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The cost of log cabins varies greatly depending on the kinds of logs which have been used and the size of the property. You will find that those cabins that have been built using handcrafted logs will cost much more than those where the logs have been milled.

Therefore, before you actually go ahead and get a cabin built from logs it is crucial that you actually know what the difference is between milled and handcrafted logs. Those that have been milled will have been placed through a sawmill, lathe or planer. This will ensure that they all come out in the same uniform size, shape and have the same profile.

In addition, what you will often find that milled log cabins are ones where the wood has been either air or kiln dried. This enables the right amount of moisture to be extracted from the wood before they are used to build a home with.

As for the surface of these logs, they are generally smooth and flat and could even have been coped as well. Also in a large number of cases, they will have tongue and groove joints along the sides where they are to join. This not only makes the construction process easier but helps to provide a much stronger and stable outer shell to the cabin. But if you want, the outer side of the log can remain rough to provide a much more rustic look to your cabin.

The most favoured types of woods, which are commonly used to produce milled logs for cabins, are pine, cedar, spruce or fir. The least expensive type of log cabin using the milled process are ones that are made from pine or spruce whilst those from cedar tend to be the most expensive.

Now let us look at a cabin that is made using handcrafted logs. These will have been prepared by either being hand peeled with a drawknife or water peeled. The logs used are only a matter of days or weeks old after being cut down so will still be green. Because of the size of the logs this ones are usually allowed to dry in the air as kiln drying is a very expensive process. Also there are not many kilns are available that these sizes of logs would be able to fit into.

As well as pine and spruce being favorite trees for making handcrafted log cabins from other trees that are used are the Douglas fir, Oak, Juniper, Cyprus and Alpine Fir. The last tree mentioned is also known as a True Fir.

We mentioned previously that what you pay for having log cabins built not only depends on the types of logs used. But will also depend on the size of the cabin that is being built. A much larger cabin will cost far more simply because it needs to have more time spent built constructing it, plus more logs will also need to build it. If you do intend to have a large log cabin built, then go for milled rather than handcrafted logs if you also want to save money.