Build a Home for $10,000 in 10 Days!

(Page 3 of 3)

February/March 2009
By Chris McClellan 
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Not one to waste anything, Castle’s workshop is actually sheathed with “log siding” made from the cut-offs or “slab wood” left over from milling the frame and interior sheathing for the building.

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The wood in all of Castle’s buildings was selectively cut from his property or within a few miles. Compared to clear-cutting the forests of Canada and trucking in the lumber, local wood has a significantly smaller ecological footprint. The practice also supports the local economy.

If you use a lot of wood like Castle does, it can even make sense to purchase your own mill. Because Castle also carves large tables from single slabs of wood, he has a custom-made mill that can turn a 5-foot-diameter tree into lumber.

The Castle family has built two houses and a wood shop using Castle’s three-quarter round timber frame method. It took a small crew a little under 10 days to rough in each building. And each of these house shells was completed for less than $10,000, which comes out to about $10 per square foot!

Using the same technique, Castle and a helper are building a workshop where he can build his trademark rustic furniture. Construction has been more time consuming, as the workshop is something of a showpiece with more fancy joinery in the stairs and porches, but even with temporary Styrofoam doors it is easily heated with a small, electric space heater.

But it may be a while before Castle gets back to his furniture: Before he disappears into the workshop, he has promised his wife a retirement cabin built along the same lines.

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  • Russell - Idaho USA 3/20/2009 12:38:48 AM

    This is a really great article. We have been planning to build a home on our land for 20 years or so.

    We have basically settled on the SIP (Structural Insulated Panel) method or the Double-Offset Stud (with blown-in cellulose insulation) method for highest energy efficiency but this is a method of timber framing I hadn't heard of before, most timber framed homes are 'high end' stuff I am not interested in.

    I really don't plan on a rustic look 'log cabin' (prefer river rock and stucco for durability and thermal mass) But if this method proves simple and cheap (small logs are basically free around here all you need is the equipment and a permit for about $10) and uses more local and less manufactured materials it might be an option for us.

    I too would like to find out more specifics of this type of construction, especially the floor. Insulation between the subfloor and floor and the floors made of home milled boards is another new idea for me, I wonder how the building inspector would feel about its soundness...

    Thanks for publishing it.

  • J_R_S 3/12/2009 3:20:06 PM

    Skills for building with logs (which is what this is, no matter how the author phrases it) can be found in web articles by running a "build with logs" type of keyword search -- or dig up some books on the subject from the library or Amazon.com. While using timber from your own or other local supply for the logs is a great and somewhat renewable approach (only if you or someone else makes sure to replant the trees harvested), building with logs is hardly anything new. Think of all the log buildings erected by the pioneers who settled the North American continent.

    Milling just two sides of the log is a very old technique -- only way back when they tended to stack the flat, milled sides one on top of the other to build the wall (although I have seen some very old log cabins with the flat side facing out). But putting the flat side facing the outside and inside of the cabin is a nice variation and can make adding siding or interior paneling much easier.

    One important note: If you are doing your own labor (as the author is), then for $10,000 you can easily build a 1,000 square foot cabin using 2x6 studs, R-30 insulation and 4x8 plywood sheets straight from your local building supply store. So, unless you already own the land with the timber on it, I don't see where any savings come in with this approach.

  • eric treider 2/27/2009 8:57:42 PM

    This is really timely; I was thinking about building with SIP panels but this would be cheaper and just as effective. I'm curious about seeing more detail dealing with the subfloor and foundation. I think I understand his wall system but perhaps I missed it when he mentioned how far apart he space his piers. I wonder if the builder or writer is willing to share more information with us...

    Thanks~

    Eric T.

  • Rich van 2/18/2009 11:45:04 AM

    Great article, wonder where we can get more info on the critical skills such as creating the joints...

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