After more than a year of  (painstakingly) searching for a home, June and I finally decided...

We're building our own house ... a LOG house!

Here we present the steps we're taking to construct our own home.
Click on the "Phase" buttons at top to follow along with our progress.

Don't forget to sign my guestbook! (Click here)

This page was last updated on May 25, 2008

Phase I: Find a location in New Jersey that is suitable


It had to be wooded, quiet, and away from SPRAWL (condos)

We closed on our property on June 1, 2000.

Phase II: We chose Lincoln Logs to help us
design our home and supply the logs

 Who helped us with our log home? Our local Lincoln Logs of NJ dealer is: 

Fern Hollow - The Harts
http://www.goes.com/~logcabin

We actually signed a contract with Lincoln Logs BEFORE we found our property...
I know - pretty gutsy, but at that point we KNEW we wanted a log home!

On June 8, 2000 we approved our preliminary blueprints.

Phase III: Build the house (the "shell")

Lincoln Logs supplies the "exterior weather tight shell" which basically includes
the walls, doors, windows, and roof, as well as interior framing.

Bob Migliozzi of R.M. Contractors will be our "main guy" on the project.
He was recommended to us by The Harts of Lincoln Logs since he's built
several of their "kits"; we toured one in progress in Hope, NJ - very impressive!

Update: January 17, 2001 - What the heck took so long? Read it all in "The Big Red Tape"

On June 28, 2001 we officially began "Phase IV." On we go!

Phase IV: Finishing Touches (cabinets, floors, stove, furniture, etc.)

 My mother asked me once, "Why do you HAVE to do things the hard way???"
I think she was referring to my occupation as a Consultant instead of being Full-Time,
my zest for the outdoors, (sleeping in a tent instead of a hotel)
and now our ambition to GC (General Contract) all the interior finishing!

June and I figured, "What the heck? The most it will do is drive us insane, right?"

On February 28, 2002 our apartment lease was going to expire.
We were 95% done...that's when we decided, "Oh well, let's do it...move our stuff!"

Phase V: Move In! (first our stuff, then sleeping without C.O., etc.)

This day never seemed to arrive on it's own, so we made it arrive!

C.O. (Certificate of Occupancy) be damned, we hired movers to put our stuff
in our basement. Neatly packed away, it was obvious we weren't living there.

For two and a half months we stayed an hour's distance away at
my mom's house in Teaneck, NJ. (Thanks for putting up with us!)

By Mother's Day, May 12, we were 99% done with our C.O. paperwork.
Again we decided, "Enough of this...we're gonna SLEEP here now!!"

On Tuesday, May 21, 2002 the last signature was given...
we were finally legal.

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