Redraw to Scale

Once your layout works in blocks, redraw it to scale and begin placing the details that lock a plan together:

• Stairs and landings
• Bedrooms and closets
• Baths, hallways, and storage

You may want to get a professional involved at this point. Refer back to your room-size notes from earlier steps and adjust sizes so they accommodate one another. It’s normal to nudge a wall a few inches to make a bath or closet work better.

Plan for Posts and Structure (Log & Heavy Timber)

In a log home with a heavy timber exposed roof and loft system, plan on several posts down the center of the home and line them up with posts in the basement. Arrange rooms and traffic so posts don’t land in the middle of a doorway, kitchen work zone, or walkway. Good structure and good floor plans go hand in hand.

Check Size Against Budget

With a scaled sketch in hand, calculate total living square footage (don’t forget the upstairs). If the number is too large for your budget:

• Protect high-use spaces (kitchen, dining, great room).
• Trim lower-use areas (some bedrooms, over-sized master bath).
• Consider adding sunrooms or garages later as future phases.

Resist the temptation to make the home so large that it stretches your budget and forces compromises in quality. A right-sized, well-built home beats a bigger, watered-down home every time.

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From Sketch to Preliminary Plans

When your final scaled sketch feels right, hire a designer/architect/draftsman to turn it into preliminary plans. These are not construction documents, but they’re complete enough for:

• Final pricing from your builder and subs
• Your log home manufacturer’s materials proposal
• Lender conversations and early approvals

Sticky note: When making quality decisions, compromise on items you can easily upgrade later (cabinets, countertops, interior doors). Don’t compromise on permanent elements like wall logs, structural members, or roof insulation.

Choosing Your Designer

You’ve done a lot of groundwork already; now choose a professional with real log-home experience. The right designer or architect brings practical knowledge of log sizes, roof pitches, beam and post spacing, joinery, and detailing that manages snow and water. These are the details that make a log home durable and beautiful.

• ‍Share your budget. For a designer to do a good job, they must know the target. Otherwise they’re “aiming without a mark.”‍
• Consider a site visit. Most designers/architects will (for a fee) walk your property and give feedback on how your ideas fit the ground.‍
• Go in with an open mind. They’ll have ideas you can use to your advantage.‍
• Choose log experience over general familiarity. A well-meaning friend or architect who primarily does conventional homes may not understand the structural and weathering nuances of log construction.‍
• About builder-provided design: Sometimes builders have in-house design help. This can be fine—you might hit the jackpot—but be careful that design choices aren’t tilted toward “faster and cheaper” at the expense of long-term quality.

There’s too much at stake to hand your life-long dream to someone who isn’t highly motivated and deeply experienced with log homes. Pick a pro who respects your vision, works within your budget, and knows how to make a log home perform for decades.