Cameron,
A log home can be built in any shape, just like a stick frame home. The square design is taught in the class and used by most members for a few reasons.
1. It's simpler for first time builders with little or no construction experience.
2. More efficient use of space. A square house provides more square feet of usable space than a rectangular house with the same linear feet of wall.
Example: A 10'X10' room is 100 sqft while a 15'X5' room is only 75 sqft. Same amount of materials to make both rooms but one has more space.
3. It's cheaper. Your roof is likely to be your greatest construction expense and a simple roof with no complex angles or framing saves you money. This is another reason that it's cheaper to build a 2000sqft two story house than a one story house of the same size. The 2000sqft one story house will require a much larger roof which translates to more $$$.

All that said, check out all the pictures in the "student log homes" section. You will see prow roofs, walk out basements, very complex roof designs, and just about anything else you can imagine. The sky is the limit. But as they say in racing, "Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?".

Enjoy the forums.
JD

Hey guys..

Yeah I know.. the money can add up quick the more complex you get.. And to be honest if I knew that this house would only be a stepping stone to building another one later on, then I would go for simpler and probably one of the standard plans.. but this is it.. the one I expect to be in until our time is up.. So we need to build keeping our family, lifestyle, and future happenings in mind.

I can tell you though that if I can build this house for $150K, I'll be happy enough to jump for joy!! That is so much cheaper than we are living now.. At that price, we could still be mortgage free.. and that sounds great to me.. And a kit home would cost us $150k just for the darn kit.

The good thing is that we have access to (family owned) 200+ acres of wooded land that we will be able to log off of.. If nothing else, I'll pay a logger to come in, cut em down and move them to my homesite..

Hi Johnny.. your house is looking great!!! What size logs did you use?
I am definitely going to take the class.. What's cool is that I just found out this morning that a very good friend of our family built his own log home 22 years ago, using the butt and pass method, and timber off of his land... And he volunteered to help us out in anyway that he can when we decide to start building. So I'm feeling better by the minute..

But yes.. I feel the same way that you do too.. My wife has suffered with me for a long time :), working her butt off to help out the household.. I want her to have the house that she has always wanted to have.
I know how those contacts really help out.. My father in law is a cabinet maker, my brother in law is a master HVAC installer, and I can wire and plumb just about anything. I am in no form a contractor, but I have helped build a few houses in the past... And we are using recycled things as much as possible. We have a 100+ year old barn that is full of 1" oak that we are going to tear down to use as flooring for the entire house, and use as siding on the gables..every little bit helps...

Man, this excites me, as I have been planning this house for so long, but never thought that I might be able to do it without a mortgage at the end.

Love the energy and positive attitude Cameron... Keep that ball rolling!!

We used Douglas Fir logs for our home and the small butt ends of our logs are 12" diameters... large butt ends vary from 14" to 18" butts. Mix of 2nd growth fir and pee-wee old growth fir.

Love the fact that you have old barn wood to use for flooring and gable end siding!!

My only concern with your plan is that your one wall is 57' long. That means you will need to find logs that are 60' long. Can be done, depending where you are, but they also have to be hauled legally. Look into it, but take the course before you make any lasting decisions regarding your plans.
Debby

Max length is determined by your logs, not by any set parameters.

If you are talking about max length to haul, I know that logs MUCH longer than 40' can be hauled. My ridgepole and cap logs were 55 feet when delivered.

I know nothing about hauling in West Virginia, but my logger could only haul 56'max. He cheated a bit for me so my cap logs and ridgepole are 60'. I'm sure permits can be had for longer, but it will cost more and you also need to have access to logs that long that aren't tapered down too small. Just something to consider. Hope it all works out for you. I also had drawn up plans before we went to the class. We had been planning rectangular, but I found I was able to get what I wanted with a square. It'll all work out I'm sure. Have fun planning!
Debby

Hi Cameron,

Although this is the design you want now, you may wind up with some changes by the time you're done. One of the books I like is Building an Affordable House. It may not be for everyone, but it's worth looking up at your library, $16 at amazon, or even less used. http://www.amazon.com/Building-Affordable-House-High-Value-Construction/dp/1561585963

And the book at this thread: http://www.loghomebuilders.org/book-everyone-read-building . It was published under two different names, but same material.

If you don't have logs with enough length for that long end, you could add a small section similar to the opposite side. More work overall, but shorter logs to deal with.

Linda

It's probably different from state to state, but I'm sure there is a set lenght you can legally haul, WITHOUT the need of a permit or the use of escort vehicles. Anyway I would think so, LOL :-)

Sorry, there are a lot in the members section but I can't remember ever posting progress pictures in the general forum. I've got a new set of pictures in the camera now, I'll post those in the general forum next week. I'm not living there yet but I'm getting really close...

Actually a log home cannot be built in "any" shape. In theory it must have an even number of corners.

When you combine short-run walls with long-run walls you come in to the problem of coping with taper.

Suppose your logs taper an average of 1 inch per ten feet so in 60 feet you have six inches of taper.

That means a log with a 14 inch diameter big end is 8 inches at the small end.

Opposite the 57 foot wall is what is in essence (if it were laid out in a straight line) approximately a 77 foot wall( assuming the right angle wall is 10 feet, there was no scale for that ) so if you used a 77 foot log it would have to be 14 inches at the big end and 8 inches at the small end to match, a formidable task.

Now you have to match a 77 foot wall taper to a 57 foot wall taper to two 32 foot walls which will only have three inches of taper.

Dealing with this kind of disparity in length of log walls takes a lot of extra effort and can be tricky. Also your roof framing will be much more difficult with the side-out opposite the 57 foot wall.

In class or in the members-only you will learn the in's and out's of this type of issue and become able to see it more clearly and deal with it.

Hey everyone !!! I posted a new photo from my first contract in 1988 this was a time lapse of the circumpolar region I took through a pretty detailed roof-framing on a cabin I built on Lake Roosevelt, the Columbia river behind Grand Coulee damn,,,,,,,oops typo.

http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii68/loghomeguy12/?action=view&current=North_Star_Through_Beams.jpg

Mikey, journeymans class of 1988 or 1987 I think,,,,,, ha ha