How To Build Cabin House- A to Z Guides Including Cost & Other Steps

Building your own cabin house can be a fulfilling and gratifying experience. With a little planning and elbow grease, you can have the cabin of your dreams in no time. In this article, we will outline the steps necessary how to build cabin house from start to finish. Whether you are building your cabin from scratch or using a prefabricated kit, these tips will help you get the job done right. So, continue reading to learn how to build cabin house.

How to Build Cabin House

Building a cabin house requires much hard work, financial cost, and physical manpower. You will have to do a lot of felling, peeling, cutting, and notching throughout the process. Below are some of the major steps to building a log cabin house.

Step 1: Planning Your Cabin House

Planning your cabin house project is the first and most important step when looking to build one. On average, it takes around 280 days to build a cabin house from scratch—from log preparation to construction. Before you start your cabin house building project, it is important that you plan for the following aspects and know their relevant costs.

Floor Plan and Design

The floor plan design aspect of your cabin is a great time to express your creative juice and family home needs. If you are looking to build a simple cabin house, you should consider purchasing a finished cabin house plan instead of a custom blueprint. The cost of designing a cabin house floor plan is around $500-$3,000, depending on the modifications and complexity.

Zoning Law/Building Codes

Most states and counties in the US have specific zoning and building codes that guide the construction of residential and commercial buildings within the region. However, most states in the US may require that your cabin house size does not exceed 20x15ft to avoid fines. If you are building your cabin house in the US, you should read this. 

Land Selection

If you do not already own land, you should purchase land close to nature and has access to an easy supply of logs for your cabin house construction. On average, you should be able to purchase a good-sized lot for around $2,000 to $5000, depending on the square footage and location. Also, ensure that your lot is easily accessible to local utility lines. Utility companies typically offer free 100ft of the line before charging $7 per foot.

Step 2: Selecting and Preparing the Logs

You must have acquired the specific lot to construct your potential cabin house at this stage. This phase involves hunting for logs or foraging—finding, cutting, transporting of the logs, debarking, and drying.

Going for the best quality of logs for your cabin house construction will save you more on maintenance costs. You should also ensure that you use logs that are greater than 12” in girth to save money on insulation. You can use this calculator to determine the number of logs you will need to build your cabin house. Please contact a local cabin builder for the best type of logs and the cost of foraging for your location.

Step 3: Construct the Foundation

Constructing a foundation for your cabin house is more complicated than it appears on paper. A typical log cabin foundation must be solid enough to withstand the weight of a log cabin. When constructing the foundation of your log cabin house, you should adhere to the following rules.

• Subsidence – prevent subsidence when soil moves away from your cabin
• Strength – strong enough to transmit the load from your cabin
• Settlement – prevent your cabin from sinking into the ground

The foundation for your cabin will depend on and influence the soil type, the size of your potential cabin, land contours, and access to local resources. You should consider a pad foundation if you need a damp-proof foundation that lifts your cabin from the ground. On average, you will spend around $1200 for your home foundation and $3 per square foot to have your lot cleared.

Step 4: Laying the Logs

The previous steps focus more on prepping your lot, paying for licenses and permits, and connecting utility lines to your lot. However, this phase focuses on the actual construction of your cabin house. You will start to see daily progress as you lay your logs one upon the other.

Before laying the logs, you will need to decide on the notching method you want to use in constructing your cabin corners. Notches are simply incisions scribed into logs to help join the corners of your log cabin home.

You will need to choose from one of the four notching methods:

• Butt and Pass
• Full Scribed (Traditional)
• Full or Half-Dovetail
• Corner Post

 If you are building a cabin house for the first time, it is advisable that you stick with the butt and pass since it less stressful and easy to do. You only need to stack the logs without scribing or using rebar to fix them together. Once you have constructed your cabin foundation, and selected your notching method, the next step is to lay the first set of logs.

Set the first four logs

Setting your sill logs into your foundation must be done with the best set of logs you have felled. Typically, the best logs are the largest in diameter, straightest, and longest. You should lift the sill logs over the foundation and fix them using a short rebar pin.

More importantly, you should have a structural engineer and municipal building planning association approve the foundation of your cabin house.

Installing the Floor

Installing the floor of a cabin house is quite easy since they use a suspended lumber flooring system. However, it is important that you get the measurements correctly. To determine the depth of your floor joist, you should simply divide the span of your sill log by half and add two to the realized number. For example, 8FT span / 2­ equals 4FT (2) equals 6”.

On average, when installing your cabin floor, you may spend around $3.99 to $5.99 per square foot for the materials and an extra $1.50 to $2 per square foot on labor costs.

Construct the Log Wall

At this point, your cabin house is already taking shape. It is time to build and raise the walls surrounding your cabin house. When building a cabin house, you will need to build the cabin as if it doesn’t require a door or window.

You will continue to lay log upon log while erecting a rectangular four-wall. If you are sticking with the butt and pass method, you should fix each of the logs together with a short rebar fixing.

Create Door and Window Opening

Creating a door and window opening is as simple as removing the lumber from its place and supporting the opening with a lintel log and cleats. Once the lumber is removed, thereby creating an opening, you should install appropriately sized window frames or door jambs to hold the opening together.

Depending on the number of windows and doors, you are more likely to spend around $1,300 to create and fix your cabin house windows and doors.

Frame and Attach the Roof

Since most cabin houses are either square-shaped or rectangular, it won’t be difficult to roof your house. Once you have stacked the logs up to the roofing level, you must opt for a proper cabin roofing style. If you are building a traditional cabin house, you may need to build a pitched type of roof for your cabin house.

A great cabin roof construction technique is the ‘purlin and rafter’ method which allows for ease of construction and the ability to support high window load testing. To learn more about different cabin roofing techniques, read here. Upon completion of your roof frame, you will have to choose from any of these five roofing finishes.

• Thatched Roof
• Traditional Wood Shingles
• Roofing Felt
• Tiles
• Metal Sheeting

 On average, you will spend around $2,000 to $10,000 depending on the material type, quality, and size of the square footage.

Log Cabin Maintenance

Once you have finished building your log cabin house, you will need to weatherproof it to protect it from moisture and the negative effects of the elements. Moisture and dampness may cause the logs that hold your home together to rot if left unfinished. The first step is to clean, seal, and stain your logs.

To clean your logs, you can simply wipe it with water and detergent to eliminate the accumulated dirt and pollen. After cleaning it, leave it to dry for at least 2 days. You can either stain your log during the felling phase or after the build. After staining, your cabin logs will last 18-24 months before another stain is needed.

Also, you may decide whether to seal your cabin or not. Some notching methods (dovetail) don’t require you to seal your cabin after the build. However, if you used the butt and pass technique, then it is important that you caulk your logs to prevent air and moisture inflation. After caulking your cabin, clean it with a damp cloth to make it well-finished.

You have Finally Built Your Cabin House.

Congratulations, you have finally learned how to build a cabin house. The cost of building a cabin house will certainly differ based on the type of material you intend to use, location, square footage, and the builder. On average, you may spend around $20,000 to $100,000 to build one. It is important that you work closely with a professional architect and builder when building a cabin house, no matter its size.

The first step to constructing a cabin house is to get a comprehensive architectural drawing set. This gives you an insight into the type of materials to be used, accurate dimensions of the floor plans, the location of the elements, sections, and other construction-related information.

If you are looking for a comprehensive yet affordable cabin house blueprint or a customizable floor plan, then we at Archimple are here to serve you. We have several cabin house design collections and floor plans. You can check out our cabin home design collection to find out how we can help you achieve your dream home.

Conclusion

Building a cabin house is not as difficult as one may think. With careful planning and execution, anyone can build their own cabin house. So, what are you waiting for? Start planning and building your dream cabin house today.

Frequently Asked Question

What is the average cost of building a cabin house?

The average cost of building a cabin house can vary depending on the size and location of the property. Generally speaking, the cost of materials and labor will be higher in urban areas than in rural areas.

How long does it take to build a cabin house?

Again, this can vary depending on the size and location of the property, but most cabin houses can be built within 2-3 months.

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