The costs to build a log cabin vary widely. Your cost will be a factor of how easy it is to build on your land, and if you already have access to water/septic/electricity.
The lowest number that I’ve heard quoted is $100 – $125 per square foot. Since this is on the low end, it would also be for a more simple, rustic cabin (basic finishes & small floor plan).
Real Examples
For real stories of cabin construction, photos, and conversations about price – check out this message board:
There’s such a variety in cabin costs that I find it’s most helpful to look at real-life examples like those on the above forum.
Our cabin was built from a small log cabin kit. It’s 650 sqft and was build 20+ years ago.
How You Build & How Much It Will Cost to Build Your Cabin
The biggest factor that will answer the question of ‘how much does it cost to build a log cabin’ is: how you choose to build your cabin.
Here’s the 3 most popular ways to build a log cabin:
- Doing everything yourself: buying a floor plan or creating your own, buying materials and building from the ground up
- Buying a log cabin kit: when you buy a kit, a manufacturer ships you all the materials that you need to build a specific cabin plan
- Using a builder: paying a builder to design and build your cabin
Generally, the above choices go from least expensive to most (from doing it yourself to using a builder), but even this isn’t a set rule. Using a builder for a small-footprint, simple cabin could be less expensive than trying to do everything yourself and making a couple costly errors along the way! Building your own cabin in a way that’s cost-effective takes knowledge, skill, and preparation.
Building with a Log Cabin Kit – How Much Does It Cost?
For the purposes of this article, we’re going to look at log cabin kits as a cost-effective way to save money. Log cabin kits are a good choice as a middle-ground for building a cabin: you can find one in your budget and then DIY as much of it as you like.
- What is a log cabin kit? When you buy a log cabin kit, a manufacturer will ship you everything you need to build your cabin. You’ll get all the materials, and the only thing you need to supply is the labor to build the kit. You can do the labor yourself (or with a few handyman friends), or hire someone to build it for you.
Most people aren’t equipped to build an entire cabin from scratch, so kits give you the ability to ‘DIY’ without having to figure everything out.
Log cabin kits are a great alternative to using a build or completing the entire process by yourself.
What’s Next?
There’s really only one way to answer the question ‘how much does it cost to build a log cabin?’ for yourself: research and price it out.
- Start by determining which option you want to use to build your cabin: doing it yourself, buying a kit, or hiring a builder.
- Research the vendors in the options that you choose: look at floor plans, compare kits, price out vendors
- Make sure that you talk to your vendors up front: ask lots of questions, get estimates, and think through every last detail of what you’ll need. This will help prevent surprise costs from popping up later. The vendor that sells you your plan, kit, or home should be able to help you with the pricing process.
For a good starting point to look at examples of small log cabin kits, check out:
The 5 Best Log Cabin Kits on a Budget
And for cost-effective floor plans, see:
Lastly, if you want to hire a builder – start by researching who builds in the region that you have your eye on.
Hola! I’ve been following your weblog for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Atascocita Tx! Just wanted to say keep up the good work!
This is some really good information about building a log cabin. It is nice to know that you can get a kit for one. My father wants to build a hunting log cabin this fall and winter. It might be best or him to talk to an expert about the best type of wood for the climate he lives in.
Yes, definitely consult some local resources to see the best types of wood! There are likely cabin builders or kit suppliers in his area that he would be able to talk to as well 🙂 A kit allows more of a ‘DIY’ approach with can be more cost effective!
I highly suggest an Oak Log Home. I have done a lot of research on what species of log is best and I have found that Oak logs (being hardwood) is a much better way of building for a lower maintenance time and cost, longer lasting home, & a much stronger structure. I found a company in Kingdom City Missouri that offers oak log home kits at about the same price others charge for pine. I have been in mine for a couple years now and have loved every moment. I built it myself and the build was easy. They really had things lined out good for me.