No more log home classes scheduled, but...
Wed, 01/30/2008 - 01:41 — Admin
As you may have noticed, classes are very rare at the moment. First we took almost half the year off, and since then we have only scheduled a couple of classes -- not nearly enough to meet the demand. And our classes are a popular Christmas gift each winter.
Unfortunately there may not be any more classes this year, and we're not sure about the 2009 schedule yet. But today we do have some good news -- our new class announcement e-mail newsletter is finally up and working!
Now you can sign up to be notified whenever we schedule a new class.
Comments
help, does anyone have any suggestions?
I have been wanting to go to one of these seminars for years. My part time military career has come between me being gone and the classes being held for the last 3 years, its such a bummer. When will they start holding more classes? I don't get deployed very often or for very long but I still have not been able to attend due to bad timing. I am very anxious to go to one. I live in Texas and will fly up and chance I get. Would it be a mistake to buy land and start gathering materials not having been to the class yet? I'm sure there might be things I'll need and could start collecting now. If anyone can help suggest anything I'd be very happy, thanks.
Sarah from Texas(but currently in Iraq)
SARAH.ROOKS@BLAB.CENTAF.AF.MIL
Hmmm...
Hopefully GWB's war will be over soon, and you can have a life again.
As for collecting tools and buying property, there are some things to consider. First, where are you getting your tool list? There aren't all that many specialized tools you will learn about in the class, but there are a few, and it would be a shame if you bought some of the wrong ones. However, there are lots of general construction tools you will need, and it's safe to get some of those: stuff for interior framing, flooring, plumbing, electrical (depending on how much you plan to do yourself).
About the land... I wouldn't say you HAVE to wait until after the class to buy your land. But you definitely want to make sure you know the important stuff you need to know about buying ANY property to build on. Stuff like critical areas/wetlands, soils evaluations/septic design, access to power, water, etc. You also want to contact your local jurisdiction (it's county where I plan to buy) and find out about zoning and the permit process.
When you make an offer on a property, make SURE you make a CONTINGENT offer. That way, if your site plan is not approved, or the soils won't "perk" or you find out that the endangered Foo-Bird has nesting grounds on the property, you can get out of the deal.
Also, when building a log home, you need space to store your logs while you peel em and build. So a tiny lot might not work for you.
BTW: The forum moderators might move this to the General section. I hope you still find it when you get back!