Gravitas Blog

For this Behind the Log Home Scenes post we will share a bit of advice from Rick Friesen of Caribou Creek Log Homes. This is part of a lengthy interview that you can read in its entirety on Log Cabin Directory. With permission, I have extracted some information that will be appropriate for many of our blog readers. Here is what Rick had to say as advice for new log home buyers and some straight talk on marketing and the endless battle of Handcrafted Vs. Milled.

Everyone seems to love lists!  Here are my top 8 bits of advice:

1. Fully understand the differences between a handcrafted log home and a milled log home. Both are still log homes and one is not better than the other. They’re just different.
2. Don’t get caught up in the “hype” (marketing or otherwise). Many of the great systems and solutions and terms in the milled log home market don’t apply to a handcrafted home.  Either we don’t have the same issues or the “solution” is very different for a handcrafted home.
3. Compare apples to apples! If you really want a quote, get an official one with full specifications!  Don’t go by “guesstimates.”  Get the company to give more than a “We’re confident we can give you walls and a roof for under $xxx…”  You wouldn’t believe how many times we’ve have seen clients hang their hat on something that is mere marketing fluff – not a specific, detailed quote.
4. Realize that the company with the least expensive log home shell may not mean you end up with a less expensive finished home! Ask questions about and understand the level of finish (or “completeness”) you will be receiving when the home is shipped.  Many log home manufacturers differ drastically in what labor they complete in their yard before shipping or what they expect a homeowner to do once the home has been reassembled. We’ve seen our quotes turned down because we were $1000 more expensive than Brand X’s log shell.  But we knew the client was going to have to pay for a lot more work to his home once he got Brand X’s shell delivered, much more than that original $1000.  It just went to a contractor instead of the log home manufacturer.
5. Start a relationship, with whatever log home company you choose, with a view toward the long term. Having that open relationship and talking about the issues addressed here will save you money and hassle in the long run and you will feel better and more confident about the whole process.  You will know someone’s got your back.  Who knows, you might make a great friend in the process.  We often do. If you don’t make that connection right away, ask if someone else can help you.  You might even decide it’s not the company you want to end up working with.
6. Work on the plan design, work on the plan design, work on the plan design… We cannot underscore enough how important this is!  Once construction is started on a log home – especially a handcrafted one, it is very difficult to change that window, or to move that dining room wall “a little”.  There are other important considerations too, such as maximizing the design for protection of the logs from rain and sun and other hash elements of nature.  Take your time on the front end.
7. Set a realistic budget – understand that handcrafted homes are usually more expensive than a milled log home of similar size and design.  However, if you love that handcrafted look, dream of artisans lovingly sculpting you your dream home – maybe it’s just what you were looking for.  Again, see the comments above about levels of completeness, and getting detailed quotes.  Ask your representative what ways they suggest to control the costs over the course of the whole project.
8. Have fun! Remember, it’s your dream.  You get to control it, direct it.  Enjoy the process!  Learn everything you can.  The prize at the bottom is worth it!

Thanks for sharing Rick, and Tom for your time on the original interview. Images below used with permission from Caribou Creek

I am very excited to be working with a young couple in Boise on the design of their home using the Not So Big tenants of Design. This will be an urban infill project in the North End of Boise (our original residential district just North of Downtown).

We have been touting Sarah Susanka’s books since her first one, The Not So Big House came out. Since then Sarah’s books continue to put her residential design ideas and theories in easy to understand language. We have given and loaned out many copies if the NSB books over the years and continue to do so. If you only have time for one book when you are beginning the design process of you home, NSBH should be it. I’m not a paid spokesman for Sarah, but when I recommend her books, I have clients that have a better understanding of how to express what they want in a home and how to communicate “feelings”. I have also found that the book puts into words what we have all experienced in a home that was too large, too small, or just right.

In the years since her first book, Sarah has continued to write and practice architecture. Now Susan is encompassing her ideas of home into a more holistic view of “Not so Big Life”. Her most recent lectures and online presentations are more focused in this direction than the architectural realm but her core message remains the same and the architectural lessons are timeless. Check out the Not So Big web site. There is good information there.

If you are in or near Boise, stop by and you can borrow the Not So Big House books from our design library. I’m looking forward to moving forward with the design of this Not So Big House in Boise.  I will keep you all posted and upload images of the design when we are complete. We have projects all across the country and most of our work is done remotely, so if your local designers look at you with a big question mark on their face when you say "Not so Big", or just think all you want is a small house, give us a call.

-Derek Hurd

The Oswego is a home we designed for a client in Loveland, Colorado. This gentleman gave the home to his wife as a surprise gift. It was our first covert design operation where we had to plan our meetings and our calls at select times to keep it all undercover. This is a basic getaway cabin plan for simple living. The Main Level is all open for entertaining and relaxed living. The only enclosed bedroom is on the Upper Floor that has easy access to a large morning coffee balcony overlooking the view. The lower level was unfinished in this home but could easily accommodate more bedrooms and a Family Room if the site allowed for day lighting as this one did.