There is a significant difference between those looking for ‘just a cabin’ and those seeking luxury log cabins. The contrast in almost that of day and night. Those fixated on quality typically inquire about a floor plan or a particular cabin first. Then the building costs of a luxury log cabin come later.

Yes, luxury log cabins are not the least expensive. They are a higher end home that is designed to reflect specific log styles and floor plan features. Most customers who desire a luxurious cabin focus on our handcrafted log style. These logs are large, ranging from 12 to 15 inches in diameter. These logs are long, up to 50 feet. They are hand peeled with a draw knife pattern. And they are Scandinavian Full Scribed together.

Turnkey Pricing For Luxury Log Cabins

For a handcrafted log cabin like this the price can be broken down in several ways. If you are hiring a log home builder to construct the entire home for you, then you would be interested in the turnkey pricing.

Turnkey pricing on a log home includes everything being totally done for you ahead of time. All you have to do is move your furniture in at the end (and you might even have the builder do that for you as well!). A turnkey estimate on a luxury log cabin is about $205 to $225 per square foot. This price includes a full unfinished basement.  This cost estimate is based on using the handcrafted logs with nice quality finish materials, such as wood floors and ceramic tile. (High end specialty fixtures, appliances, and lights would be priced separately as an upgrade).

Items not included in a turnkey price are well drilling, well pump system, septic, driveway, garage, landscaping, bringing utilities to the property,  delivery of the log home package, etc. These costs are very job site driven and are nearly impossible to calculate without a building site already selected.

Cost Break Down For Luxury Log Cabins

To calculate the under lying costs of a log home turnkey it is necessary to understand the three main components. Within the $205 to $225 per square foot is:

1. Cost of the log home package
2. Other materials needed to finish the home
3. All required labor to building the log home and finish it.

The majority of the log shells range between about $45 and $60 per square foot. A log shell would include just the log materials: log walls, log staircase, log railing for interior, log ridge beam, purloins, any necessary trusses, and support posts. This is just the shell.

The dryin materials usually range between about $18 to $25 per square foot. This category includes things like: exterior doors, windows, roofing, exterior trim, porch or deck materials, balcony materials, upper sub-floor, interior framing lumber, 1×6 Pine or Cedar tongue and groove for soffits and ceilings.

When building a log home there are two different contracts. One is for the log and material package. The second is a contract with us or an other log home builder for the construction of the home. This contract includes all of the labor and other materials necessary to finish the luxury log cabin home.

Caution! Some Are NOT Luxury Log Home Packages

Some cabins are advertized with extremely low costs, but the buyer needs to be ware.  The fine print under the totally finished log cabin may read, “Price includes logs only.”

Another misleading price is a cheap ‘dry in package‘. Having all of the material arrive together is a good thing. The problem is not knowing exactly how much pre-cutting that log home package has. You may think you are buying a precut package but be rudely surprised when a truck load of random length logs arrive. The logs are milled to a consistent diameter but only the corners are cut in. All of the door openings, window openings, end joints within the walls, pitch cutting for the walls and ridge beam all has to be done on site. To us that is not a precut package. That is a random length log home package!

Quality and Your Luxury Log Cabin Home

If you have read this far then quality IS important to you! You are discerning log home buyer that is taking opportunities to educate yourself. All log home companies want your business so they will try to serve as the answer to all of your questions and needs. The bedrock fact is you will not get a home that looks like the lovely cabins in our photo galleries unless you build them with the same materials that we use. A cheap cabin will never look like a luxury log cabin because it is not built using the premium materials and expert craftsmanship that goes into each and every one of our luxury log cabins. Don’t be fooled by pricing gimmicks.

Cowboy Log Homes