Welcome!
I'm a canuck as well, from SK, but living in the US.

I agree with you, it's your $ & your time, so definitely build the house you want to build. I'll bet that just reading through the site here you found alot of info that would apply to any log home, not just one certain style, that will help with the life of your future home.

That's another reason why alot of folks here are building the B&P style, the more work you can do yourself, then the more cash you save, & the quicker you retire. We're planning to build a second one someday (1st is getting close to done), & we should be mortgage-free, all thanks to the LHBA, it's really cool.

Anyways, welcome to the forum :)

Hello Jason, <1 hr from Ottawa. You ?

I'm sure you've anticipated this response, especially if you've spent much time on this site, but I would strongly recommend against a full scribe home. I know many people think they look nice, but they dont hold up nearly as well as a butt and pass. They are much more vulnerable to water damage and insect damage.

The rule of thumb is, the more you cut into your logs, the more damage you've done to them.

So when you say they each have their own advantages and disadvantages I would argue that is not true, BnP has many advantages over full scribe but I would challenge anyone to find an advantage of full scribe over BnP with the two possible exceptions of "it takes less chinking" and "I think it looks cooler". In my view, trading some chinking for having every single one of my logs have a huge groove cut down the entire length and then every corner be saddlenotched (this is where your home will rot first) is not even close to worth it.

My advice is take the class. After spending two days in Skip's house learning why BnP is so much better, it's extremely unlikely you'll want to build anything but BnP.

Belange,

2k is not that much, when you consider the entire cost of your home and what you can save if you take the class (I expect to save >10x that), however, if you have made up your mind not to take the course and to build SC, then more power to you. Make sure the custom builder" is doing a scandinavian chinkless, not some modified method which is popular and faster. I don't know how much the custom builder gets, but it won't be cheap.

More important than what you build is the quality with which it is built. Any (good) method will last until you are dead. If you hate chinking, no amount of savings will make up for hating the home you live in. I have seen "canadian" chinkless homes that were ready to fall down in less than 10 years. I have seen 30 year old BP homes that show no wear with almost no maintenance. Just be careful.

I'll be happy to answer your questions about alternative energy, etc. I will also be "off the grid" and am on the steep part of the learning curve.

-Peter

Welcome to the forums, Marc. I completely understand your desire to learn as much as possible about B&P before committing to anything. Check out Paul Kahle's website, http://www.paulkahle.com/log.html . He documented every step of his build, and even his notes from class. I read through the entire build before I decided to take the class and I highly recommend the class. Even if you can digest everything on Paul's site, there are some construction details that have changed. In addition, by taking the class you can see up close and personal exactly what is possible with B&P construction when you are in Skip's huge home, and you get the opportunity to meet the instructors face-to-face and get straight answers to your questions. They don't get a commission to talk you into B&P. They have no agenda other than helping you do what you want.
In the end, it all comes down to what kind of house you want and if this isn't the style you want to live in, then it's not my place to change your mind. I will say that based on your stated goals, B&P would be the way to go, IMHO. The Skip style butt and pass method enables just about anyone, with little or no experience, to build a solid home with the least money. As with anything, there are tradeoffs between time and money. If you have plenty of one, you don't need much of the other. The Skip style B&P method can be used by anyone but is especially useful for an owner-builder who can do much of the labor him/herself and doesn't want to spend the next 30 years making payments to the bank.
Whatever you decide, we're happy to help you if we can.
JD

Do you have an email address? When do you plan on building on your log home? I would be interested in lending a hand for sure.

Marc

You pound nails into the lower log, then bend them up to act as the backer for the mortar. As the logs shrink toward their centers, a gap may develop along the top of the chinking. Because there is unsulation stuffed in between the logs, this is usually just cosmetic -- it doesn't cause drafts. To touch it up, you make some runny mortar, and use a pastry bag to squirt it into the crack.

Excellent, thanks for taking the time to reply.

Does anyone have a link to some B&P homes that are 15-20 yrs old?

From talking with Skip years back, the construction of his home (which is a National treasure) was mid to late 80's. Funny thing was, he said he was not sure... :0) It is fairly obvious if you watch the first few pilot episodes of Northern Exposure, you will see the logs are still quite new and not silver yet. That was 1990. He also told me that a structural engineer stated if he never did anything to the home all, it would last over 1000+ years. Amazing. It is that well done and a testament to the man and his conviction to the butt and pass method he advocated above all others. He rammed the building with a massive dozer purposely during construction. Did not budge. Dug the treads into the ground. House 1, dozer zip.

Something else Skip said that I remember about SC style and otherwise similar construction methods. Be it a beautiful craftsmanship home, any nut that wants some firewood could cut the logs off at the corners and the structural integrity of the wall is shot. You will have an almost impossible task to fix it. Essentially he said you could not and the home would be hosed. He knew some folks that had this happen.

Moisture escape as Klapton stated is critical and he is absolutely correct. B&P is the way to go. Hope this helps.