Log Wall vs Frame Wall   

If I had a nickel every time I proved this statement wrong – I would be living in a log home on Tahiti and enjoying an adult beverage while writing this blog!

Let’s get down to the basics.  Start with only the exterior perimeter walls.  Calculate the price of the 6" log wall materials and add labor fees to install it.  Then take ALL of the materials to complete a 6" frame wall and add the labor to install those materials.  When comparing the two finished/installed costs – you would find little to no difference in price. 

Remember when laying a log wall (on a typical 2000 sq ft floor plan it takes about 4 days) you are laying a “finished” wall when it is stacked.  On a frame wall, once the frame is up the wall needs to be insulated, then drywall or a wall covering on the inside of the wall, finished to a completed stage (if drywall, then tape, mud, sanded with at least 2 coats of paint) with sheathing, house wrap and a QUALITY exterior siding of some type on the outside.  With labor and materials – there’s not much price difference (if any) between the two wall systems.

Now, continue on with the finishing of the two homes.  What ever quality, type, style of product you use in the log home you use in the conventional built home – the price will be the same.  If you use different materials you obviously will come up with a different price.  Example – people usually think of a log home with the beautiful exposed beam cathedral ceilings they are known for – yet want to compare the price with a flat truss roof with drywall ceilings.  This is not the way make a comparison – they are comparing apples and oranges.  The price of an exposed beam cathedral ceiling costs more that a truss roof finished with drywall.  You can put the exposed beam ceiling on the conventional home OR put the truss roof on the log home – again – as long as you use the same products on each structure – the cost will be the same.

It’s not that a log home costs more – it’s what people WANT to put in to a log home that will make it more expensive than a conventional built home without the same “wants” included.  We’ve assisted hundreds of log home owners who thought a log home was out of their price range by simply using the same thought process throughout the design and building process.  Depending on the amount you want to invest in your log home, we can help you keep within your budget by suggesting ways to manage the costs.

Call your local Log Home Sales Consultant to find out ways we can make your dream log home become reality!