We couldn't have done it without being here on a daily basis.

Why? The process is complex, the decision-making is constant and urgent, the labour force is volatile at times, and if you want things to be done your way then you have to exert yourself and not rely on someone else to engage in that kind of decision-making on your behalf.

Finally, and we will discuss this in more detail elsewhere, don't expect to make budget. It just isn't going to happen. Indeed, follow this link to an excellent article by Roland Sweet, editor of Log Homes Illustrated, written in April of 2007 about figuring out what your log home is going to cost. As we learned, and as you will learn from this article, calculating the cost per square foot is very misleading. It is not as simple as finding out the cost per square foot and then multiplying it by your intended square footage.

To quote Roland: The only way you can accurately determine the cost-per-square-foot figure for your project is to buy and build the home, then, after you’ve moved in, sit down with all your bills, total them and divide by the square footage of your home. Whatever figure you arrive at is the cost per square foot. But it is only a statistical summary, not a predictor of what another home will cost, not even a home identical to yours built right next to it by the same builder.

Enjoy these views of the house after it was professionally cleaned and before the first box was moved in. Some things still need to be done, like polyurathaning the interior railings that were installed at the eleventh hour; and the porch which still has to be stained (pending 50+ degree temperatures) and screened.

Other than that, we're IN!