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| By Jim Cooper |
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Well, you've decided. You're building a log home. You've found the company you want to work with and you're ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Only one question stands between you and your dream: "What do I do now?"
Congratulations! You have just left the wonderful world of log home dreams and entered the sometimes wonderful, sometimes frustrating, always amazing world of pre-construction. What happens between now and the time the excavators show up at your building site has a lot to do with your peace of mind once your logs start rolling.
A successful home building project (meaning no-one loses his or her life, mind or family fortune) begins with organization, and organization begins long before a front-end loader starts taking big bites out of your landscape. It actually begins the moment you decide you want a log home. At that moment, you set in motion a process that doesn't end until you close your new front door and watch an empty moving van disappear down your new driveway.
Pre-construction can be organized into a series of steps. Although some steps can occur simultaneously and the sequence is somewhat flexible, some phases of pre-construction depend on completion of other phases. Let's walk through the pre-construction process.
First off, we'll assume that you have already decided to build a log home and have selected a company to provide the package. Do you have land to put your dream log home on? If not, don't go any further until this basic step is complete.
Many people start their log home process with a vision of their home and little thought to the land on which it will sit. Once I had customers who had spent a year perfecting their log home design. Then they bought a nice piece of mountain property and came to me for an estimate on building their dream.
One look at their floorplan and survey told me they had problems. Their house was a large rectangle with the shortest side over 40 feet long. Their land was a steeply sloping mountainside. I quickly drew a sketch showing them that the house they wanted would require a foundation wall over 20 feet tall on the lower side. This wall wasn't in their vision or their budget. Unfortunately, they purchased the land before they considered the feasibility of their design. So their alternatives were to either find another dream house or sell their land.
The moral is: Make sure your land and house design are compatible before going any further. Also keep in mind that budget, not engineering, often determines what is possible. In other words, you can have almost anything you want if you are willing and able to pay for it. It's far better to find out what the costs will be before you make any serious commitments.
So you've got land and it will work with your house plan. Now you are ready to get serious.
Uh oh. Did you check on water and sewer conditions before you committed yourself to the land? Most log home buyers are looking at land that is not served by public utilities and will require a well and septic system. Make sure that you have water and approval to put a septic system on your land. Also make sure you know what these things will cost. Even with public water and sewer, you will have to pay "tap fees" to connect. Research these prices.
While you're thinking about utilities, what about electric and telephone service? The existence of utility poles and wires near your property is not solid proof that these services will come easily to your building location. Call the appropriate utility company and have them look on their maps to determine what will be required. If they're willing, have a representative visit your site and walk the ground with you. Then get an estimated cost for service. Don't become like those hopefuls whose dreams are shattered when they discover that it will cost a small fortune to get utilities to their newly purchased building site.
Next on your list should be establishing a firm budget for your project. You'll need to obtain an accurate estimate of your log home package cost, including delivery and unloading. It also means obtaining firm bids from a general contractor, or from a builder and subcontractors if you'll act as your own general contractor. Accurate cost estimating is an involved process beyond the scope of this discussion. There are a number of books available to help you with it (including my own:
Log Homes Made Easy and The Log Home Project
Planner).
Let's assume you've completed your estimate. You've recovered from the shock that hits most people planning to build their own home, and you are ready to proceed. If you're one of those fortunates who won't need a lender, you can breeze right along. If not, it's time to play the financing game. This usually means applying for a construction loan and permanent mortgage. The lender will want copies of your blueprints, site plan or survey, land deed, complete cost estimate and, if you will be general contractor, some thorough documentation of your experience. While that process is going on, (as a rule it takes at least twice as long as the lender says it will), there are some other things that you can do.
You will need several types of insurance for your project. First is liability insurance, this protects you in case a curious neighbor swan-dives into your excavation or punctures a foot on a board studded with nails that the builder neglected to pull or bend.
Second, you will need a builder's risk policy. This protects the investment of materials and labor that is going into your project until it is complete. If a storm happens to flatten your partially built deck with the ancient poplar you wanted for shade, your builder's risk insurance will cover replacement costs. Virtually all lenders will demand proof of builder's risk coverage before releasing any funds from the construction loan.
A third type of insurance, workman's compensation or "workman's comp" is also very important. Usually you will not carry this type of coverage, but you should make sure that your builder and all subcontractors do. Part of finalizing subcontracts should be to obtain a certificate of insurance from each subcontractor. Do not sign an agreement with a sub who cannot produce a certificate. If you do, you could be liable for any injury suffered by anyone employed by the sub while on your job. Since this is standard operating procedure in the building world, avoid subs who balk at providing proof of workman's comp or don't seem to understand your request.
With your financing at least verbally approved, it's time to apply for your building permit. This procedure varies widely across the country. In some areas it means little more than having a cup of coffee with the folks down at the county offices and telling them about your proposed project. But in many areas, you will be expected to fill out some detailed paperwork to submit along with copies of your blueprints and a site plan showing your house, septic system, well and road. Quite naturally there will be fees involved.
Once your building permit application is in and you have a reasonable idea of the time required for processing, you can start notifying subs. Contact your excavator and foundation sub first. Don't forget the plumber if you'll have plumbing under a basement slab. Also, make sure you've called your log home company to schedule a delivery date. They need lead time to prepare your package for delivery, especially during the summer when many log homes are delivered.
Now, as you await the final countdown to closing on your construction loan or approval of your building permit, you may want to make a few final arrangements. You might arrange for delivery of a storage trailer to hold delicate materials such as interior trim until your log home is weather tight. Such trailers are not expensive and can be found by looking in the phone directory. You may also want to arrange for a trash "dumpster." Work usually goes much faster and there are fewer mistakes on a clean job site. Finally, arrange delivery of a portable toilet to your job site. Both your subcontractors and your neighbors will thank you. |
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