Update on the house

[Magistrate]

So tell me Magistrate, all things being equal, did the log home cost more or less than a conventional framed house?

The wife is all wound up about wanting a log cabin again.  I'd just like to know if it is even a possibility.  I'm a "cut it off twice and it's still too short" kind of carpenter, so it would have to be mostly a turnkey deal for me.  Although I can do plumbing and electrical fine.

I honestly think that it would be close to a wash for a turn key home. It may cost a bit more for the home itself, but the labor to construct it would be somewhat less, because once the log walls are up, the only left to do to them is staining. No insulation, sheetrock, or spackling needs to be done. I got my log kit from Honest Abe Log Homes out of Moss, Tn. They were great to work with and made it easy for the do it yourselfer. They had a one day school to learn how to use the construction manual and covered the process of building the home yourself. The kits are sold through dealers around the country and those dealers may do contracting or have a list of approved contractors to do it all the way to a turn key. We considered the costs when we were planning the house and had a couple of options in order to stay in our budget.
1. Buy a turn key home and go with inexpensive cabinets and fixtures inside.
2. Contract part of the construction and finish it ourselves to get middle of the road cabinets and fixtures.
Or 3. Do as much as possible ourselves, and go high end with all of the cabinets, fixtures, and flooring.
We had a home to live in, so time was not an issue for us. Contracting it all would have us in the home sooner, but we didn't think that we would have been as happy with the end result, so we opted to go it on our own to save money and get the best cabinets and fixtures that we could. That allowed us to get 100% real wood cabinets and frames, tile floors in the laundry and baths, laminate flooring through the rest, High end lighting fixtures, a stone wall in the Greatroom and Master Bedroom, underfloor heating (which I LOVE and BTW which we will recover in energy savings)
Our final cost for the home (not counting land) is looking to be right at $70 /sq.ft., by doing almost all of the work ourselves. That is extremely low for what we are getting. If we had contracted it all and went with the same materials that we have used, the cost would have been close to double. $3 /sq.ft was to have the logs hand hewn inside and outside. We could have saved $5000 if we had gone with milled logs. It would look really nice, but the look just would not have been the same as what we were wanting.
Personally, I have no regrets for our decision. We planned this over a 4 year period and considered everything that we could beforehand, so I really doubt that we will be dissatisfied in a few years and want to sell. We talked at length about our likes and dislikes and what we would love to have in our dream home. We made almost all of the decisions before construction started, so the only problem we have had, is finding the time to devote to building our dream home. It has gone slower than we had expected, but it has been well worth it.

[Mr442]

I appreciate the info, that will help us in our decision process if we decide to have something built.

[Magistrate]

I appreciate the info, that will help us in our decision process if we decide to have something built.

Anytime my friend! I will be happy to answer any questions that you may have, or at least point you in a direction that may help. If you decide to give it a try, I would be happy to share what I have learned from our experiences. Make the garage a big one!

[followsthewolf]

Magistrate posted:

"Make the garage a big one!"

Now, THAT is some A-1 advice.

Hear, hear!!!

[Mr442]

I am a realtors worst nightmare   I want an 8 car garage with living quarters nearby

[Gryphon]

that is an incredible sf price, Mag. Youre right...it would be twice that, easy, if you all hadnt put so much into it.

[Magistrate]

I am a realtors worst nightmare   I want an 8 car garage with living quarters nearby

ROFL! The first set of plans I drew up was just like that! It even had a pit and everything!

[Magistrate]

that is an incredible sf price, Mag. Youre right...it would be twice that, easy, if you all hadnt put so much into it.

I was really surprised when I added up all of the bills. It was much less than I thought it would be. We really were blessed in that. God is good!

[Gryphon]

started putting up any of the stone yet?

[Magistrate]

started putting up any of the stone yet?

Not yet. I am finishing the trim where the ceiling meets the logs and then I will I clean it for spraying the polyurethane. Once that is done, then I will get the sheetrock up. Once that dust generator is done, then I will do the stone. If I do it now, I will have to figure a way to cover it all or have to clean all of the sheetrock dust out of the nooks and crannies! I am getting anxious to get the stone up though. I hope it will look as good as it does in my head! LOL

[Gryphon]

Not yet. I am finishing the trim where the ceiling meets the logs and then I will I clean it for spraying the polyurethane. Once that is done, then I will get the sheetrock up. Once that dust generator is done, then I will do the stone. If I do it now, I will have to figure a way to cover it all or have to clean all of the sheetrock dust out of the nooks and crannies! I am getting anxious to get the stone up though. I hope it will look as good as it does in my head! LOL

I know from experience about cleaning dust from logs...when the folks did the renovation on the kitchen of their log house, it was a several weekend job to clean all the dust from the "ledges"

[Mr442]

Create a draft with a fan to suck the dust outside.  That's what I do when I work on a room.  I set a cheap box fan in a window, plug up the rest of the opening with plastic, then turn on the fan.  I also close and tape up the doorways and closets as best I can.  I leave it that way until I am done with the clean-up.  My shop vac gets a workout sucking up dust, but it is far better than using a broom.

[Magistrate]

Create a draft with a fan to suck the dust outside.  That's what I do when I work on a room.  I set a cheap box fan in a window, plug up the rest of the opening with plastic, then turn on the fan.  I also close and tape up the doorways and closets as best I can.  I leave it that way until I am done with the clean-up.  My shop vac gets a workout sucking up dust, but it is far better than using a broom.

Great idea, my friend. That is what I will do.

[followsthewolf]

Careful sucking up too much sanding dust from drywall compound.

Tends to clog shop vac filters very fast.

If I use them, I buy a couple of extra filters so I can wash and dry them on a rotational basis.

Maybe someone else knows of a better system or shop vac.

[Magistrate]

Careful sucking up too much sanding dust from drywall compound.

Tends to clog shop vac filters very fast.

If I use them, I buy a couple of extra filters so I can wash and dry them on a rotational basis.

Maybe someone else knows of a better system or shop vac.

My shop vac has bags as well as filters, so it should work out OK. I don't have alot of sanding to do on the walls, because I am going to make it a textured surface, then knock it down while it is still workable, to give it a rustic look. So there shouldn't be alot of sheetrock sanding to be done (I hope!). Most of my sanding is on the ceiling getting the finish on the wood ready for sealing.