Living Like Lincoln

By Sharon Epperson

Log homes have come a long way from the one-room cabin Abe Lincoln lived in as a boy. Today many of the custom-built variety are palatial--with high ceilings, six or more bedrooms, great rooms for entertaining, floor-to-ceiling windows and detailed stone and marble work. The adult Honest Abe would have felt right at home in this new generation of log mansions, and he would have had plenty of room to stretch out.

A growing number of Americans are building log houses that capture a rustic feel but still have all the amenities of contemporary custom homes. According to the Log Home Council of the National Association of Home Builders, more than 25,000 log homes are built each year, up from about 7,000 in the mid-1980s. Sales in the U.S. and Canada have more than doubled since 1998, to $1.37 billion. Those homes now account for 7% of the custom-home-building market. And their popularity is widespread, from Colorado to the Catskills.

Bill De Iasi, a sales and marketing executive, dreamed of living in a warm, comfy log home since he was a kid. But Christine, his wife, an orthopedic surgeon, didn't want to relocate her practice or move away from relatives in her hometown. So the De Iasis decided to build a 4,000-sq.-ft. log home smack in the middle of Secaucus, N.J.--just five miles from New York City's Times Square. Says Bill proudly: "We decided to bring a little West over to the East."

The De Iasis purchased a model log-home kit from Kuhns Bros. Log Homes for about $250,000, which included specially manufactured kiln-dried logs and blueprints. Judging by the package price, it seems like a tremendous bargain. But the couple estimates they'll spend an additional $300,000 or more to hire local workers to complete the house.

Costs to build a log home range from $125 to more than $1,000 per sq. ft., depending on the type of logs, style of home and amenities, says Jason Goodman, publisher of Log Homes Illustrated. So that you're not shocked by the final price, the Log Home Council (which offers a free brochure on log homes; 800-368-5242) advises potential buyers to do the following:

o Own the land on which the home will be built before making a commitment to a manufacturer.

o Talk to builders, contractors and log-home owners to get a realistic idea of the cost.

o Make sure you have financing in place for the entire project before beginning construction.

Epperson is CNBC's personal-finance correspondent