Perfection.

It is possible to build a home that improves the landscape, imagine that.  In a world where man seems to create one eyesore after another, he once improved the world with his efforts.

There is a log home buried underneath this siding.

When you work with old materials such as antique logs, it’s inevitable that you start to acquire piles, and piles, of misc materials.

Whenever a pile would reach a stage where I could build something out of it I’d put the crew on a mission to do just that.

I’d generally pick the newest crewmen… the ones with the least experience and the lowest level of confidence. I’ve always found that the best teacher in this trade is found in the act of “doing”.

I guess that’s true of most things.

I’d often sell these “odds and ends” structures at, or below, cost. I long ago lost track of the number of these that were built. But, here is one, under construction, to share with you today.

This cabin had only one very small window.

I’ve heard that a glass window was the single most expensive part of an early-American home.

There was a treasure hidden behind the siding of this house. Without a doubt some of the most beautiful logs I had ever seen.

On a scale of one to ten… these logs are tens.

I have always emphasized that when the time comes to build your dream cabin to get the very best logs that you can, after all it is the essence of the entire home, and there are so many other things ahead in the building process to spend money on… you don’t want to find yourself having spent more on your heating/air system than you did on your logs… oh, the tragedy of having a mediocre cabin while having bragging rights on a Trane heat pump unit.

Anyway, at the time that I encountered this cabin, I had been routinely acquiring salvage rights for a few thousand dollars. The owner of this cabin wanted fifty thousand dollars. I was in shock at not only the beauty of this cabin, but at the price tag.

Today that kind of price, on an exceptional cabin, is nearly commonplace.

So, do I regret missing out on this cabin?

yes, I do.

I have missed out on so many opportunities due to LWS (lean wallet syndrome).

A rustic little cabin… sweet and charming… but the logs did not meet my standard for reuse in building a new home.

How about that chimney?

Like a little puppy this little cabin just wanted to go home with me… but it didn’t work out.