As you move forward with the planning of your new log home you are transitioning from the ‘dreaming of a log home someday’ phase to ‘now I’m ready build!’ phase. Once you begin to formulate a target date of when you would  like to start building your new log home, turnkey log home prices become […]

Have you ever seen an ad with a photo of a log home entirely built, complete with landscaping, and a very low price written in bold numbers across the top? You think, “Wow, how can this company sell log cabin kits for that low price?”All excited you circle the ad. But soon your excitement over […]

From your very first conversation with a log home company one fact may seem to fill your mind, “There are so many details unique to log homes!”. If that is your impression, then you are right. Log homes are two fold — beauty and cost. Or maybe — details and cost would be more accurate. […]

Wildfires– fast, furious, hot, destructive, and consuming everything in its path. The summer and fall of 2012 marked the worst fire damage and lingering smoke we have experienced since the Yellowstone National Park fires of 1988.  Some areas of the west are already experiencing fires this season. Protecting your log home is two fold. As […]

We are often asked how to build a log cabin. The very best way to explain it is to show it through photos and videos. Over the last 10 months we completed a full turnkey on a handcrafted log home here in the Gallatin Valley area of Bozeman, Montana. The log home plan is the […]

Over the years it has been our pleasure to work with customers from a wide variety of backgrounds. Just for fun I would like to take a minute away from the nuts and bolts (or logs and beams) of log homes and introduce you to some of the people who own them. Award #1 Most […]

The perfect compliment to go with Cowboy Log Homes are Cowboy log barns. Other outbuildings, such as detached garages, gazebos, boat houses, shops, etc can also be built from stacked logs. For many cabin owners it is very important that all the buildings around their log home match.

Log cabin barns can range from a smaller 2 stall barn with hay storage up to a large horse stable. Other features sometimes included within a barn floor plan can be an apartment, office space, tractor and tool storage, etc. Gasoline or any tool or machine using gasoline should never be stored in a horse barn due to the fire hazard. Instead a separate shed or building should be used to house gas powered items. (Don’t forget a 4 wheeler runs on gasoline too.)

When designing a log barn it is best to start with the number of stalls you anticipate needing. A standard box stall size (very few horse owners build standing or tie stalls) is 12 x12. This allows enough room for horses of all sizes to lay down and get up freely. Overhead height is also important. A scared horse can rear up and hit its head on a barn ceiling if it is not high enough. I like a barn ceiling that has 12 foot height. The solid part of the stall wall should be at least 4 feet high. Then above the solid wood sides bars, wire, or chain link  should be installed. This keeps horses from reach out and biting each other. The doors of the horse stalls can be either siding doors or hinged doors. This small log barn above is shown with two Dutch doors.

When a log barn has a center aisle traveling from the front of the barn to the back, the box stalls open into the aisle. The door ways of the stalls should be about 4 feet wide. One caution is to make sure that the tracking the rollers are hung from is not lower that the height of the barn ceiling. If the ceiling is 12 feet high then the frame of the door should extend up as high as possible and the rollers mounted high over head near the ceiling. There are two reasons for this. A horse can rear when they go through the door way. If the doorway is low then the horse is more likely to hit its pole (nerve center between their ears) on the top of the door frame. The second reason is sometimes if a rider rides the horse into the barn the horse may dive into a stall with the rider on its back. If the stall door height is lower than the ceiling the rider can hit themselves on the top of the doorway frame and get hurt.

Log barn aisles should be anywhere from 12 to 16 feet wide. This allows for easy access for a tractor pulling a manure spreader. Also this allows for young horses to be ridden up and down the barn aisle when they are first being trained.

A nice addition to a barn is a run-in shed on the side. When run-in sheds are available for the horses then there does not need to be as many box stalls. Most horses do very well turned out with other horses. Having the run in shed allows them to get in out of the weather but also freely go back out. A good size for a run-in shed depends on how many horses you plan to use it for. If you have a 6 stall barn with a center aisle, then the barn is probably 36 feet long. A shed roof can be extended off of the length of one side of the barn providing a shed that is 36 feet long and 8 to 12 feet deep. Also open sheds are easily cleaned with the use of a tractor with a front end loader or a skidsteer.

Our log barn kits are very similar to a log home kit. The package can be purchased as either just a log shell or as a full dryin package. The 8 inch milled log size is the most economic. To help protect the logs it is wise to extend the footer up to provide a cement knee wall of anywhere from 12 to 24 inches above the soil line. On the interior of the barn the box stalls should be lined with either thick plywood or wood planks. Rough saw wood planks work well. Any type of fruit wood should always be avoided as it can be toxic to horses.

Log horse barns can also come equipped with a heated tack room, wash stall, feed room, and even a vet area. If possible it is better to keep the feed room separate from the feed area, even if it is just partitioned off by a wall. This helps to keep any mice, etc from being attracted into the same area were the bridles, saddles, horse blankets, etc are stored and causing subsequent damage.

Log barns are a rustic choice which accent a log home, instead of distracting from it. A log barn can be built of stacked logs or as a framed structure or pole building with log accents. To match the home log siding can be installed on the outside of the barn. Log corner posts can be added. We have even added little log tails to the end of the peak of the gable and intermediate out riggers to give the feel of a log ridge beam without the expense. We are happy to design any log barn floor plan. We have many years of experience in the horse industry as well as with log homes.

Cowboy Log Homes

I thought it would be very interesting to share with everyone our top small cabin plans as chosen by YOU – our customers. Within the log home world there seems to be some cabin styles that are trendy, but they pass with time. But some of our designs are popular year, after year, after year. […]

When you walk though a log home the beauty seeps into your soul.  Soon you start to think that no matter what you can build your own log home. “It can’t be that hard, can it?” crosses your mind. In some cases building your own log home is a great idea, but in others it […]

It is very important to evaluate the cost to build a log home before you proceed very far in your planning. Most construction costs are done on a square foot basis. This means that the builder or log home company will tell you that your home will cost $xxx per square foot to construct your […]

Log homes are a dream that many people have awaited for many years. For some, with the down turn in the economy over the last few years, this wait has been extended even further. But instead of being disheartened, and perhaps even forgetting your log cabin dream all together, let’s put this time to good […]

This article was updated in October 2015 to reflect current building cost estimates. Whether you build your custom log home or purchase an existing log cabin, it is very important to make sure that your property is insured for the correct amount. With the fires this summer and fall in the Western states, some homeowners […]

When making the investment of a handcrafted home an appropriate question is, “How durable are handcrafted log homes?” How would you feel with an answer of, “Over 100 years old!”  Yes, log homes have much longevity, especially when cared for. The best example I can think of to prove this point is the Old Faithful […]

The more you shop for your log home the more you will soon realize there is a broad variety of log styles and prices. Especially in the early stages of planning it can be easy to let price become the over riding factor and assume that all of the quality it equal. This is not […]

LOG STACK JULY 11th – 13th, Gallatin Gateway, Montana April 2012 – December 2012 Building of Custom Log Home In Bozeman, Montana For the next several months we will be building this custom log home in Bozeman, Montana. We designed this log home for our customers and are also the log home builders. We invite […]