Building a Log Cabin from the Ground up.

• Clearly the best option if you have an unlimited budget
• Takes many months to complete
• Very expensive
• Tons of leg work, to get the project going
• Additional costs for delays; weather, materials, complications.

Log Home Kit

• If you have absolutely no other way of getting the cabin to your cabin to your site a kit is your only option
• Take a lot of man hours to assemble
• Great if there is no access to the site, but you still need to find a way to get all you materials there.
• Can be very frustrating to assemble
• You need all of the equipment and tools
• Kits usually do not come with everything you need, and there will be a significant amount of materials that need to be purchased during the build.

Fully Assembled Cabins

• Delivered to use site full-assembled and ready for same day use
• Very cost effective
• You could have a cabin in as few as 3 weeks, and our maximum lead time would run about 8 weeks.
• Cabins can be customized to fit your needs.

Decide how you plan to use the building

Deciding how you are going to use the building is a critical, to figuring out which style building is the best fit, and what options would be necessary in order for the cabin to meet your needs.

Here are some questions to ask yourself that will help you to determine what you need in a cabin.

• How many people will be staying in it at a time? This will help you to determine the number of bedrooms that you will need, and the amount of open living space in the great room of the cabin. Take a look through some floor plans
• How often will you be staying there, and how long will the stays be? This can affect the amount of closet and cabinet space you need in order to have a comfortable stay. If you are looking to be there for extended periods of time it makes it much easier to have storage for all your supplies (food, cooking, cleaning). This can also influence the size of the building you would like, you want to be careful not to trap yourself in a cabin that is too small if you are looking to spend a lot of time there.
• Who are the people that are staying? The guests that you expect in your cabin can go a long way to determining the best way to design it. If you have young children often provides a sleeping area for them that they enjoy staying in, and makes the most out of your space. If you have multiple families sometimes it will be necessary to have more bedrooms. If it is just the guys using it for a hunting camp you may not need a bathroom.

Your use for the cabin can vary; primary residence, weekend getaway, hunting camp, bunkhouse, in laws quarters, pool house, and probably many we have yet to see. By working through how you plan to use the cabin our experts can help you design a building that best fits your needs. To talk with a consultant about the right cabin for you call (610) 593-4556

Select A Cabin Style

At this point you need to select a cabin style that is a fit for you. For many of our customers the look of the building is their top priority initially, but there are other factors to consider.

Adirondack and Cape Cod cabins have a steeper pitched roof that make them a much better fit in areas that get excessive snow loads. Because of that steep roof pitch a loft can be added above the first floor providing additional sleeping or storage space.

Double Wide Settler and Frontier models offer the most living space, and we have floor plans available with as many as three bedrooms and one bathroom. Many of our double wide buildings require a crane to set them in place, and would need at least a concrete slab for a foundation. Double wide cabins come in 16', 20', 22' widths, and as long as 48'. To see more check out our cabin styles ad floor plans.

Settler is the most popular model, and come as small as 12' X 18' as large as 14' X 48' floor plans include 1 and 2 bedroom models including a bathroom and kitchenette. The settler can be set on a base of stone 4-6 inches deep.

Trailblazer offers the same sizes and layouts as the Settler, but has a gambrel roof and gives you more interior space. All of the trailblazer models come standard with a loft over the porch which can provide additional sleeping or storage space.

Lincoln offers a large front porch that runs the full length of the building. The Lincoln is a double wide model meaning that a concrete slab, and a crane rental could be necessary for setting it in place.

Design your Floor Plan

We have put together many floor plan packages that have been very popular with many of our customers, and if one of those happens to be exactly what you're looking for great, however often times customers will change plans around of tweak things to customize their cabins to their needs. We are very flexible in working with customers regarding the layout of the floor plan, and will often advise as to things we see that may work out better for you. To talk about some possibilities give us a call at (610) 593-4556.

One thing we can do for all of our customers is provide you with a free drawing showing the specific layout for your cabin. After we have your basic floor plan complete we can add in furniture so you can see how it looks and what fits in the space provided. Often times through this process customers can see small things that they would like to change, before having a building built, and having to work around what's there. We feel that this is the best way to put you ahead in the game, and make sure that you are getting exactly what you want.

Case Study

One of our customers, Steve, was looking to build a cabin that would comfortably lodge 2 people. We drew up the plan and inserted all of the furniture that they would have, and place the cabinets, appliances, and bathroom fixtures where he thought that he wanted them. After looking over the plans and playing around with some different layouts we found that by moving an interior wall a couple of inches we could rearrange the layout within the bathroom, making it much more open and comfortable, and at the same time not cutting in to the living space. Without being able to see things on paper it makes it difficult to envision exactly what the interior layout will look like.

Typically all you need to do is draw up a rough sketch of what you are looking for in a layout, or choose one of ours, and give us a call or email some ideas of what you think you would like to do. Our experts will then put together a preliminary drawing for you that show the updated layout, and we will continue to make the changes until you are 100% satisfied with the layout.

If you would like a No Hassle, No-Obligation Quote, send us a rough drawing to our fax number and we will get back to you within 48 hours. 610-593-4557

Choose your Options

Now it is time to add options to you cabin. It is important at this point to remember the work you did back in step 3, and keep in mind exactly what you are looking to do with the building. At this point we can add Bathroom packages, Kitchenettes, additional windows.

There are so many different things that you can choose from to make this your dream cabin. Take the options that you like and put them together with the floor plan you worked through with your design consultant, and you can start to see your customized cabin coming together.

Options can be broken down into two different categories

• Construction options: examples, upgrade to 2X6 walls, add a metal roof, Build building with 2X8 floor joists, 2X10 rafter upgrade
• Interior Options: examples, kitchenette, bathroom, finished interior, Insulation, electrical wiring, baseboard heating, additional windows

These are just a few of the types of options that you can add to your cabin, for more information on options you would want to take a look at the customize you cabin (link) page of this website. If you have an idea of something that you would like to add, but don't see it listed please ask us if it is possible. We will do our best to accommodate any such request, and most times can.

Talk to One of Our Design Specialists

Now that you have pretty much figured out the style of building, the floor plan layout that you are looking for, and the options that you would like to add, you will want to give our design specialists a call at (610) 593-4556, and at that time we will put together a final set of drawings for you, and give you a to the penny quote.

You will receive the full set of prints either by mail, or by email (whichever you prefer) along with a formal quote to the penny, which will show the entire building broken down by line item. This is your chance to look over everything one last time and see if there is anything you would like to change, or ask questions if you don't understand. We prefer to be upfront with our customers and give you the exact amount your project will cost rather than work off an estimate, like many builders and run over on budget. The quote you receive is what you will pay.

Place a Down payment on your Cabin

In order to get your cabin into our build schedule you need to place a down payment on the building. Typically we ask for 50% down, and the balance due on delivery, but when we are sending larger models more than 500 miles we will often request that we 50% down payment, 25% after completion and prior to delivery, and the balance upon completion of the project. When we receive your down payment, we also need for you to sign off on our terms and conditions, and have that sent back to us prior to delivery.

At this time we do not offer financing, but will provide you with any information that you need for your bank or lender.

Check out our financing page for more information that will walk you through a variety of ways you can pay for your cabin, and secure proper financing. Click here for more information on financing your building.

Preparing Your Site

Now that you have your building selected and have a tentative delivery time in mind it is time for you to start preparing your site for your new cabin. You want to make sure that you check and see exactly what you need for a foundation, single wide buildings can be set on a stone pad, but larger double wide buildings would require a minimum of a concrete slab. We will provide you drawings showing you exactly where you need to make an access pit to be able to get to your water and sewer. If you would like to hire a local contractor in your area for the job we would be more than willing to talk to him and explain exactly what we want to see when we ge to the site. We do have some local contacts within our area that we would recommend to you for the site work, if you are interested.

There are three types of foundations that customers will use. Take a look at preparing your cabin for more… Stone Base: Base will be framed out with 4" X 6" beams, and then filled with 3/4" stone. You need to make sure that the whole area is as level as possible. Using a transit is the best way to ensure that the pad is level.
Concrete Slab: The key to the concrete slab is ensuring that it is absolutely level. We require at least a concrete slab on most of our double wide buildings, and some customers prefer a slab even on the single wide buildings. We again will provide the necessary drawings for your site work to be completed. If your slab is not level it can be very difficult to get a double wide building together. It is very important that you get a contractor to do your pad that has experience in working with concrete, and does a good job. A poor job on the pad can make the rest of your project very difficult, and therefore you may want to talk to a few contractors and select the one you are confident will do the best work, not necessarily the guy who has the lowest price.
Crawl Space: Some customers prefer to build their cabins on either a full basement, or a crawl space, and this is perfectly acceptable. In fact if that is the way you are planning to do things we will build you cabin slightly different. Again you will be provided with drawings letting you know exactly what is need for the foundation. You want to again make sure that you use a reputable contracting for your foundation work.

In addition to preparing the base or foundation for your building, you want to work to get your water, sewer and electric run in to where your building will go. The more work that you do ahead of time the quicker you will be able to hook those things and have your cabin ready to go.

You will also want to make sure that there is sufficient access for our trucks to get into your site. Occasionally it is necessary for a customer to need to trim back, or even cut down a few trees. If you have any questions as to whether access is too limited email us some pictures of the site, and we will be able to take a look and identify some problem areas that might exist. Check out the delivery page for details as to the space needed for delivery. If you have any questions email us at info@zookstructurescabins.com

Schedule Your Delivery

When you place your order we will give you an approximate completion date that will give you an idea of when to expect delivery. When your building comes out of the shop we will call you and arrange an exact delivery day, and give you a time frame as to when to expect your building. We will also give you the cell phone number for the driver so you can stay in contact with him.

We deliver Monday through Friday from about 7:00am-6:00pm times vary slightly depending on the time of the year, the driver will have your number, and stay in touch with you throughout the delivery. We take keeping you informed very seriously, and make ourselves available at all times.

Once we have scheduled you delivery and have a date, you will want to make sure that you secure your crane rental if it is necessary for the placement of your building. Please see the Delivery page (link) for details on when you need a crane, and what size crane you need.

Your Building is Delivered

We will deliver your cabin on the scheduled date, and set it in place on your prepared site. The driver will back in to the site, and with his specially made trailer, tilt the bed up, and slide the building on to the site. If the crane is necessary we will work with the crane operator to get your building placed. After we have placed the building we will complete any necessary finish work, for example tying together a double wide, additional porch kits, or a roof system for an Adirondack. The time needed to complete some of the onsite work often takes a couple of hours, but a large Adirondack roof kit may take a couple of days.

Hook up Your Water, Electric, and Sewer

Now that your building is in place you can hook up your water, electric, and sewer. If this is something that you are not comfortable doing yourself you may want to hire a contractor to take care of that for you.

Keep in mind that your building is rough wired, and your wires are run to your outlet boxes, but the outlets, and lights are not included or installed. You will have a list of exactly how many outlets, lights, ceiling fans, etc. you will need in order to have everything hooked up.

Relax and Enjoy!

Take the family to the cabin, and spend some time together doing the things you love, and creating memories that will last. Call up your buddies and have them up to the mountain cabin or lake cabin for some hunting, fishing, and a good time had by all. This is only the beginning, and your enjoyment will last for years and years to come!