If you are thinking about moving your cabin or log home, you are not alone. Many people weigh the option of moving their cabins each year. Many things will affect how successful the move will be and if it is cost affective to move your log home.

The simple answer to: Can A Log Home Be Moved?

The simple answer is: yes, in most cases a cabin/log home can be moved. Whether the move will be worth it, will depend on many factors such as: accessibility, age of the cabin, how far you need to move it, size of the cabin, and type of build.

Before you commit to moving a log home, you may want to consider these factors. Depending on your answer, it may make more sense to just build or buy another.

Factors To Consider

Size of the cabin/log home – If it is a small log home that can fit on a trailer in one piece, then the odd are in your favor. If you have a log home that is going to have to be broken down, then your project just became more expensive and the odds for damage have gone up. Even if cost is not a problem, you have to consider the risk of damage and putting the log home back together. Log homes that are larger will most likely have to be broken down. Larger loads can affect power lines and be quite expensive.

Age of the cabin/log home – Technology for log homes has come very far since the settling days. Treated logs and chinking, will allow modern log homes to last much longer. If your log home/cabin is older, it may not be worth trying to move it. Attempting to move a log home that is older could turn your move into a salvage job that will have destroyed a good cabin.

Accessibility – Most cabins and log homes are in very rural locations. This will not only affect your cost, but it will also change your method. In most cases, the log home will have to be broken down into sections. If you have easy access and wide roads, these section may be able to be larger sections. If your log home/cabin is in a rural spot, you may need to completely dismantle the cabin or make a better/wider road to it.

How far you need to move the cabin/log home – The distance of the move will directly affect your cost and how big the sections need to be. Moving a log home whole that is larger can require power lines to be moved, and permits. If it is short distance you may be able to get away with keeping your log home whole. Keeping it whole may save on the risk of damage of breaking it down into sections.

Type of build – Cabins come in a variety of builds. They can be kits, timber frame cabins, hand crafted, Amish built, or a mix. Typically kits and timber frame log homes are going to be the easiest to move. These are easily framed up and depending on the size can be moved whole or in large sections. When it comes to hand crafted cabins, the logs are usually sculpted to fit each other and can be very difficult to move.

When it comes down to it. You will want to consult with more than one moving company and possible a contractor. You will also want to weigh the cost and risk. It just might make more sense to build a new cabin. One last thing to consider is the value of the property that you are moving the cabin from. Land with a cabin is going to be worth more, than an empty parcel.