How Much Does It Cost To Build A Log Home?
When it comes to log homes, especially when you also add in the modular aspect, we always get lots of really good questions from our clients. Don’t they burn faster than a regular home if they were to catch fire? No, quite the opposite! Are they energy efficient? Yes, more so than a regular home actually! But the number one question we get every time is “how much does it cost to build a log home?”
Pricing a home properly can be complicated (unless you buy a Blue Ridge!) and you would think this would be a pretty simple answer – we throw a number at you. But at Blue Ridge Log Cabins Canada we want you to be informed about EVERY aspect of the cost to build your new home so that there are no surprises when it comes to your budget. That being said, here are 10 things to consider that affect your cost to build:
1. Building Permits
Every township has different requirements and every piece of land has different zoning or environmental restrictions. Most permits require a site plan and may require an engineered septic drawing. Our skilled Building Advisors can help you through the permit process.
2. An Engineered House Plan
A custom home design drawing is great, but no one can accurately price a home drawing and you can not submit for permits until structurally engineered plans are drawn. The process of designing and engineering is normally a minimum of $35,000.00.
At Blue Ridge Log Cabins Canada, we include the cost of engineering in the pricing of our homes! So when you purchase a Blue Ridge Log Home we have already included the cost of engineering into your total square foot price.
3. A Complete Budget Vs House Budget
The trickiest part of building a home is knowing what is included in which contract and whether anything has been missed or overlapped, plus all the other unknowns between design and build.
A complete budget includes the entire house budget plus the cost of site work such as driveways, lot clearing, septic, well, hydro, decks, etc. Our homes do not include the cost of site work, but we can still help with that! If you purchase a home from us, we have packages you can add on where our Building Advisors help you through a little, a lot, or all of this!
A traditional house budget can get tricky. Some builders include cost allowances for specific tasks, like a set budget for a kitchen. However if the kitchen has not been picked out or contracted by a company to build it yet, the price may vary depending on the company you hire and the finishes you choose, etc. It is very easy to underestimate a house budget because most houses need a minimum of 10 separate trade contracts to be efficiently built.
At Blue Ridge Log Cabins Canada your house budget is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Your log home is one easy contract. We agree on a price, we build every aspect of your home from kitchen to bathrooms etc. with all the finishes included, then we install a quality solid log home on budget and on time! The price we agree on is the price you pay, period.
4. Complete Log Home Package Vs Kit Homes
In order to get accurate pricing when you are comparing different companies, make sure you are comparing the same home package in it’s entirety when you are getting prices from a custom home builder or log home kit providers. Some kits include materials and labour and others offer materials only.
Your Blue Ridge Log Cabins quote comes complete with labour and materials, delivery, and installation! Our Building Advisors can help you compare any quote or floor plan you have received to one of ours. If you have a quote already, send it to us and we will beat any log home builders price!
5. Fixed Cost Vs Variable Cost
Every job site is different and each build has what are known as fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs are normally for the materials that have been produced in a factory which are required to build your home. So if you are thinking about a kit home, the materials are the fixed cost in this case because you know the price of those. Then come variable costs, which include anything done onsite to build your home. This includes labour for installation and site work like roofing, plumbing, electrical, framing, concrete, kitchen, drywall, etc. These variable costs change between job sites with different trades companies, and are the main cause of construction budget overages.
When you buy a log home from Blue Ridge Log Cabins Canada we have included almost 80% of your variable costs in our price! This protects a large percentage of the job from going over budget, in turn saving you money. When buying a log home, remember Blue Ridge Log Cabins Canada has the most complete log home solution on the market requiring only a couple weeks of onsite labour, that we supply.
6. How Much Is Included In Your Sq. Ft. Price
Be very careful when considering this aspect of your budget. The square foot price you are quoted for building your house will vary between companies, because not all builders add the same amount of products into their sq. ft. price. Unlike many of our competitors, Blue Ridge Log Cabins Canada includes extras such as your fridge, stove, dishwasher, all the way down to the light bulbs!
When you are hearing prices like $175.00 – $200.00 per square foot, that is not a complete home; there have been omissions in the items included in the contract. At Blue Ridge Log Cabins Canada we include everything unless you tell us otherwise. Still confused? We will help you compare any contract to a Blue Ridge Contract to help you decipher the differences.
7. Hydro
Do you have hydro onsite? In order to have a complete site budget it is necessary to know all of your additional costs. When building a new home it is always important to talk to your local hydro provider first if you don’t already have power to your lot, as this is potentially a highly variable additional cost depending on how much work is required to get the hydro where it is needed.
8. Septic and/or Well
If you do not have access to hook up to town services for water and sewage, you will need a septic and/or a well. These costs will add to your complete budget, and most builders do not include this in the sq. ft. price. This site work is not included in your Blue Ridge Log Cabins Canada contract, but our Building Advisors will be happy to help you understand the steps required to get these things done. We even have a package you can add on for us to handle this entire process for you!
9. Energy Efficiency
R-value and thermal mass are the two systems involved in the efficiency of your log home. Not only does combining thermal mass and R-value increase the energy efficiency of your home on average 20-30% (which saves you money!), it also allows for a much more stable and comfortable temperature all around. As a bonus, we also have almost 90% less chemicals in our wall systems, making ours the most natural choice.
Blue Ridge Log Cabins has even built a conference centre for the Department of Energy and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory! They put it through some rigorous testing and we passed with flying colours!
Click here to read more about the energy efficient thermal properties of Blue Ridge Log Cabins Canada homes in one of our blogposts!
10. Value of Blue Ridge Log Cabins
Want the best idea of building costs per square foot? Insurance companies most accurately calculate the cost to build different types of buildings, and log homes are definitely up there as one of the more expensive types of homes to build. Insurance companies are pricing log homes around the $350.00 – $500.00 per sq. ft. range.
At Blue Ridge Log Cabins Canada, we can offer you solid modular log homes for the same prices as regular stick frame homes! All of our models are priced differently, so please let us know if you have a specific model in mind.
Contact us today for an honest, free, no obligation consultation! We would love to answer any more questions you have for us.