log home or cabin

[kevfish1]

who makes a good log home or cabin in minnesota????

[whitebassman]

What I've always thought of doing for a home/cabin is to do something different. Yes log cabins have a nostalgia to them, but I personally kinda like the idea of a dome home. Not the geodomes, but a monolithic dome. All sorts of sizes available and customizable too. Its design will withstand hurricanes and tornado's passing right over them! Check out their HSOforum, they are based out of Texas.

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[Dark Cloud]

Not sure about out in MN but heres some things to ponder. My parents built a log home 25 years ago and couldnt be happier with it. He did alot of research and spent a little extra on some things. Alot of companies sell 6-8 inch logs, go with 10 inch and make sure they are double tung n groove. They have no checking or bowing in any log or wall. Thiers is also white pine. The neighbors used cedar and had some issues.

Thiers was a kit from a place out here called Beaver Mountain log homes. We did all the specks and floor plan(split roof ranch with cathedral in living room/kitchen), they cut and put it together at thier place without nails or glue, take it apart and ship it to you. We did all the work ourselves except the foundation and fireplace.

Also, the thermal value of this thing with the 10 inch walls is amazing. Most people dont believe how little it cost to heat it for the year...

[jonesen]

voyageur log homes Orr mn.

[hulapopper]

If you are interested in first hand experiences and trials and tribulations you can reply to me. We had a home built four years ago so I can tell you of our journey.

[kevfish1]

yes i would be interestede in your thoughts

[alg]

I have a log on a small lake in northern MN that I built in 1990. It is a Voyageur log home from Orr, MN. I could not be happier with the home, and had an excellent building experience with the owner, Russ Holman.

[Finns]

Might look into a yurt. I have stayed in one down in Iowa (I know-different climate) that was toasty as could be.

[ac777]

How is the maintenance on log homes? I have heard it is pretty high?

[Dark Cloud]

Very little maintenance at all. About every 5-7 years we treat the outside with Clear Wood Finish. We spray it on then go behind with big brushes and work it in a bit and clean up the overlap from spraying, no need to be neat. The nice thing with my parents is they left the interior walls all wood - nothing to ever paint or wallpaper.

[Skeeter21i]

Are you looking for a milled log or a hand scribed home? Quite a few to pick from here in Minnesota. Milled you will have a choice of log sizes usually ranging from 8" to 12" as well as profiles such as "D" log or double round and also corner types as in saddle notch, butt and pass, swedish cope or dovetail. Some of the milled companies also offer half log to go on a conventionally framed wall for the ones that are hesitant to go full log but still want the look. White Pine is a popular species here. It is reasonably priced, available locally and easy to build with. Best thing is read log home magazines, go through log home company websites and visit models to see the product first hand and meet the company or dealer as well as builders. No log home company offers the same package as another. Some are shell only and may or may not include windows, interior framing, etc.. Others may include roofing, windows, interior framing and maybe even some tongue and groove knotty pine. Others include everything you need for the interior so it really is up to the buyer to sort through it all and figure out who is best for you. Also make sure the company has local builder support. Your log home is only as good as the builder that builds it. Some out there are all for selling you the log package and leaving the customer hanging for builders. As far as maintenance goes aluminum soffit, fascia and window cladding help as does overhangs and porch roofs, especially on south facing walls. Going cheap on stain will cost a person alot more money and time in the long run than stepping up with a quality stain from the start. The stains have advanced considerably in the last five years or so and you get what you pay for but proper prep and application are just as important. My log home was built in '05 and I haven't had to reapply a maintenance coat yet on my south facing wall yet so really not that bad. I went with Golden Eagle. Log homes are efficient to heat and cool and great to live in.

[CAMAN]

Log Homes Minnesota in Walker do a great job.

And like Skeeter said above, going with a cheap stain/sealer will cause you nothing but headaches. Go with a quality product like Sikens and you will not be dissapointed.

[fishtrapgirl]

I built a Golden Eagle log home 2.5 years ago. My house is about 2850 sq feet. It's full log, 8 inch D logs. As cold as it was this winter, I only went thru 350 gallons of propane! I do have a wood fireplace, but rarely used it-maybe a grand total of 8 times for a few hours each. I was absolutely amazed how well insulated this house is. And in the summer, its nice and cool. I love my house, and am extremely happy how energy efficient it is. I guess I don't understand why so many people think that log homes are a ton of maintenance. Maybe 20-30 years ago they were, but nowadays with the quality of products available they are very easy to take care of.

[LMITOUT]

Is there a great price difference in building a log home compared to a run of the mill stick-built home? Obviously that's a hard question to answer as there are a multitude of options in building either type of house, but in general terms what is the overall rule of thumb, I guess you could say, when comparing the log option to a split-level or ranch style of similar square footage? For instance, if building a 2000 sq ft split level what could someone expect in a comparable log home?

I was looking at some of the manufacturer's websites that were mentioned above and it's hard to pin down a rough cost of what you're getting in the end for the price they're listing. I figured since some of you have gone through the process you might have a better idea of a cost difference when you were planning to build.

[Tullibee]

Jason Newberg with Newberg Handcrafted Log Homes in Deer River. Jason is a great guy and does top notch work.

[kevfish1]

what type of footings are recommended under a log cabin, cement all the way around perimeter 4' deep?? Just trying to estimate my total costs

[jerkbait]

If you are not going to have a basement you can put in a monolithic slab and go with the infloor heat. You will love the in-floor heat. We built a stick frame with log siding on a monolithic slab. The footing portion is 16" dp.x 16" wide for any supporting walls and the the rest is 4" thick.

[Skeeter21i]

A typical concrete block foundation will work just fine. 4' deep is code for southern portion of Minnesota, and 5' deep in northern MN. Soil bearing conditions will determine width of poured footing but usually nothing out of the ordinary if you are going with milled log or half log. Being you mentioned 4' I'm assuming you are going slab or crawl space. Not everywhere in MN has inspections so the frost protection code isn't always enforced. Myself, I feel the extra expense is worth it to go with footings and foundation if you are going with slab construction even though there are other options. Shallow grade frost protection with rigid foam around the perimeter is another option if going monolithic. Crawl spaces save a few bucks over a basement but offer a great storage area as well as room for utilities. Its a drag to sacrifice living space with a slab to hide utilities such as water heater, pressure tank, boiler and/or furnace. On-demand water heaters are well worth looking at in that application.