solid endorsement to me. Any home that bats and squirrels like