Planning a log home
The log home of your dreams can be modern or timeless, unique in design or pre-designed according to the best practices in the business. The common factor in both of these approaches will be the careful design according to you and your family’s needs where the features of the plot where the house is to be built will also be taken into thorough consideration.
Ready-made designs and custom log homes
When you want a premium-quality log house that fits into your budget, choose a suitable log house kit from the Honka Collection. Our Design Service experts will help you to customise the model to suit your needs exactly.
If you wish to build a custom log home, your personal needs will guide the design process. If you have an architect, we will support you both in finding feasible solutions or we can help you to find a local architect from our partner network. You can also rely on Honka’s inhouse architects and designers.
Optimising the use of your plot
The options and opportunities for your log house design are connected to your plot and its surroundings. This is why the Honka Collection contains so many ready-made log house models – they have been designed to fit into many different kinds of environments.
We will help you optimise the use of the geographical features of your plot by taking such factors as topography, cardinal orientation, surrounding buildings and nature into account in the house design. We will also help you find the best possible solutions concerning access to the house and the utilisation of the yard.
Selecting structures and details of the house
In the design phase you will make decisions on structures and materials. Log houses can look very different depending on the chosen details and used log types. You can choose modern structures perfect for modern buildings and urban surroundings, or you can build your house in the more traditional log house style.
The unique Honka Fusion logs allow you to combine natural, massive wood structures with other building materials such as stone, concrete and glass. As the log is non-settling, it also enables nice-looking corner structures both on the inside and outside of the house.
Besides selecting the optimal log type for your home, you also have a variety of other product choices which help you to customise the look of your future house.
Choices for energy sources and energy efficiency
The location of your site may influence the energy options you have available to you. When selecting an optimal energy solution for your house, also consider the following aspects:
- Cost of acquisition
- Cost of use
- Ease of use
- Cost of the chosen energy source
- Emissions and sustainability
- Need for additional energy sources
You can choose any feasible energy solution for your log home. Examples vary from geothermal heat pumps to solar panels, wood- or pellet-burning fireplaces to combinations thereof. Our local representatives will help you find the most suitable solution.
A log home helps you save energy, as it is naturally energy-efficient. This is caused by the breathing yet tight wall structures and also the properties of the wood itself. Wood walls naturally store thermal energy provided by the sun and then release it to the rooms when needed.
Read more about the energy-efficiency of a log house
Content and cost of a prefab house package
Reliable budgeting of your dream house is important – when you know the cost of design and planning, the cost of your house package as well as the cost of actual building process, you no longer need to worry about them. Everything is documented carefully, from building drawings and plans to exact delivery lists and co-operation agreements.
A rough estimate of the cost of a log house will help you make decisions. An average turnkey delivery of a log house (excluding the needed groundwork) costs around 2700 – 4000$ / m², depending on the size and complexity of your house and the materials you have chosen. Usually a log house from the Honka Collection will be the more cost-efficient choice, even if it requires some customising to suit your needs.
If needed, we can also help you budget your building project. In the planning phase, we can also use your budget as a starting point for optimal design choices.
As Honka has delivered small and large projects all over the world, you can trust that we know how to keep to budgets as well as delivery times. And remember: a Honka log house can be built any time of the year – even in winter.
Your log home’s design process is always carefully documented and the final drawings will naturally comply with the local building regulations and demands.