Building a Log Home with a BASEMENT!

Basements are very common in our home state of Michigan, and so is the love for rustic log cabin-style homes. The good news is, with a standard foundation, conventional frame, and WoodHaven’s log siding prodcts, your og home will look just like a classic log cabin and will have a functional, modern basement!

Did Log Homes in the Past Have Basements?

Log homes of the past have indeed had basements, but it typically depended on the climate of where they were built. Cabins built in colder temperatures needed to be built upon a solid foundation below the depth that soil freezes, which can exceed five feet down. At this point, it wasn’t much more to dig down enough for a basement level. In southern, warmer areas, many log homes were built upon slabs. These were cheaper, and southern areas had higher water tables in the ground that made basements less feasible. Today, slabs are even more weather-durable and can also be used to save money when building log homes in colder temperatures, but tend to be used for smaller cabins.

How WoodHaven Saves Money Compared to Full Log Builds

Full log builds are incredibly expensive. Full lumber logs are heavy and costly to transport and work with. You need a crane and a certified operator, plus other skilled builders to get the job done right. Time and labor adds up. The truth is a conventional home frame covered in WoodHaven log siding is much cheaper and easier to build. Plus, here’s the best part: this style looks nearly identical to a full log build!

WoodHaven log siding comes in cuts like our signature Fatboy™ and Half-Log Siding. Half-Log is exactly how it sounds: a log is cut down the middle and each half gets used. This means the siding has one flat face and one rounded face. Fatboy™ comes from larger-sized logs, giving you the appearance of full-log siding. Half-log can be ordered as rough-hewn or smooth depending on your aesthetic preferences, but Fatboy is only available in rough-hewn.

“Isn’t that cheating?” you may ask. It may not be the traditional cabin style, but this approach can save you thousands of dollars. Log siding gives you the outward appearance of a full log cabin, so your visitors won’t even notice the difference. Another benefit of foregoing full logs for log siding is that you can separately control your exterior style and interior. You aren’t limited to a wood interior like a full log cabin. You could go for a completely modern interior if you felt like it, plus you get a basement!

Enjoy Log Cabin Living with a Basement

If you’re ready to save money on your log home with a basement, now’s the time to look into ordering from WoodHaven. Our log siding is extra kiln-dried and edged with tongues and grooves on each board, meaning each board is straight as an arrow and fits perfectly together for an easy installation! You’ll love the end result of your home, and you’ll save money. See some examples in our gallery now!