Have you ever dreamed of living in a beautiful wooden house surrounded by nature? Building one is a difficult but rewarding undertaking. If you intend to seek the help of professional contractors, the work could be completed relatively quickly; if you decide to build it yourself, it could take several years. In any case, it would be useful to have some basic notions: here are some factors to consider when building your own wooden house.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Basic Design
Step 1. Finance your home
Building a log house can be expensive - you will need to consider the costs of land, supplies, and labor in the cost assessment phase. You have a number of possibilities for financing, including the use of savings, the possibility of applying for a mortgage or building loans. Talk to a real estate agent to find the best solution for your case.
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Mortgage Loans.
The most popular type of loan is the fixed rate mortgage loan. Existing in several forms, the most common has a term of 30 years.
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Loans for construction.
It is a good choice for building a log cabin. In fact, a building loan works like a credit line: you can withdraw the money you need and pay interest only on that amount. You don't have to use all the credit and, if you want, you can convert the loan into a simple mortgage when the house is completed.
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Savings.
If you don't want to ask for a loan, you can pay the entire project in cash, if you have enough. In this way you will give up having significant tax benefits and your money will be committed without too many constraints.
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How Much Should You Borrow?
The answer is: a lot. Being short of cash is the worst thing that can happen during construction. Despite your budget estimate, it will be impossible to know the exact cost of your log house until it is built.
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What will the banks require?
Banks are essentially looking for two things: firstly, they want the house to represent a real guarantee for the money they are lending, in other words they want to be sure that it will be built within the limits of the expected cost and that it will be easily sold once finished; secondly, they want to be certain that you will be able to pay off the loan. When banks evaluate you, they look at three basic areas: credit, liquidity, and revenue.
Step 2. Choose the terrain
It is important to inquire before deciding on which land to build your home. Real estate agents and building contractors can help you find a suitable lot; if you already own the land, the first thing to do is to make sure it is suitable for construction. Factors such as the slope of the slope, soil conditions, accessibility, urban planning and the use of surrounding properties all play a role in determining whether the lot is suitable for construction or not.
- You will need to contact local environmental engineers to do a soil analysis, which will indicate if the water is already available and if it is of good quality.
- Your potential construction land will also need to pass a percolation test to determine if the land will be able to absorb wastewater from a septic tank.
Step 3. Design your home
Some people have a clear idea of how they want their home, others may have a priority list but are flexible when it comes to designing the floor plan. You can choose an existing project from a manufacturer's list, or ask a designer or architect to create a custom project.
- Keep in mind that the project and size of your home will depend on the amount of money you intend to spend and the quality of materials you intend to use - a larger home will raise the cost of labor, supplies and building permits.
- Even the choice of the type of wood will help to narrow down the design possibilities: some types are in fact only suitable for specific building projects.
Step 4. Get a building permit
Submit your projects to the local concession office for approval: you must obtain the required building permit before starting construction work. You will also need to find out which building regulations your log home will need to follow, as these regulations can vary from place to place.
Step 5. Create a roadmap
The time it takes to build your wooden house depends entirely on the type of house you are building: if it is a custom project and the house will be built in the traditional way, you can expect 1 or 2 years from start to finish; if it's a modular or prefab house project taken from a project inventory, it could be completed in just six months.
- Choosing whether to build the house yourself or to hire a team of professionals will also significantly affect the duration of the construction.
- Log homes are just as susceptible to delays, such as those caused by adverse weather conditions or poor craftsmanship, like any other building project. Try to allow time for unexpected delays in your schedule.
- Avoid deviating from your initial plans. In fact, be aware of the fact that last-minute changes, even if small, can produce a domino effect of delays that would take your building project away from the final goal.
Step 6. Choose whether or not to hire professionals
Deciding whether to build your log home yourself or have it professionally built is an important decision. Hiring a professional is the fastest and least problematic solution, as they will have the skills, contacts and equipment to complete the job in half the time it would take someone with little or no experience. However, if you don't fear hard work and can afford longer times, nothing compares to the sense of pride and satisfaction gained from building your own home with your own hands.
Part 2 of 4: Build a Wooden House the Professional Way
Step 1. Search and choose a manufacturer
The manufacturer provides the materials needed to build your wooden house: you can find it by browsing the catalogs of different companies, which will give you an idea of the types of wooden houses they have previously produced; otherwise you can visit real examples of wooden houses and, if you are impressed with the style and structure, you can hire the same company to produce yours. Make sure you can have direct and open communication with your chosen producers, they should listen to your ideas and always keep you well informed.
- You can check the professional backgrounds of possible manufacturers by looking for the wooden houses they have previously built and obtaining references from their customers.
- If you live in the United States, you can also check through the Better Business Bureau, the state attorney general office or the Log Homes Council.
Step 2. Search and choose a manufacturer
Carefully consider your possibilities when it comes to choosing a builder - there are many on the market, but their quality and services vary considerably.
- In addition to finding a builder you can communicate with openly, and carefully check his references from old customers, you should also visit finished houses to inspect his work in person.
- Keep in mind that it normally takes several years for a log house to fully stabilize and show possible construction defects. A house built for 3 to 5 years probably shows the best of a builder's skills.
- Before choosing your builder, you should also check with the local council of contractors, or with a similar state or regional authority (including the state attorney general's office), if the builder has been involved in disputes or trials in the past.
- It would be wise to choose a builder who is familiar with your local building regulations and the environment of your construction site.
- Make sure your builder is licensed and enabled, otherwise you may get little legal recourse in case of problems.
Step 3. Sign a contract
You will need to negotiate with your builder or construction company regarding issues such as the price of their services, the project of your home and the estimated time frame to complete the project. Once the two parties have reached an agreement, the terms will be outlined in a contract that you both need to sign.
Part 3 of 4: Building a Wooden House Yourself: Design Phase
Step 1. Determine what you need
In addition to lumber, there are a number of tools and materials that you will need to build your wooden house: you will need specific tools for treating wood such as chainsaws, chisels, planers, beams, drills and tenon cutters; but also concrete, stones and mortar for the foundations, together with insulation materials and, of course, windows, doors and materials for the ceiling.
Step 2. Get the lumber
A log house can theoretically be made with any type of tree that is tall enough. However, only a small selection of wood types have the characteristics necessary to build a solid and visually appealing structure that will retain its strength, value and appearance for decades and more. Common examples of tree types used to build log homes include cypresses, Douglas firs, white and yellow pines.
- If you plan to harvest the lumber yourself, choose trees that are the length and diameter that best suit your needs. Cut logs with the same diameter.
- It is better to cut timber for houses in winter: this limits the loss of sap and the logs can be made to slide on the snow with minimal damage to them and the environment.
- Choose your trunks selectively: without cutting too many trees in the same area, the remaining ones will benefit from having more light and space to grow.
- Alternatively, you can buy lumber from a wood manufacturer for homes - you can buy pre-cut lumber, which reduces and often eliminates the work you will have to do to prepare the logs.
Step 3. Prepare the logs
The logs will need to be transported and undergo a preservative treatment to prevent spoilage from insects, mold and mildew. Consider if you want to build your house with green logs (with a high percentage of humidity) or with dry logs.
- If you choose to use dry logs you will need to season the freshly cut lumber.
- If you want to use green logs you will need to report on the "settling" of the lumber for the first few years.
Part 4 of 4: Building a Wooden House Yourself: Construction Phase
Step 1. Create the foundation
The types of foundations for a wooden house are more or less the same as those needed for any other structure of comparable size and weight. The difference is in the weight of the walls, and in the way of connecting the first round of logs to the foundation. Some of your possibilities include:
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Stake method.
This is a common and relatively inexpensive choice, although the subsoil will require extra insulation to keep your feet warm during the winter. Furthermore, this type of foundation is not as stable as others: it could be a disadvantage if the wooden house is located in an area subject to storms or tornadoes.
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Method of prefabricated panels.
It is a new type of foundation that is becoming more and more popular due to its quick installation and the fact that it does not require the construction of a base.
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Hollow Styrofoam Block Method.
It consists of stacked and intertwined blocks of expanded polystyrene. It can be built very quickly and is quite stable thanks to the reinforcement bars that are placed between the blocks.
Step 2. Build the walls
Raising the walls of the house can be complicated: you have to carefully align the logs so that they stack straight upwards. Since you are working with a natural material, some logs will be curved. The overall goal is that the centers of gravity of the logs put pressure on the center line of the wall, which in turn presses on the center line of the foundation.
Step 3. Install doors and windows
The windows and doors in a wooden house should be placed considering the orientation, the prevailing winter winds, the possibility of an avalanche on the roof, and the structural elements of the construction with the logs.
Step 4. Mount the roof
There are many ways to put a roof on your wooden creation to protect it from weather factors: the classic wooden house has a low roof with wide gutters, slopes and ledges.
