About Log Home Kits Design Ideas
Did you know that you can buy a log home kit? They can be found on the Internet and are cheaper than building a traditional handcrafted log home. Those handcrafted homes are made one log at a time and the logs are shaped using special tools. The log home kit won't take that long or be that tedious.
When looking for a log home kit there are a few options that can control the price of the kit. You want to make sure there are no hidden surprises so plan that the final price includes the price of the log home kit, the land and site work costs. Make sure your budgeted amount is above that final price.
Generally larger log homes will cost more to build. Also it will cost more to furnish, heat, maintain and pay in property taxes. If you want the most affordable price, then don't go for a large log home. Keep it moderate or smaller to really maximize your costs.
To get a handle on the real final price, find out if the builder will throw in extra charges for various things such as difficulty in reaching the location, crane needed, is electricity available or will it have to be brought in, are there utilities or will a septic tank need to be dug and installed? These are the kinds of questions that you need to ask. You don't want any special surprises to show up later that kill your budget.
I'm sure you know that the more architectural finesses you have, the more the log home will cost to build. Pick a log home kit design that doesn't drive the cost way up. Some examples of costly to build designs are cathedral ceilings, dormers, many windows, more than a plain roof.
A two story log home kit will cost less than a large single story log home of the same square footage. Why? Because the large first floor requires more below ground work and more of a roof. The heating and cooling costs will also be higher.
To control the costs of your log home kits, pay attention to everything mentioned above. Have fun planning your dream log homes though, they are a true joy to own.
If ever you are of the mind to own your own home, a log cabin home, log homes kits are the best thing to come around since sliced bread. Now, allow me to dispel a misconception here... by the sound of it, the concept of building a log home from a kit sounds almost like there would be a resulting many of the same design homes dotting the landscape, as though they were all popped out of molds, or a log cabin cookie cutter, if you will. I'm here to tell you that this just simply could not be any farther from the truth. There are countless designs to choose from, and all have room for changes to be made to each one, allowing great space and room for individuality from home to home. The "kit" part of this whole concept lies in something else entirely
The concept of log homes kits does not mean uniformity of house plans or designs. There is a sense of uniformity, but it all lies in the cut of the logs, how they fit together, and in their ability to be custom created to fit according to the individual designs of each log cabin. This is not only to provide ease of construction, but also to reduce by inordinate amounts the time it takes to complete the construction of a log-built structure. Basically, when you receive a kit, you get a complete package of all of the parts needed to build your log home - the logs themselves, the flooring, all windows and doors, and if not gotten separately, even all the "built-ins", such as kitchen cabinetry, for example. All parts are marked for proper placement and in the order they are to be constructed in.
Now, imagine building a log home not from a kit, but from scratch, with an amount of logs to be shaped and fitted on-site. This represents a huge amount of labor and time consumption. To lay down the first set of logs, and then to cut and shape the next logs to conform to the contours of the previously laid ones, all one log at a time in succession, would make the building of your home take up to many months to complete.
by J####:
It's just pics. No plans