We started with a two-acre parcel which had several groves of Ponderosa pines and lots brush of tall Manzanita that made it difficult to see across the property. Our challenge was to choose the location for the house and also for the workshop, art studio and garage.

Below is our home site before the brush was cleared and the site was graded.

Clearing brush pushed our hand tools (and hands) and shredder to the limit. We bought our first of three chain saws but quickly realized brush clearing required more horsepower.

We finally decided a tractor was the best tool for the job. And once we cleared the brush and piled it to one side, we could clearly see across the site. We could then confirm that we had chosen the right sites for the workshop and for the house.

After we decided the north-south, east-west direction to orient the house, we graded the site to the house’s “footprint.”

Next time we’ll discuss how we chose to orient the house the way we did.

drphelps@northcoastloghomes.com

www.northcoastloghomes.com

So like you, we are building a dream. As the new facilitator of the “Building a Dream” blog, I want to share with you our journey.

Along with many baby boomers we started thinking about retirement and building our last home. We bought two acres and scoured the Internet for home plans and decided on one.

Then out of the blue in the local “Penny Saver” advertiser, I spotted an ad for a log home kit. I called the number to find out the details. The seller described an 1800 sq. ft., 2 story home, and made of western red cedar logs. He said Real Log homes was the manufacturer and gave me their web site www.realloghomes.com. He said the kit was stored on his 10 acres under carefully wrapped tarps.

I went to the web site and looked over the showcase models and amazing interiors. I wondered if one of these homes could be ours. As a smart husband I wanted to involve my wife in this possible change of direction. We reviewed the log homes on the Real Log Homes web site. She surprised me by becoming excited about the possibility on having a log home.  We poured over the log home plan of the kit under wraps in Eureka, CA, but we needed to see the logs for ourselves.

I called the log home kit seller and said we wanted to see the stored kit. We arrived on a beautiful day. The log kit was carefully wrapped.

So we stood at one of the five wrapped stacks on cedar logs and loosened the tarps and I put my head under the tarps. Wow, even after a year I still remember the intense aroma of the cedar logs.

Well, we began the adventure to build our dream.  The home you see below is the “weatherized” log home we saw wrapped in tarps an year ago. In this blog I want to share how we got to this point and beyond.

I hope you join us.