Log homes made easy by Jim Cooper
Of all the log home books that I have read, this is the best book by far to read as an introductory to buying, contracting or building a log home. Jim Cooper is extraordinarily well qualified to write this book and it shows as quality writing and quality information. The book has reached second edition and is updated to meet current issues, not that there are too many “latest” in this industry, but every now and then something splashes over to our secluded lifestyle. You should read this book as soon as possible. I guarantee that if you are really moving on with your log home building project, this book will save you a lot of money starting from planning and financing all the way through completion of the log home.
CHAPTERS
Introduction
Jim’s book contains eleven chapters, first being introduction (now that’s a surprise), followed by the most natural flow of steps that we must take on our way to log home living. The single most important thing you can walk away with from this chapter (and for book that matter) is Jim’s approach to the topic - owner-contracting. You can choose the middle road, no need to be obsessed by the dream of building a log home with your own hands nor is building a log home so terrible a task that you can only have it if you buy it.
About log homes
To really start the book off with a bang, Jim tackles some myths and realities about log homes. This chapter is a dead-on starter, an eye opener, I know this, because I constantly come across people with nothing more than a dream in their head and naive expectation that every expert will salute their log home enthusiasm and immediately start planning their dream house (free of charge of course). Jim is a man who really knows what he’s writing about.
Acquiring land
In this chapter, takes Jim readers through important topics considering the land to build your log home on. You learn that it is not just about location, location and location, but also about terrain, roads, wells, regulations, financing. Some enlightening first hand experiences are also on the menu. You will be amazed to notice how many unexpected difficulties are associated with buying land.
Defining your goals
From the book I got the impression that land is actually more important than the log home or log cabin. It can be remarkably difficult to purchase land and when you finally have it, well, you have to choose your log home according the lot. Behind everything else there is the all powerful buck that stops at credit manager’s desk. Dreams, money and reality are hard to match. Defining your goals for the most of us means compromises between all those three aspects. Jim gives some excellent pointers how to compromise with your dreams as little as possible.
Financing
For most people financing is the maker of dreams. Without good understanding on how credit institutions work (this is especially true in harsh economic climate) it is difficult to get your log home or log cabin project qualified for financing. Jim identifies three main points that make it so difficult to get financing for log homes. I don’t want to ruin your reading experience for you, it all makes much more sense with extensive numbers analysis that Jim presents to back up his writing.
General contracting
As a contractor, you need to have very thorough understanding of the big picture. If you don’t you are in danger of trusting to wrong people in your log home building process. This chapter deals with all the methods how to find right subcontractors and organize their work flow - a good read for any log home builder.
Sweat equity
The most common equity available for anyone with some enthusiasm and elbow grease comes in the form of their own work. Sweat equity is a good way to make some real estate equity, but Jim is not talking about going flat out and building your log home with your own hands. Jim still approaches the log home project from the point of view of owner-contractor and not that much from the point of view of owner-builder. You can read about Jim’s recommendations about work stages, which are good candidates for sweat equity. This way you will learn the best ways to save money while building your log home.
Construction process
Physical construction process is the manifestation of all your hard planning and preparation. Finally it comes down to this phase and you better get it right. Owner-contractor doesn’t know how to hold a hammer, but he must know what it is supposed to do and when. Knowing the outline of building process is vital for right working order of various subcontractors and therefore smooth progress of the building site. Together these will result huge savings.
This chapter is the most important one, Jim goes through some tools that every log home person should know how to handle. Then he proceeds from site planning to actual building, outlining excellent roadmap for making a log home.
Maintenance
When your log home is finally (or already) done, you can’t just walk in, shut the door behind you and rest. Every home needs maintenance, not just log homes, however, log homes do need special kind of care and this chapter is all about that.
Resources and supplies
Just as it says, information leads for log home contractor.
Appendixes
Jim has included many appendixes among others kit comparison sheet, example building contract, cost estimate check list…
