Building A Log Home From Scratch
Article by Jan Burmistroff
The beauty and rustiness of the rural west lies in its log homes. Reminiscent of the wild west days, these types of homes serve as relics of the past and have been one the main reasons why people visit rural west. Log houses are abundant in this part of the country for many reasons. They are easy to build. You would only need to put the logs together and then off you go. You do not need any elaborate plan or foundation to get a good cabin home. Again, it is cheaper to put up. With just a few hundreds of Dollars you can have a perfect cabin home. Still more, the raw materials for these types of houses are easy to come by. The rural west is noted for its large supply of timber. The use of logs has another use - it provides warmth during the winter and coolness during the warm summers.
Though the log home could be said to be very attractive to the rural builder, there are some precautions that you must take so you get the best out of your home. You should be able to protect your investment and expect the log home to be intact for years. Though they are cheap to build, you would not want to have to do any remodeling or extensive renovations just a year after purchase.
You should be very careful about asking for special things for your home. Most of the homes you ca find come with predefined plans. These are the easiest to do. The builders may have been using this plan for years and therefore will guarantee the best output if you allow them to. You would only have to ask them for the various types that they have and the choose one that best appeals you. Asking for too much may mean they will have to incur extra cost to give you a simple log home - which will defeat the purpose of building a log home - affordability.
You should thoroughly plan your building before you start. A log home will serve many uses and it is better you plan ahead rather than make modifications the future due to unsuitability problems. If you are building a simple residential home, you must plan for it accordingly. If you intend to use it as a ranch or some hostel or guest house, you will have to do that accordingly. Since it is made of wood, making alterations to the log home presents a lot of challenges as wood can be easily displaced and rendered unsuitable for another thing. Take extra care to ensure performance about any material that you use and be satisfied about its durability before you use it for the building.
You should seek the services of a skilled log home builder. Building a house from logs is quite different from that of conventional concrete and brick houses. Special attention will have to be given to certain sections. For example a small leakage in the roof can cause the wood to rot gradually and cost you later. If the wood is not properly preserved, it can rot away and cause problems too. In some cases, portions of the home can come off if not properly assembled. Remember log houses are a mere assemblage of materials. Not much construction is done anywhere so the entire house depends on the skill of the builder for its durability and not the quality the items or materials used in building it.
It has been suggested that the foundation beams shouldn't be too close to the ground. Snow must not entirely cover them. Again, you should be able to construct rain gutters so that runoff weather from the roof is properly collected. The splashing of the rain from the roof can cause gullies and endanger the stability of the house.
The roof should overlap so that the base of the log home is not constantly wet during rainfall. The rain should not pound against the foundation or the lower beams. They can remove the earth around that place and weaken the foundation.
You should take interest in your log hoe surroundings. Do well to plant trees around the home. This will protect the cabin house against storms. It will also prevent erosion and keep the land in good shape.
A rural cabin house is a delight. It is inexpensive to buy or build but you should take special care to ensure that you ate able to maintain it well so that you can derive the benefit for which you bought it.
About the Author
Jan writes for HorseClicks Properties, classifieds of horse property listed for sale in Illinois, including Illinois farms and Illinois land.
