I Built a Log Cabin From Scratch For Under $11,000

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Next, we built a form in the 8' x 8' floor opening and poured a concrete slab to floor height for building the rock fireplace on. After the slab cured, I used a plumb bob to find the center of the metal cone hanging 5' above the lab. Pivoting from the center mark with a string and chalk, I drew a circle on the slab to represent the circumference of the cone. Then I stacked and mortared river rocks around the circle and mortared in three steel tubes to allow air to be drawn in so that a fire could burn. We cemented flagstone on the floor around the perimeter of the rock fireplace to finish covering the square concrete slab.

Then came the electrical wiring. We cut out openings in the log walls for receptacle and switch boxes, and shaped them with a chain saw and chisel, making a place between the logs just large enough to nail the boxes in place. We routed the wiring in the gaps between the logs for horizontal runs. For vertical runs, we drilled holes through the logs from the wall's top with long drill bits of various lengths, which I made from 1/2" hotroll rod. I made the drill bits by heating and flattening one end of the 1/2" rod until it was 1" wide. Then I sharpened the flattened end to the shape of a spade drill.

Upcoming Plans

So this is where we are as of February 1993. We have only a few more steps remaining:

• Install store-bought windows.
• Build and hang doors.
• Install more heart pine flooring.
• Put chinking material between the logs (as described in the previously mentioned article by Peter Gott).

We hope to complete our house by the end of March 1993, weather permitting. But as it stands now, we have a 4,000-square-foot house, 85 percent complete, with a current investment of approximately $7,000. Total cost should come in under $12,000 plus 1 1/2 years worth of well-spent spare time.

I owe a lot of thanks to the people who have given me encouragement to pursue my dream throughout the years. But I also have to thank the negative folks who said I'd never be able to do it — they only strengthened my determination. They also made me wonder why people today—with all the commonly known skills and trades, all the easily accessible tools, equipment, technology, and ample how-to information—feel that it is so far-fetched to do what was commonly done by our forefathers with little more than an ax. I think the real difference between then and now is necessity and real determination.

The best advice I can offer anyone who would like to accomplish a dream like mine is this: Visualize the finished product, assess all of the available resources, and keep your eyes, ears, and imagination open for information and opportunities. Most of all, keep a can-do attitude and never give up.

On A More Personal Note

You and your wife Cathy have had to put many hours into this log cabin. Did you also have day Jobs?

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