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Thinking about building a log home or small log cabin? Whether you are interesting in building a large log home or a small log cabin this site is designed to provide you with log home planning resources and guide you through the log home building process.
Whether you're building a log home as a primary residence or a small log cabin, an understanding of the design process is essential to your success. The basic steps include:
Data Collection
1) Building codes and local regulations, zoning, building setbacks, easements, utilities, height and size restrictions.
2) Your budget - Construction cost of the log home including plans, engineering fees, surveying, site development and landscaping, utilities, building permit fees, construction loan financing, mortgage payments, and the cost of living in the home after you move in.
3) Your building site - Slope, soils, water table, driveway, climate conditions, electric supply, water source and sewage disposal options.
Evaluation
Develop a wish list for your log home. Browse through magazines, visit log homes in your area, search for house plans on the web.
Sketch Planning - Begin sketching out your ideas on paper. Your sketch should be more schematic and not necessarily to scale. Consider the types of spaces you'll require and examine how they relate to each other as well as to the orientation of the house on your site. This is a very important step and may be a little overwhelming. Consider purchasing a set of blueprints of a floor plan you may have found and "red-line" it to suit your needs and desires.
Design Development - This is where things get more difficult. Each room needs to be dimensioned and fit into a well planned structural system. This step includes determining wall heights and widths, floor and roof framing, foundation design, heating and cooling systems, plumbing, doors, windows, cabinets, fixtures and stair details. This phase of design is where you should consider hiring an architect or experienced designer who is familiar with log construction techniques and specification for the log building system you choose to work with. At least you have already taken much of the guesswork out of the process for the professional you choose to work with.
Working Drawings - The working drawing are very exact specifications for the construction of your home. This part should be left to qualified designer/draftsmen to account for every detail of your design. You should be allowed to review preliminary drawings as they are developed. You can make changes in the drawings much less expensively than during the construction phase of the project.
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