Why You Shouldn’t Buy a Log Home Kit

Why You Shouldn’t Buy a Log Home Kit

You Are Limited to Their Plans

You may already know what you want. You may want to use a custom design or have input in the design process. You may have special considerations for the design based on the land it will go on. Whatever the reason, there is a good chance you will find that the plans of kit sellers don’t fit your needs (not to mention your budget). What’s more, kit plans don’t allow you to make even small design changes during construction, eliminating flexibility that you might otherwise be thankful for. It is essential that if you want a home that is unique and personalized to your comfort and budget, you invest the time to research log home plans rather than just going out and purchasing a log home kit.

Kits Only Cover Part of the Equation

Most log home kits will include the plans, logs, doors, and windows. That’s it. Plumbing materials, electrical materials, floor coverings, kitchen cabinets, and other fixtures are not included in the standard log home kit. This isn’t even counting the labor that is involved and is definitely not part of the kit. The upshot here is that, even though a kit might seem like a one-stop shop, you would be lucky if this covers even a third of the log home building process, so be realistic about how much time and energy savings a kit will really do for you.

You Are Paying a Huge Markup on Logs

Log home kits are expensive for a lot of reasons:

• You pay for the “convenience” of having someone else assemble your building materials.
• You are essentially paying a middle-man instead of direct-from-manufacturer prices. Remember it is an economic fact that products get marked up every time they change hands.
• You are paying for marketing costs. Kit companies spend lots of money on marketing and advertising. As such, marketing costs are going to be baked into your kit price.

All of this adds up to you, the customer, paying a lot more for your building materials than you would if you chose the route of buying your logs wholesale and shopping around for your other building materials locally.

Kits Are Not Easier to Build

You still have to select and buy the rest of your building materials like plumbing, electrical, flooring, roofing, fixtures, and more. Kits don’t cover any labor either. Whether you hire a general contractor or do the construction yourself, a log home kit will likely have no noticeable effect on the efficiency of your build and will reduce your ability to be flexible with the design during the build process.. The one noticeable effect it will have is on the bottom line. By sourcing materials yourself, you or the contractor you choose will know exactly how and when to order your building materials without any problem or excessive markups.

One of our happy customers had this to say:

“My builder was impressed, having dealt with log packages in the past, he definitely preferred being able to cut the logs to fit.”

You Have No Control Over the Cost of Materials

As stated above, in addition to logs most log home kits include doors and windows. While kit companies market this as convenience, in actuality this is a disservice to you on multiple levels. With a kit you have no choice in the design or quality of these materials – you are stuck with what comes in your kit. It also means you are going to pay a considerable markup on these products, as the kit companies are acting once again as a middle-man. Buying your logs wholesale and purchasing the rest of your building materials locally will save you thousands of dollars in markup costs.

You Are Paying to Ship Products That Should Be Bought Locally

In addition to kit company markups, you will likely be paying to have your kit materials shipped a considerable distance to your build site. Instead, you should buy your logs wholesale and buy the rest of your supplies locally, for several reasons:

1. You realize large savings in shipping.
2. By buying locally, you choose the quality.
3. Local suppliers can deliver materials when you need them. Retail kit packages present huge storage problems when all supplies arrive on the first day!

What Should You Do Instead?

The best thing you can do is eliminate the middle man and buy all of your building materials and supplies direct. There’s nothing you can’t do that any kit seller does – except save money. Get the quality you need and the savings you want. At Wholesale Log Homes, we are here to help you with one specific element of your log home build – logs. After finding or creating the plan you want, come to us to buy your logs at wholesale prices. We can estimate the cost on the amount of logs and timber materials your plan will require free of charge – check our prices and compare the savings. We never sacrifice quality for price—we simply eliminate the inflated log home company markups that are added to pre-
fabricated log home kits. We have earned a reputation throughout the industry for supplying superior logs and wood
products to customers across the country. At Wholesale Log Homes you’ll find the logs and supplies you need to build the log home of your dreams—easily and affordably!