Click photo to enlarge
Doug Haselden shows the size of the Douglas Fir logs he is
using for his new house. Supplied photo.
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."
