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Ted Male Sarasota, FL United States: Share; Share on Twitter; Share on Facebook

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Ted commented on Terry & Shelley S's photo 'Roof, Gutters, etc are on'

Hi guys, As usual, it's nice to hear from you. Let's hope that the falling into the creek thing never happens. With us, nothing has changed. Like the song says ... we keep hoping and wishing and... Can't wait to see what your home looks like with…

April 28

Ted commented on Terry & Shelley S's photo 'Roof, Gutters, etc are on'

Shelly, you probably have been asked this question a thousand times before but here we go again ... I have never seen diagonal braces before for what looks like a simple support system for the deck. The question, why ? Ted

April 24

Ted commented on Terry & Shelley S's photo 'Ready for "Pouring of the Slab"'

Great pics Shelley. Keep them coming. Never enough. Ted

November 23, 2009

Wendy Klemann left a comment for Ted

November 21, 2009

Ted and Wendy Klemann are now friends

November 8, 2009

Wendy Klemann left a comment for Ted

November 8, 2009

Ted was featured

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October 26, 2009

Ted replied to Theresa Schrum's discussion 'Looking for a Montana Builder'

I'm sure that if I was into texting I would know all the abbreviations but as i said I tend to be a bit behind the curve. I'm really interested in following your progress in building your log home. Please keep me in the loop. Ted

October 26, 2009

Profile Information

Tell us about yourself:

Trying to sell current house to get enough money to build a log home in North Carolina. I am a carpenter so I plan to do a lot of the work myself.
After reading some of the comments by other members I thought I would add some thoughts, so here goes;
(1) It appears that many of you have the same problem that I have, selling your current home. Perhaps we should exchange ideas as to how to best do this in the current economy.
(2) I know we all have different tastes but please share your favorite log home with the rest of us. Most of us are not planning to build the biggest or most expensive log home, so let's share ideas.
(3) Even before we build the log home of our dreams we have ideas or need help with decorating... like lighting or plumbing fixtures or cabinets ... well you get the idea ... so let's communicate.That's it for now.

Are you lucky enough to be living in a log home?

Not yet

Ted's Photos

Bryson City, NC vacation

Added October 17, 2009 at 1:11am
And in the beginning ....

Added July 30, 2009 at 9:38pm 1 Comment
True log home living

Added June 4, 2008 at 9:52am

Ted's Blog

I may be losing my mind

If any of you read the last blog I wrote it was about with using a builder for the entire log home construction project rather than buying logs from a log home manufacturer and then having them sub out the rest of the construction work. I still think this is the most cost efficient way to proceed but I have run into the most perplexing set of circumstances that makes me wonder if I'm losing my mind.

Let me start off by telling you that I own somewhat over 3 acres of land in the mountains near W… Continue

Posted on September 24, 2009 at 8:30pm — 4 Comments

This is addressed to those of you who plan to Build from "scratch" using only a builder.

If you choose to build your log home using a builder only ... that is, you are going to have your builder build your entire home from scratch... and you are not using a log home manufacturer for any portion of the project ... well this is directed at you.

That is the direction I have chosen to take. I have found that with a great deal of patience you can fiend a builder who will take on the entire construction process from septic to excavation to foundation to purchasing all logs, windows and d… Continue

Posted on June 2, 2009 at 7:01pm — 14 Comments

A logistical question

Even though many of us have been "slowed down" by the recent economy we still are staying true to our objective of building our Nirvana in the mountains (or plains or by a stream or whatever).

I'm still planning to try to sell my current house at the end of 2009, make the best deal I can, fill in the shortfall with savings and loans and charge on.

So now I have a new quandary. Where do we go once we have sold our current house and before the new home is built? I'm sure many of you who have gon… Continue

Posted on January 26, 2009 at 5:43pm — 22 Comments

That Close

So, at the start of 2008 it seemed that the economy was in not to good a shape and my house value went down 17% and my dreams for a log home were starting to look not so good ... I made the decision that I would put my house up for sale at the end of 2009 and hope for the best. I would dip into my retirement fund (I'm over 65) to cover any construction short fall.

Well, as we all know, things have gone from bad to worse and it now seems that my house is worth about 20% less than when I started… Continue

Posted on January 13, 2009 at 11:14pm — 8 Comments

Share It

I think when I joined our group I was number 134 or close to it. Being that there were so few of us it was not surprising that very few were lucky enough to own a log home. At last count, I think the number of members is over 530 plus. With that come more folks who own log homes. But I find that most of the people who do own log homes simply state that they are owners and leave it at that. So my request of those of you who do own the home of our dreams is simple, PLEASE SHARE IT. Take some pictu… Continue

Posted on July 31, 2008 at 4:34pm — 5 Comments

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At 1:38am on November 21, 2009, Wendy Klemann said…: OK I found your comment. I guess I set up something to approve messages. I'm still trying to figure everything out here. Our FL home is in Loxahatchee (Palm Beach County) We are putting it back on the market in Jan. We might resort to renting it if something doesn't happen in the next few months. We used Amercan Heritage Log Homes to build our house, different from Heritage Log HOmes. They had their own mill and crews right there in Maggie, Both the mill and the office have changed names since they folded (wouldn't surpise me if it was the same people ) Can't think of the new name off hand but it is the only mill there on US19. Bob and I have always built our own homes until this one. We love the house but it's scary to think we could have been left high and dry if they hadn't finished the house! It helps if you can be right there to keep an eye on things. We were 800 miles away, but we did have a very nosy neighbor who kept us informed weekly:) Good luck with yours.

At 1:33am on November 8, 2009, Wendy Klemann said…: Hi Ted,
My husband and I have a log home about 15 min. from Waynesville as well, out 276 near Bethel. This was the first home we didn't build ourselves. We used American Heritage in Maggie Valley and the process went so smoothly and house was done in a year. Only problem, they folded right after finishing ours! Luckily the only sub not completely paid was the furnace guy, or we'd have had liens slapped on us! Even he was very nice about things and we paid him the last $1500 again! A. Heritage had been in business for 30 yrs.! If you end up using a builder, make sure you get release of liens from each sub before you pay your draws to the builder! We want to retire this year but are trying to sell the FL house...We love everything about it up there. The street dances in downtown Waynesville during the summer are a hoot:) A log cabin just heals your soul!

At 12:10am on October 2, 2009, Jon Dowell said…: Ted, I would be happy to take a look at your plans. We are builders in NC, and offer many options. JD www.jdinteriors.org

At 1:51pm on September 25, 2009, Randy Pope said…: Ted,

We appreciate your feedback and your interest in LogHomeU.com. Your suggestions help us make the site a better place for all who come and visit. Let me respond to your points:

1) The Forums area is the place to find most of the discussions about topics. They were set up for browsers to find info on things they don't know and to bypass anything that you already have seen or do know. We think that if we pull specific topics together somewhere else that might be more confusing to browsers to have two places that handle content in a similar way.

2) In regards to older images being featured, most social networks are based on new materials coming in. While the older work is still around, and can be found by searching or going to that person's page, there currently isn't anyway to "renew" the photos without having them uploaded again.

3) We usually try and highlight newer members so folks welcome them and they can get connected but we have no problem going back through the older membership and featuring folks again.

At 8:31pm on August 27, 2009, Anne said…: Ted,
It has been a long time.. I hope you and family are still doing well and I hope the log home plans are alive and kicking!
Anne

At 9:53am on August 14, 2009, Jim Mulkern,Jim Barna of PA said…: Thanks for the kind hello. I hope your project turns out the way you envision it. Building a new home is always a bit stressful, regardless of the approach one takes. You are correct in that good communication is the key.

At 9:00am on August 12, 2009, Keith Kallmeyer said…: Thanks Ted, Just waiting for our youngest son who starts college in Sept to finish college to start building our log home in Vermont to retire to. Keithg

At 6:13pm on July 28, 2009, Mike and Susan Hedden said…: Ted, That is the same Mark Benitez. Nothing but great things to say about Mark and his subs. Top quality work. We were an 'away' owner and Mark and Tori sent us pictures so we could see and keep up to date with the progress. Sent us regular statements on cost vs budget so we always knew were we were relative to budget. We had the unfortunate experience of our first builder going bankrupt about halfway through the construction and Mark took over the project and did a great job of correcting/completing our cabin. If you are going to be in the Waynesville area let us know and you are more than welcome to visit and look over his work if we are there.

At 4:16pm on June 11, 2009, Bill Blackburn said…: You are ` 3Hours away from us. You are welcome to come to Bedford and take a tour and ask all the questions you want. I am not a good typer so you could call anytime. The Webbs and workers were great. Tom is an Master carpenter. Bill & Sue 814-285-2700. I tried to upload some pictures but I don,t think the did.