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August Housebuilding Tips log-cabin-ideas

There are some log-cabin-ideas that are fun for summer homes on my web site. Log cabins are still really popular in the west. They take a good deal of craftsmanship to put together. I wouldn't recommend it to the novice builder.

Things are different in log cabins than they are in frame homes because of the exposed walls. All the cables and pipes need to be concealed and that takes a lot of extra work.

Log homes need to be built with shrinkage and expansion in mind. The doorways and windows have to have special cuts to allow the door jambs and window frames to move as the log walls expand and contract.

You can find out a lot more on log homes in my fun log cabin plans pages.

Log cabins are in demand in the mountainous areas usually for summer and vacation homes. They aren't necessarily cheaper to build than frame built homes however. This is a mistake that some people make. They think that log homes are easier to build because the walls are just one piece instead of layers like a frame home.

The cost of log walls is much more expensive than lumber, siding, insulation and sheetrock walls though. The R-value is higher with larger diameter logs and the home is usually more energy efficient, but the initial costs for logs can be a lot more than lumber walls.

I really like log cabins, but I am very well aware that if a person is trying to build an inexpensive home, they should build a frame home first.

There are economic designs of log homes, but side by side with frame homes, logs are more expensive.

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