There are several benefits to building your log cabin yourself. One is the cost savings. Instead of paying someone else to do the labor, that cost is credited back to you directly. The other advantage is having the satisfaction of doing the work yourself. About half of our customers desire to construct their their own cabins.
Once a log cabin shell is erected and the materials installed to dry in the home (doors, windows, roofing, etc) the cabin is very much like finishing a standard construction home. The log shells on smaller cabins which are less than 1000 square feet can stack in five days or so. On one job site the owners erected the entire shell of a handcrafted log cabin and all the logs stacked in one long day on the foundation that was already prepared.
When we say ‘stack’ we are referring to all of the logs are in place and totally ready for doors, windows, roofing, and electric box holes. If a random length log shell is purchased it may take several weeks to a few months to cut in all of the openings for doors, windows, roofing, etc. The amount of precutting directly affects the length of construction on the job site.
Another level of construction is to hire a general contractor to erect the shell and dry-in the cabin. Then you have the opportunity to subcontract or actually do the rest of the work yourself. In this case the owners hire us or another log home builder to erect the log shell and dry-in the home. This reassured them the logs are done properly and then they either finish the interior themselves or act as their own general contractor. Both of these options can be less expensive overall then hiring a general contractor for the entire project. Plus you have the satisfaction of being involved in every stage of the game and finishing some of the log home yourself.
If you want to build the entire cabin yourself our packages come with things to help you along the way. The best help is a good set of drawings. The other thing that really helps to keep costs in check as you build is to decide you are going to make all of your floor plan choices when the drawings are being done. It is always more expensive if you make changes (especially if you are constantly changing) as the builders are trying to get the various phases of your log home completed. Building the log cabin yourself can be a rewarding and challenging endeavor.