Cheap Log Cabins: Why to Watch Out
Getting a gorgeous log home at a great price can feel like a dream-come-true. Unfortunately, cheap log cabins come with drawbacks and downsides that make them a nightmare for you. Whether you’re looking at a log home kit or a modular cabin, cutting corners on construction can cause real problems. In today’s blog, we’re breaking down the common issues that we’ve seen working exclusively in this industry.
At Gingrich Builders, we’re a dedicated log cabin company with more than 45 years of experience. While we exclusively build high-quality log homes, we’ve been called in to fix enough problems to be able to discuss the issues knowledgably. Keep reading to discover the underlying downsides of cheap log cabins — and reach out to our team to discuss your project!
Downsides of Inexpensive Log Home Kits
One way that companies appear to offer unbeatable prices on beautiful log homes is by selling kits. These inexpensive log home kits provide blueprints and the materials needed to build the home — and that’s it. The reason the price tag looks so great is because labor and other essentials are not included. These are the main pitfalls we see:
- Homeowner Needs to Arrange Labor — When you buy an inexpensive log home kit, all you get is a pile of materials delivered to your site. You are entirely responsible for securing and paying for the teams of contractors needed to complete your home. Not only is coordinating everyone challenging, but this often makes the kit FAR more expensive in the long run.
- Essentials are Missing — Most log home kits fail to include essentials like HVAC systems, plumbing fixtures, kitchen cabinets, and much more. Buying these key elements of your home adds another large price hike onto the kit and headaches!
- Materials May be Marked Up — Finally, from what we’ve seen, buyers aren’t getting a particularly good deal on the log home materials included in their kit. That’s because the only way a log home kit company makes money is by severely marking up the individual materials in their supposedly inexpensive log home kits.
At Gingrich Builders, we build turnkey log homes that include everything you need. See our average turnkey log home prices.
Modular Log Home Problems
While log home kits only include materials, modular log homes, at least, are fully built structures. Modular cabins are pre-built in factories and then shipped to your site for final assembly. This is often sold as a way to provide the log home you want at a better price. These are a few of the common problems with this style:
- Transportation Limitations — Since transporting the cabin from their factory to your land is a key part of this process, it limits how they can be built. This transportation doesn’t allow for true solid walls or large windows as they add weight and pose a risk during transport. Authentic solid log walls and great rooms with ample windows are some of the features that make log home living great — don’t give that up!
- Less Custom Touches — Dream homes don’t tend to be cookie cutter. Unfortunately, modular cabins often can only be built to conform to a few set styles. However, all of our homes can be customized inside and outside to match your exact style! Discover dream log homes right here.
- Very Limited Savings — Many companies pitch modular log homes as a way to get a cheap log cabin. However, this style of construction isn’t much less expensive than a full traditional build. It is always the size of your cabin that makes a far larger impact on price than the building style. Given everything you sacrifice when choosing a modular cabin, the slim savings simply don’t seem worth it.
While we’re urging our readers to be cautious of ultra-cheap log cabins, you can absolutely build an affordable log cabin without cutting corners!
Don’t Fall for Cheap Log Cabins — Work with Gingrich Builders
We will never set out to build the lowest cost homes on the market, but we do seek to offer fair prices with a wide range of price tiers. Although we don’t offer any ultra-cheap log cabins, several of our models are at prices lower than average suburban homes. When you team with Gingrich Builders, you can count on quality construction and custom designs that highlight your personal sense of style.
The first step is a conversation with us to discuss your plans and your budget. Reach out to talk to our team today!
