Building a log home is an exciting journey, but working with the wrong builder can lead to costly mistakes.
By understanding these potential issues upfront, you can take proactive steps to ensure a smoother building process and a successful outcome. Here are the top complaints homeowners have and how to avoid them.
1. Didn’t stay on schedule and it took them longer than what it should have.
There are so many unknowns in the construction of a home and one setback can upset the builder’s schedule. It can all start with the sluggish permit process, the excavator runs into bedrock, and a key employee gets hurt. The list could go on and on. However, the weather is still the elephant in the room!
So what can you as the homeowner do? Make sure your obligations are completed timely! Financing can be one of those, another is to order the log home package early so that the manufacturer can create the final construction documents. If the builder says 9 months, plan on 10. Try not to get into a “have-to” move-in situation. Make sure the bank will allow you to go over schedule. If you agreed to be responsible for getting the electrician, then keep communicating with both the contractor and the electrician to make sure they stay on schedule—otherwise, it can affect the builder’s next step.
2. Disregarded nor followed the construction specifications.
The key is having a completed and thorough set of construction documents for the builder to follow. Your log home package manufacturer should provide you with professionally done construction documents (blueprints) and a comprehensive construction manual to supplement it, along with a material list.
Make sure your builder has at least two copies of the construction documents—one for the job site and one for the office—and any additional copies he may need for his sub-contractors.
3. Weren’t on the job all the time.
In general, unless you are building a multi-million dollar home, builders need to have several jobs under construction at any given time to be efficient. The reason is while the plumber is plumbing or the electrician is running lines, the builder needs to keep his people working on something else. Also, many builders want to have several projects in different stages in order to have some inside work available in case of inclement weather.
However, there may be such a thing as them planning a family vacation in the middle of building your home. Understandably, you don’t want to have the subfloor exposed or the beams getting rained on while he and his family are out enjoying the seashore. Before you sign on the dotted line, try to get an understanding as to what you can expect.
4. Cost overruns and didn’t stay in the budget.
Probably the key remedy here is a well-defined contract along with a comprehensive description of what is and isn’t included. Never hesitate to ask questions if there is something in the contract that you don’t understand.
5. Poor workmanship.
The best prevention to this is to simply ask the potential builder to see several of their homes built in the past. Don’t just depend on what your friends say about the quality of their builder’s work. Try to see for yourself if the craftsmanship meets your approval.
6. Communications were lacking.
Communication, communication, communication. Many log home building sites are in areas with limited cellular service. Another thing to keep in mind, many builders need to keep swinging their hammers during daylight hours in order to make a living.
As you can imagine, after a hard day on the job site, the last thing they want to do when they get home is call an upset client. Yet communicating is what needs to be done in order to resolve issues.
7. Didn’t finish the job.
The good part is that it doesn’t happen very often. Could it have been that these builders ran out of financial resources before they were done? Or can the relationship between the builders and homeowners deteriorate so badly that they quit?
Homeowners beware when the price from a builder is much lower than any of the competitors. You will want to do your homework and make sure there is not a string of unfinished projects to their credit.
8. Inexperienced.
A lot of builders have very minimal, formal business experience. Most of their experience is on the job site, swinging a hammer, which is what they love to do. Many disdain paperwork, which often ends up being anything but professional.
9. Not organized.
This could be an impression you would get from most builders. Again, they are out on the job site trying to get the roof on and they don’t have time to get all the “ducks in a row” like most of us would like to see.
Most will want to keep several projects going at any one time. This, by itself, will often be perceived by the homeowner as somewhat wishy-washy. However, it is very necessary for them to have several projects going at any one time in order to stay competitive and keep their employees busy.
10. Ripped us off.
We need to keep things in perspective. I don’t want to paint a bad picture against builders as there are many good, honest builders out there.
Financing through a bank can be a safety net. Banks are adamant about getting lien waivers before they release any additional funds. But perhaps the best preventive measure is to always have the money going directly to the log mill and not channeled through a builder.
