Couple recommend 'fun' of building log house

Geraldine farmers Doug and Tracy Haselden are in something of a log jam.
The Haseldens are building their very own log house after Mr Haselden undertook a log-house building course at Aoraki Polytechnic almost two years ago.

Now the labour of their love is materialising into a luxury home - a 500sq m, two-storied house that will feature state-of-the-art mod cons in electrical and heating systems, and house their vehicles in an enormous garage and workshop.

Mrs Haselden, who is now no stranger to a few splinters, has become a dab hand at measuring, scribing and general woodwork. She says this proves the DIY value of log homes, which need only limited input from conventional builders, and only then once the logs are in place on concrete foundations and a conventional truss roof is fitted.

"We are a third of the way up the walls. What fun this is - I'd recommend it to anyone," Mrs Haselden said.

She was unconcerned about the time it was taking to complete the project.

"We are only building when time and money permits, so we are in no rush. We'd rather take our time and do it properly."

The former dairy farmers from Ashburton moved to the Hilton, Geraldine, district only a year ago to a 105ha cropping and beef farm. The log house is a project that fits in with normal farm duties, so it is worked on mainly at weekends.

"No domestics so far," mother-of-two Mrs Haselden said, conceding that her husband, who previously had no building experience, was boss on the building site.

"It's his baby, but I am loving it, too. We are already planning our next house."

Former Royal Marine Craig Holden, who came to New Zealand five years ago from the United Kingdom, is also building a log house after completing the polytechnic course.

Mr Holden is married with three children and his house at Albury will be large enough to comfortably accommodate his children in their growing years.

It was the course itself that tipped the scales towards building a log home instead of a conventional "stick" house, he said.

"It was so practical, I found myself thinking of the log home we were being trained on as being my own," Mr Holden said. "I couldn't wait to get started on my own."