Month: April 2011

In my last blog I talked a bit about log home packages and how they vary between log home companies. As said earlier, the package is only part of the costs. Going past the package, build costs include excavating and backfilling, foundation, drain tile and waterproofing to get started. Some homes built on a slope will require retaining walls but that is site specific and w are here to help you with that.  Past the foundation, the costs involved will be shell labor which will get the house up and dried in with the roof on, soffit and fascia completed and windows and exterior doors installed. Interior carpentry will be installation of T&G, trimming, setting doors and all other labor related items.  Mechanicals such as plumbing, HVAC and electrical then come in to play. Lighting fixtures can vary wide and far, we have seen each end of the spectrum! Personal tastes will dictate costs associated with both pluming and lighting fixtures. We can’t forget about insulating your log home. Here in Minnesota the winters can get cold! Fiberglass insulation is the norm but quite a few upgrade to a spray foam product such as Icynene. Spray foam insulation is a great product, it offers insulation and vapor barrier all in one product. Cabinetry, vanities and countertops are also part of the equation. We can help you with everything from a laminate top to granite. The same goes for flooring. A wide range of flooring can work with log homes. Many of the log homes here in Minnesota and Wisconsin that we build incorporate a mix of carpet, wood flooring and tile. Some log home enthusiasts still want some drywall in their home so drywall materials and labor need to be accounted for. Painting, staining and caulking is also part of the equation. Some of the homeowners we have worked with have opted to invest sweat equity and taken on those tasks themselves. If you don’t want to, no problem, we can take care of it for you. When we go through your plans we will go over all the above items and more to make sure items and costs are accounted for.

Other costs related to the project will be permit, driveway, culvert if needed, well and septic or city water and sewer hook up. Again, we have contacts for these items statewide and can arrange for it all to be taken care of so you don’t have to worry about it. Utilities such as power and phone also need to be figured into your log home budget. Power and phone are usually figured with a base price plus so much per foot to run to your site.

Edlund Construction is here to help you from beginning to end if you are building a log home in Minnesota or Wisconsin.  Don’t hesitate to call us or Wild River Log Homes early on in your log home research stage with questions.

Well…sooner or later spring may arrive for good. This cool and wet weather is getting old! Anyways, we get asked quite often on how to clarify and clear up confusing in comparing log home packages. The log home industry doesn’t have a standard “package” so it is up to you to figure out what is and what isn’t included in packages. No two log home companies offer the same inclusions. Some are log only, some may offer more items and call it a dried in shell which will usually include roofing, windows and exterior doors. A dried in shell should be a completed exterior along with all interior framing. Some offer interior materials such as knotty pine, doors, trim and other interior finishing items. Being there is such a broad range of packages, the price will range accordingly. Edlund Construction can help you sort it out and we will figure out what is and isn’t included. We have local sourced to make an incomplete log home package complete. Too many people spend too much time on package pricing and almost forget about the build costs and other factors such as driveway, well, septic and permits. We have seen some log home packages that appear very inexpensive up front but by the time we include the necessary materials the end costs on some of those have exceeded some packages that seemed more expensive earlier on in the process. We are here to help you sort it out and get a completed log home built for you on your lot. Feel free to contact us during your log home researching.

Log home and outdoor spaces go hand in hand being a majority of log homes are built in scenic settings. In planning, most log home enthusiasts want to bring as much of the outdoors into their log home. The other side of that is outdoor space ranging from decks, porches, patios and outdoor kitchens. Uncovered decks make for great areas to take in your surroundings and relax while at your log home. Keep in mind that the deck is part of your home and needs to be accounted for in house placement so lot setbacks are followed. If the setback is 75′ from the lake that means the front of your deck will be at that 75′ point. The same for side boundaries. Some of the lake lots here in Minnesota are rather narrow and don’t leave a lot of room for decks to the side. In many cases we have built a 4′ or 6′ wide walkway from the side patio door to get to the deck on the lake side of the home. Log railings look great on a deck but can obstruct the view at times. We have replaced the log spindles with 3/4″ metal spindles to offer more viewing through the railing. Covered porches we see a lot of. They allow you to be outside on a day even when it is raining. Or, they provide plenty of shade if someone wants to be outside but not in the sun. Many of the homeowners we have built for wouldn’t be without their porch! The next step up from there is screening in that covered porch. As we all know, Minnesota has plenty of resident mosquitoes so we can screen that porch in on the sides and also put screen over the joists and under the deck boards so the bugs can’t come up from below. A screen porch expands the time spent outside considerably at certain times of the year. In planning your porch, think about furniture layout so it doesn’t end up being a cramped space. 10′ deep seems to be a good average that affords space and isn’t a budget breaker. Some will go on and end up doing a three season or four season porch as well. Three season porches usually are uninsulated and utilize storm windows rather than an all-season window. For supplemental heat some will install a small wood burning fireplace. Picture a fall day sitting in your rustic knotty pine porch with a fire crackling away! It is tough to beat to say the least.

Beyond decks and porches it seems more and more people are utilizing patios. Patios can be built with paving blocks or concrete. When concrete is being used we have seen many go with the decorative look and go with stamped patterns and colored. These are usually built to incorporate a fire pit so you can enjoy those campfires and smores. Patios are nice being they offer a level surface for lawn chairs and keep everyone out of the sand and dirt. Outdoor kitchens get asked about quite a bit lately as well. It seems people want to be outdoors here in the upper midwest as much as possible. Outdoor kitchens offer a great way to cook and entertain outside where everyone is at during the summer months while at the lake.

From the log home to your deck, porches and patios Edlund Construction can help you with it all.