Several years ago, while looking for a weekend getaway cabin, Jim Gega of Trophy Amish Cabins in Michigan was disappointed by what he found in the park model industry. What looked like an actual cabin, was just 2×4 construction with pine log siding. After finding an Amish craftsman in Ohio, Jim decided to build small log cabins made with Eastern White Pine and Eastern Red Cedar that truly reflect the classic log cabin—just a bit smaller and portable.
“We started out building high quality solid log hunting cabins, then the business grew due to custom designs and affordability,” Jim said. “We are different because our clients can actually sketch their own floor plan. Our clients also send us a map of their property so our designers can custom design their cabin for their specific site and needs. In 2010 we started building furniture that could ship inside a client’s cabin and added rollout storage drawers beneath the bunk beds. We have evolved into a high quality custom log cabin company that will deliver to your property throughout the Continental U.S.”
Jim said that log cabins have great thermal mass and are as efficient as the best insulated stick built homes. Log cabins are also build with natural materials without the use of fire retardant chemicals. The Trophy Amish Cabins are used primarily has weekend homes or hunting lodges. A few clients live in their cabins year round. The largest cabin is 12×32 feet, and the smallest is 10×16 feet with a small porch. Because of their weight, Jim does not recommend attaching the cabins to a trailer.
Each cabin starts out as a completed shell, then the client selects the interior cabinetry, size and shape of the bathroom, custom island kitchens, hutches and cabinets. The client can also add a loft, bathroom wall and door, vanity, kitchenette, more windows or more electrical outlets.
“Very similar to ordering a new home or car, you start with the basic package and then add options as desired within your budget,” Jim said.
Currently Trophy is offering 10×16 turn key Promotion Cabins that include three windows, porch or no porch, tin roofs and your choice of exterior stain color. Customers may draw their own layout, window and door placement. The prices will depend on your delivery distance, amount of state permits required and lodging for the drivers.
Photos by Trophy Amish Cabins, LLC
By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]
How much is the basic model?? Beautiful!
A normal stickbuilt house 2×4 construction is r13 It appears that a 10 inch log is at best 8.5 r value.
High R-Values – Thermal resistance (or resistance to heat flow) is measured in R-value; the higher the R-value, the more thermal resistance. The average R-value for softwoods is 1.41 per inch and 0.71 for most hardwoods. An average 10-inch thick solid-log wall provides an R-8.5 (R-14.1 across its full diameter, dropping to R-5.6 at each horizontal joint).
There is another part of this calculation that involves the thermal mass properties of solid log walls, which can increase the R value by around .1 per inch. http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/energy-efficiency-log-homes This only works well in temperate zones. Also assuming you don’t have a lot of air leaks.
I want this on an existing 14 X 23′ garage foundation that came with the property I own.
PLEASE email me as must info as possible and just even prices in the ballpark for certain sizes and models and finishes PLEASE THANK YOU !!!!!!!!
Jackie, you need to contact the company as this is just an article about them. Use the link in the article to go to their website and contact them from there.
It’s nice to see the interest in these cabins but if you need further information, follow the link within the article. It takes you to the company’s website. From there you can contact them directly
Too small! I agree that huge log cabins defeat the purpose, however…….these are at the other end of the “make no sense” scale.
How about something for more than one person? 400+ sq. ft?
I love these- and not just because the outsides remind me of Lincoln Logs!
Some day I will have a small cabin on some property overlooking a river. I think these guys might be just the ticket…
If you follow tiny houses on FYI you realize that the tiny house craze has gone crazy. Look at the vehicles necessary to pull them.
One pulls a house over a bridge and uses a truck from an 18 wheeler. They show ground based houses from $300,000 to $400,000.
To free yourself from mortgage you can’t spend more than $50,000. It must be on wheels to avoid property tax. You can only rent the land, as a lot will be your biggest expense. You can only live outside the city limits where rules are more lax. Check with the tax assessor for R2 property. More later
Bob, You must be referring to the FYI Network shows like Tiny house for sale and Tiny house nation ect. Bear in mind there are two sets of people: Those who want to live in a tiny home regardless of cost and those who want tiny and mortgage free! The reality show depicting people buying tiny homes never clearly state that they are looking for a vacation home. The Tiny house builders usually stay near $30,000 but you are correct, most look for a friend to park the unit.
kind of frustrating that there is NO pricing info on their website. Yeah, I get it that delivery costs vary based on the destination of the cabin. But there’s no reason to not at least post base pricing on their website. That leads me to believe their pricing is way too high compared to similar cabin makers they’re competing with.
What that means for me is that I’m not even going to bother asking for a price quote.
I hope that the maturation of the tiny house movement teaches builders that they need to put their best foot forward via their websites, since it’s typically their ONLY exposure to potential customers. And if done poorly it will only hurt their business.
i agree with Scotty. Some idea of pricing would encourage people to get in touch if the pricing is not to outrageous. Just saying