With today’s lumber and labor costs, prospective cabin owners should search carefully for ways to save big bucks on construction costs. The traditional way of building a cabin is using full round or square logs. This approach is the most expensive way to construct that dream cabin anywhere you locate it.
There is a better way to save money than cutting corners or sacrificing part of your building plans. The answer is a building with pine log siding on the exterior and interior. A second option is installing log siding on the outside and pine paneling on the interior walls. Many prospective owners do not know they can achieve the full-log look without the full-log price. The following ideas illustrate how to save big bucks when building a log cabin.
Save Bucks on Cabins: Full Log Cabin Construction Costs
There are several ways to save those big bucks so you can still build the cabin of your dreams. To better explain the savings of building with log siding versus full logs, scan this list.
- Full log homes are typically harder to build than log-siding homes
- These homes generally cost 20% – 30% more than conventionally framed homes
- Every extra corner or all adds to the overall costs
- The costs of a crane and operator are typically more than for log siding cabins
- Specially trained workers are needed because the average carpenter is not trained to build full-log cabins or homes. These factors will raise the overall costs of the building.
These drawbacks are eliminated by building with a quarter log, half log, or premier log siding.
Next, consider any potential hidden and maintenance costs associated with full logs.
Hidden and Maintenance Costs to Overcome
Building a cabin with full logs includes costs that are not readily apparent. The contractor may or may not explain these costs upfront. Finding out about them after construction is completed can be alarming. These hidden maintenance costs can include:
- Carving out spaces for plumbing and wiring is difficult and not recommended. This can entail placing all of them on the interior walls. You may be asked to install fewer electrical fixtures to accommodate the limited space as a drawback.
- An inexperienced contractor may not stain, seal, or finish the logs properly to keep them from early fading or insect problems.
- Full logs settle and need more maintenance with caulking and/or chinking.
- Full logs may crack or split more than you expect them to.
- Contractors may pay more for liability insurance and this cost is passed on to the homeowner. You can avoid or limit these issues by building a cabin with pine log siding.
| “There is a better way to save money than cutting corners or sacrificing part of your building plans. The answer is building with pine log siding on the exterior and interior.” |
Save Bucks on Cabins: Remodeling Costs
If you decide to remodel your full log cabin down the road, you may find it difficult and expensive to accomplish. Working with changes in a log siding structure is:
- Easier
- Faster
- Less Expensive
- Has Fewer Headaches
These factors readily come into play when plans call for a room, apartment, or garage addition. It is much less work to rearrange corners, walls, and roof structures with log siding on the exterior and interior. Other projects such as upgrading windows or doors or finishing a basement can be completed easier and faster.
Summary: Save Bucks on Cabins with Log Siding
To sum it all up, here is how you can save money by building with log siding:
- Install log siding on conventional wall framing instead of stacking full logs
- Cabin owners with basic woodworking skills can do the work
- Exterior and interior log trims are affordable
- Siding and pine paneling can be ordered in a pre-finished condition
- Less measuring and sawing saves labor costs and time
Quarter log siding is the least expensive product, followed by half log and premier log. All of them are less costly than full logs and the labor to install them also saves money.
A Great Place to Order Log Siding and Pine Paneling
When you buy log cabin products such as log siding and pine paneling, you get the highest quality on today’s market. Each piece is kiln-dried to the correct moisture content to increase stability and better accept stain and finishing. Siding and paneling are hand-inspected to prevent defects in your orders. The Log Home Shoppe provides superior service and products for your log cabin needs.
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