Once you make the decision to build a log home,
the planning begins. As part of this process,
you'll purchase land, you'll select a log home
company, you'll choose and customize a floor plan,
you'll decide on log style and wood type, you'll
set a budget, you'll select a mortgage company
or bank, you'll either find a general contractor
or act as your own contractor, and you'll set
your schedule.
Home
Planning Software - Amazing and Fun One of the most useful (and most fun) tools
you now have available to you for planning your
log home is home designer or home
planner software. These programs allow you
to design your home to an incredible level of
detail, almost to the professional blueprint level.
Many even allow you to place furniture and fixtures,
and let you take a realistic 3-D walk-thru of
your virtual house to see exactly what it will
look like. In this article, we'll talk about what's
available and how to use this type of software
to plan your log home.
How
to Buy Land for your Log Home Choosing just the right of property for
your new log home is an important part of your
overall plans. In fact, many people often find
a piece of land long before deciding that it would
be a great spot for a log home. Before you fall
in love with a beautiful home site, be sure to
get your emotions in check long enough to take
a practical look at the site. Will it work for
the home that you want? Does the location fit
your lifestyle needs? Are there legal issues that
might be a problem?
Choosing
Your Log Home Company There are dozens of log home companies
offering a wide variety of plans, products, and
services. Although many of these companies are
much alike in many respects, the differences in
their products, services, and business approach
often make it difficult to compare them and decide
between them. In this 2-part article we'll tell
you what to look for in a log home company, how
to compare them, and how to use them to make your
planning task easier.
How
Much Will My Log Home Cost? This is one of the top questions asked
by prospective log home owners. It's not an especially
difficult question to answer but it requires a
bit of effort. We'll show you how to get a rough,
high-level estimate, and then tell you how to
refine that estimate as you get more detailed
information. We'll also tell you how to cut costs
if your dream home is beyond your budget.
Site
Planning - Siting Your Log Home Choosing the property for your log home
is an important part of the process, but deciding
how your home will sit on that property (called
"siting") is just as important. Remember,
you'll only get one chance to get it right. Proper
siting will be important for a number of reasons:
it affects the cost of excavation and construction,
it affects the energy efficiency of your home,
it affects the views you'll have from your home,
and it affects accessibility. Likewise, siting
choices can be controlled by zoning laws, building
codes, and covenants.
Finding
the Right Log Home Plan One of the most time-consuming planning
tasks for most potential log home owners is that
of deciding on a plan. Finding just the right
plan, with the right features, the right layout,
and the right size — not to mention the
right appearance — can be daunting. Most
log home companies have their own portfolios of
plans, but it's rare that any one of those plans
will exactly meet your needs. Fortunately, most
log home companies have an architectural staff
that can modify plans or even create new plans
from scratch — or adapt plans that you've
found at another log home company. However, be
aware that you can't just make any changes and
that compromises may be required.
What's
With the Different Types of Wood? Eastern White Pine, Western Red Cedar,
White Cedar, Cyprus, Oak. Some log home companies
use only one type of wood and others offer options
from a number of different species. Most will
be happy to tell you why their varieties are better
than their competitors'. So is there really a
best wood species for log home construction? What
are the characteristics of each type? How important
is it to make the right choice?
Which
Style (Profile) Log? There are real handcrafted round logs,
there are milled round logs, there are half-round
logs, there are square logs, there are "D"
logs — among others that can be offered
by log home companies. There is even log siding
in a variety of styles. Most prospective log home
owners will prefer one style over others because
of visual appeal and appearance. But are there
more practical reasons to choose one style over
another? We will explore the answers in this article.
Should
You Care About Log Drying Methods? Log home companies tout their particular
log drying methods as being the best. Is kiln-drying
really better than air-drying? Is 15% moisture
content better than 20%? Should logs be pre-treated
for insects? How do we sort through these confusing
issues and determine which are important and which
are mostly marketing hype?
What's
the Fuss About Settling and Shrinkage? All homes build of wood, whether log or
not, will experience some settling. Since log
homes have more wood in the walls than a conventional
home, the effects can be more exaggerated. But
is this something a future log home owner needs
to be concerned about? Let's find out in this
article.
