With every log home package comes the equally important role of hiring a log home builder. One advantage we offer to our customer is our many years of experience as log home builders. We primarily build here in the Bozeman, Montana area, but we also have experienced log home builders that we work with who travel across the US.

Montana Plan, Mike with Excavator on Site

When hiring a log home builder there are actually three levels of completion which are offered: Log Stack, Dryin- Contract, or Full Turnkey.

The first level is just the stacking of the logs on your foundation. The log stack time varies depending on the size and complexity of your floor plan. This one shown below is a handcrafted log home shell. It was fully precut and prenumbered when we delivered it to the job site so it only required three days for the full setup. Milled log homes take more time to stack.

Log Stack Log Home Contract

The second level of completion is the dryin. This is where the log home builder installs the foundation of the log home and the erects and installs everything that comes with the log home package. This would include: exterior doors, windows, roofing, first floor subfloor, upper subfloor, interior log staircase, log railing, building decks and porches as per plans, all exterior trim, and interior framing. Some homeowners also contract the builder to do the log staining at this stage. The 1×6 pine tongue and groove is the only that comes with the package that is not installed by the builder in the dry in stage. The tongue and groove cannot be installed until the electric and plumbing is roughed in, so the T&G is considered a finish cost by most log home contractors.

Dryin of Handcrafted Log Home

The third level of completion is a full turnkey. This is where everything is done by the builder. The owners only have to choose finish materials.

Log Home Turnkey Contract

When the first or second level of completion is chosen by an owner, often the owners plan to finish the rest of the cabin themselves. Some funds can be saved if the owners carefully hire their own subcontractors and sometimes do some of their finish work themselves.

Log home builders, including us, can usually give an owner an average price per square foot for any of these three levels of completion.

Building Log Dreams,
Mike and Sue Lemmon
Cowboy Log Homes