Building Your Own Log Cabin: Satisfying Dreams of Rustic Living

Even if you live in a nice condominium or house in a big, beautiful city, you probably still have dreamed of owning a cabin in some rustic location. Perhaps you have even entertained thoughts of building said cabin yourself. With the right plan, tools and expectations, this can be achieved. And it should not gouge a hole in your bank account, either.

There are certain basic things you need to consider before deciding on building your dream cabin. How much money do you want to budget for this project? What type of cabin will satisfy your needs? Where will this cabin be located? How much time do you have to invest in this dream? Are you able to do the physical work required to make this dream a reality?

There are complete cabin kits available that cost anywhere from $20,000.00 to $100,000.00. They include all the materials needed to make the cabin you desire. For instance countrylogcabins.com has complete log cabin plans and lists all the components they offer for a complete cabin kit. Most of it can be hand built but a few of the pre-finished parts might require the use of some heavy machinery to move the heavier pieces around. Of course if you keep the plan simple the task will be much easier. If you plan on building a one room cabin you can, with the proper tools and knowledge, construct your own cabin. Kept small and simple even an inexperienced person can build one. As you gain more experience additions can be added.

There are plenty of affordable pieces of land to purchase in the Northwest. For instance a half acre spot around the Anaconda or Philipsburgh areas in Montana could be as low as four figures. Of course this is for undeveloped land. But that is what rustic is. Far away from the madding city in a quiet, peaceful, place perhaps at the edge of a lake or in a deep dark forest amongst the trees. There is plenty of land for sale in South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, the list is long.

When choosing your site it is important to consider its orientation, year-round accessibility, water supply, and sewage. The cabin should be built high with good drainage. Building low can leave it vulnerable to flooding. If building in a place like Montana though importance must be placed on accessibility. The weather is severe in the winter and, depending on where you place your cabin, this might make it impossible to get in or out. As for water you can truck it in or have a well dug. it all depends on how simple or not you want this cabin project to be. Septic tanks are probably the most useful sewage system to use and not too expensive to install. And if properly built can work for decades.

If you are really gung ho you can forgo the log cabin kits and purchase the supplies yourself. Logs should not be a problem in the northwest. You can buy them at a sawmill or order them from a lumber yard. You can even purchase them on-line. You can calculate how many logs you will need by the size of your cabin and the average size of the logs (measure the diameter from the center of the log and the taper from the butt to the top and average it). You should order extra logs just in case. They won't be wasted. You will also need doors, windows and window frames, flooring, roofing materials as well as cement.

The list of tools can vary. Just the basic tools you will need include mallets, hammers, crosscut saws, a plumb, chisels, laser leveler, measuring tape, carpenters saw, rafting square, spud bar, metal square, and a cant hook. There are more but these are necessary.

This all may seem like a daunting task but with the end result a cabin planned and built by you is a great motivation. All you need is the time, the site, and the right tools. And of course, a lot of patience.

completelogcabins.com
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