Building a log home from scratch is not something that most people think of doing. A lot of people ask me why I’m doing this, and how I got the idea in the first place. So, here’s a partial explanation to that question.
I began my log home experience in 2004 while working for a British real estate company in Almaty, Kazakhstan. My boss asked me to look into the specifics of building a log home development in the mountains near Almaty and marketing the homes to expatriates and wealthy locals. I began researching log homes on the internet, and found dozens upon dozens of log home ‘kit’ manufacturers offering a variety of engineered, processed log homes for sale, which the builder would assemble (or have assembled) on site. I compared several companies, noted their pros and cons and checked into pricing. Somewhere along the way I stumbled upon the Log Home Builders Association website: www.loghomebuilders.org. It was a real departure from all the sales literature I’d been reading, and I quickly learned that I could build something with much more character than a kit home, without the typical kit home problems and shortcomings, completely from unprocessed logs. Unprocessed logs could be harvested from the right building site, or bought cheaply from a logger or sawmill. More than likely, someone with time and motivation could find enough free logs to build an entire house. The LHBA website has an excellent forum, and after a couple of weeks spent reading posts and articles on the site I was convinced that I could build a log house with money I had saved and sell it for a profit. I suggest visiting www.loghomebuilders.org, where you can learn about Skip Ellsworth’s ideas on building log homes and living without debt. I was so inspired by the site that I decided to take the class LHBA offers on building log homes ‘Skip's way’. It was well worth the time and money; as a lifetime LHBA member I have access to a wealth of information and the biggest benefit of all: contact with other former students and members who have built, or are currently building a ‘Skip Ellsworth’ log home. 18 months after taking the LHBA class: I have returned to the US and purchased 2.4 acres near Brevard, NC. On 24 January 2008 I began major site work. My building site is on a mountainside, so I hired a company to clear the site, excavate a level building site for my home, fill part of a ravine to make a yard, and install a septic system.
