Daily Journal

Fall 1997- September 1998

We spent months visiting log home companies and open houses to learn how log homes were put together. We found out that hardly any two companies do things alike. From the way they dry the logs to the way they fasten them together. We even made a big list showing what each company did. We finally decided that there may be no right or wrong way to do it. Most log home companies have been in business for years. And they have developed a complete method that works successfully for them.

The most important thing you should consider when "interviewing" a log home company is if they will be easy to do business with. Since log homes require a lot of planning up front, you will likely be making a lot of phone calls to the company to help you.

September 1998

18th - 20th Attended Log Home Living and Timber frame show.

January 1999

Made final changes to floor plan.
Shopped for cabinet prices. (decided we can build them for much less)
18th - Started title search for construction loan.
23rd - Started clearing trees and underbrush from site.
25th - Started appraisal process.

February 1999

4th - Cut down approximately 15 trees
6th - Cut up some of the trees and burned brush
9th - Title search complete.
13th - Finished cutting up trees.
15th - Final blue prints completed and in the mail.
16th - Log Cam went Live!
19th - Final blue prints arrive in the mail.
22nd - Appraisal complete (Praise God! This took forever.)

March 1999

5th - Mortgage commitment letter sent to construction loan bank.
16th - Signed const. loan, bldg. permit, & builder's risk insurance.
17th - Mailed milling payment to Battle Creek.
22nd - Broke Ground!!!  Started digging basement. (Praise God!)
23rd - Finished digging basement.
27th - Ran strings for footing preparation.
29th - Finished running strings for footing.

April 1999

5th - Ran strings  for the piers (we forgot to do this earlier).
9th -  Footing was dug out.
14th - Poured footing.
22nd - Built basement walls
23rd - .Finished basement walls
28th - Began pouring concrete into block walls for stability & put in anchor bolts.
29th - Finished pouring walls, put in gravel for floor, & septic pipe rough-in.
30th - Termite bond, spread gravel, & poured basement concrete floor.

May 1999

3rd - Received delivery order from Home Depot.

June 1999

2nd - Reviewed delivery order from Lowes.
14th - Received delivery of logs.  Building crew arrived & started subfloor.
15th -  Finished subfloor. 

All the sub-floor decking is in place.  We had hoped to start stacking a course or two of logs but we had an afternoon rain shower so the building crew decided to call it a day and start them tomorrow.  We were also going to spray the sub-floor with Thompson's water seal to protect it from rain during construction as well as when we wash down the logs after dry-in.  But the rain showed up just as I went for the sealer.  Now we must let it dry good before we apply the sealer.

16th -  Started stacking the log shell.  

Well the crew got a good start this morning stacking the logs.  But rain came about 1:30 and the crew went on home.   They started on the back and left sides of the house.  Since the logs are all stacked around the right side of the house and this is the closest to ground level they left this end of the house open until the last moment to have a place to bring the logs in.  We have not back filled yet so they built a ramp to carry the logs by hand over to the sub-floor.  Along the back they are up to about 3 courses.  The front left wall is now at six courses.  The rain left about 4:00 so we went out and started cleaning up around the house.

17th -  Continued stacking the log shell.
18th - Finished stacking the log shell.

Praise the Lord!  The outer shell is complete.  So far we've not experience any major problems.  Our basement walls were off by 1/2 inch on one end and 1 inch the other direction on the opposite end.   But our building crew has made adjustments with the sub-floor to allow the log shell to go up without flaw.  They have already notched out the back wall for the 2nd floor beams.

19th - Sealed subfloor with water seal to protect from rain & washing down logs later.
21st - Built first floor interior walls and placed girders.  Also purchased materials to seal basement.
22nd - Started laying 2x6 V-joint tongue and groove for 2nd floor.
23rd - Finished tongue and groove for 2nd floor.  Built shed dormer wall on back side of house.
24th - Rained out.
25th - Set rafters and ridge beam length ways of the house.
26th - Went tub/shower shopping and bought shower unit for upstairs.
28th - Rained out.
29th - Built porch and support beams above porch.
30th - Set ridge beam and rafters in outset of front of house.

July 1999

1st - Started installing 1x6 v.joint tongue and groove decking over porch area.
2nd - Started installing 1x6 v-joint tongue and groove decking over left side.
5th - Dug a ditch around footing and sprayed off mud build-up on footing.
8th - Finished installing 1x6 v-joint tongue and groove over the shed dormer.
9th - Framed the walls for the gable dormers.
10th - Sealed exterior of basement walls and installed drainage system.
11th - Back-filled basement.
12th - Rained out.
13th - Installed decking over gable dormers and started framing walls on 2nd floor.
14th - Installed siding on gable dormers and finished framing walls on 2nd floor.
15th - Installed siding on shed dormer, set a couple of windows, and some collar ties.
16th - Installed siding on gable ends and set remainder of collar ties for roof.
17th - Ran wiring for lights that must be done before the metal roof is installed.
18th - Rested!
19th - Installed facia board.  Trimmed up the eves.  Finished building front gable window area.  Started building bay window tub wall in master bath.
20th - Finished bay window. Installed doors and windows.  Built stairs and balcony railings.

Well for the most part Battle Creek is done today.  We were missing a collar tie and a balcony post.  They worked from 7:30 to 7:00 today to get finish.  They have to start another house near Nashville tomorrow.  They will be back Saturday to install the missing parts.  Now it is our turn to get busy.

24th - Installed last collar tie and balcony post.   Started handcrafting the log stairs.
27th - Started plumbing rough-in.
29th - Finished most of plumbing rough-in.  We needed the faucets picked out for the  tub/shower units.  We also needed a platform built for the gas hot water tank since it is next to the garage.

August 1999

2nd - Start installing metal roofing.
12th - Finished installing metal roofing.
15th - Finished handcrafting the log stairs from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor.
16th - Started cleaning all lumber and debris from inside of house to prepare for log cleaning.
19th - Tested areas behind kitchen cabinets with bleach and water to remove rain stains.
21st - Ran some more electrical wiring.  Installed plastic over black board to keep it from getting wet when we pressure wash.
24th - Started bleaching  and pressure washing interior log walls.
25th  thru Sept. 10th  continued bleaching the interior of the house.  The walls went fairly quick.  However when we started doing the ceilings and the rafters it seemed like a snails pace.  For one we had to erect scaffolding and ladders plus spraying over your head not only will give you a crick in your neck but will fill your face with whatever you are spraying.

September 1999

18th - Wired main electrical breaker box to meter box.
20th - Built pedestal for hot water tank and HVAC units to sit on in basement.
24th - Alabama Power hooked up our power.
25th - Cut trim to install fixed glass windows.  Tested stain samples on log and siding pieces.
27th - Moved lumber stacks into basement and cleaned up the yard.
29th - Installed fixed glass.

October 1999

Installed garage doors
Bought stain and pesticide for outside of logs
Installed hot water tanks and natural gas lines
Installed insulation
Installed metal duct work
Started building stairs going down to basement
Bought whirlpool tub
Set HVAC units

November 1999

5th - Started bleaching and pressure washing the outside
Applied  insecticide to outside of logs
Applied stain to outside of logs
Second and final building inspection passed
Natural gas meter installed
Main duct work installed
We now have heat
Started installing insulation

December 1999

Started installing duct work to room registers
22nd  Started installing some tongue and groove
31st  Ditches dug for water and sewer

January 2000

1st  Installed water and sewer pipes in yard and covered the ditches
Week of the 3rd - Finished installing all duct work
10th - Reinforced sagging wall and varnished whirlpool deck.
11th - Installed more tongue and groove (great room wall)
12th - More tongue and groove
14th - Installed more tongue and groove and started staining interior walls
15th - Continuing tongue and groove and staining
16th - Set the whirlpool tub into place

February 2000

9th - Hung drywall in upstairs rooms
16th - Mudded drywall.  Finishing tongue & groove in utility room and stair well.   Start laying the pine flooring and ceramic tile downstairs

March 2000

27th - Started installing window trim.

April 2000

3rd - Started finishing wood floors.

May 2000

18th - Moved in!!!

 

We have finally moved in!!! Praise God!  However we are still not finished.  After 14 and a half months of hard work we couldn't stand it any longer.  Although we lived on-site, our mobile home just couldn't compare to living in our log home.  Most rooms are complete with the exception of interior doors or a light fixture of something.   The house is functional except we are making do without kitchen cabinets until we can build them.  Plumbing, electrical, and gas is working.  We still lack the part of the air conditioning units that sit outside.  We are going to get those installed this weekend hopefully.  And aside from a couple of 90 degree days it hasn't been to hot in the house with out it. 

We did have a problem with our appraisal at first.  You see the original appraisal we had done according to the blue prints came back real low.  In fact it read that the house was worth less than what it would cost to build by nearly $10,000.  We didn't worry about it too much a first.  But when we got near the end of completion we called the appraiser back to see about appraising it again.  He informed us that we did not need or want another appraisal.   That market conditions in the area had worsened and we would get a lower appraisal than we got the first time.  We panicked because that would leave us owing a large sum of money to the bank because we could not borrow enough to cover construction costs.   I know, in hind site we should have researched this farther to begin with.   Lesson learned.  However, we wish to thank God and all those who prayed for us in this matter.  We found another appraiser who used a little different approach to the appraisal.  Cost to build!  The original appraiser tried using comparisons of similar houses that sold in the area.  First, there are very few log homes in the area.  None of which "compare" to ours.  Not bragging here - its just that he didn't have anything to compare with.  Anyway the new appraiser beat the old appraisal by $53,000 as is!  Even without the cabinets, fireplace and extra room and bath in basement.  Now we can close the loan and take our time completing the rest.  

I would also like to recommend M&T Mortgage (formerly Keystone Financial Mortgage) and thank them for first rate customer service getting our long term loan.  We actually called them up and talked to Sandra Sanchez about our appraisal problem.  She didn't make us feel like our home was a barn like conventional lenders did with our situation.  When you mention "log home" you would be surprised at the responses you get from conventional lenders.  She work for us to get us what we needed.  And quick too.  You can call her at 1-877-536-5736.  Tell her Jay & Carrie sent you from the Log Cam.

 

20th - Added fill dirt around house.  Cleaned construction debris
26th - Got final appraisal back.  Much better than original.

Summary

This has been an enormous project for us.  As you can see we broke ground on March 22nd of 1999 and 14 months later, on May 18th, we were able to move in.  Keep in mind that as we moved in we had just enough complete to satisfy the appraiser.  In fact the appraiser could not appraise it as complete.  Fortunately our mortgage lender was willing to accept the appraisal marked "as is".  

We would not have been that far along if it weren't for the grace of God and much help from family and friends.  

The fact is that the day we got the great news of the final appraisal we almost completely stopped working on the house for a while.  We were so exhausted and stressed from trying to complete the house we just needed to take a break from it.  And I'm so grateful to our construction loaner officer who allowed us a year and a half on our construction loan. 

Our lives are back to normal now if you can call it that.  We are enjoying living in our log home.  People keep asking us if we are finished with it.  I tell them that we will never be finished with it.  But it is kind of a hobby for us.  We still have quite a long list of things to do as I will list below.  But we are just taking our time.  Working on the weekends when we are not taking time for ourselves.  At least now there is no deadline to beat.

Things left to finish

• Kitchen cabinets
• More Decks
• Installing Rock around the basement block walls
• Installing a fireplace
• Landscaping
• Finishing rooms in basement

Thanks for visiting with us and be sure to see all the photos on the Drawing Board.

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