Ever Dream of the Cabin Life?
By Nikki Alvin-Smith

In today’s busy bustling world the idea of a weekend retreat to the mountains for fresh air, peace and quiet and a break from the day-to-day angst is something most people would like to enjoy. How do you make that dream a reality? It’s more affordable than you might think.

One room cabins to full blown all year homes can be built in a relatively short time frame. Catskill Horse spoke with Matt Albrecht of Zook Cabins, based in Atglen, PA, who has some serious experience in the building and delivery of cabin structures throughout the North East U.S.A. to catch up with what options are available to buyers today in terms of style and design and how straightforward the build and delivery has become.

We asked Matt about the three different options for a cabin build. A cabin kit, a stick built cabin or a prebuilt modular cabins. What advantages are there to each and what would he recommend?

“ There are many cabin kits on the market but they are not all the same quality. There is a common saying in the log home business "You can build a bad log home with good logs, but it's very difficult to build a good log home with bad logs". Aside from quality and limits in design, cabin kits take some serious effort to construct even if you consider yourself relatively handy. You are looking for a log cabin as a retreat and break from work not an additional stress and toll on your time that you could otherwise spend enjoying hunting, fishing and outdoor activities with your family. I’m not kidding. The cabin kits on the market don’t include many extras and there are a myriad of surprises in store for you. Truly, we are going to try and talk you out of it but for very good reasons. Zook Cabins could but does not offer a cabin kit and we know that offering a kit is simply not a good approach for the buyer. There’s lots of information on our website you can check out and testimonials from people that have gone for a cabin kit from other companies and found out the hard way.”

It does sound tempting to buy a kit I do confess. It just seems a cheaper option and you don’t want your log cabin to cost an arm and a leg even if you can get some tax deductions for a vacation home under certain conditions. Money is hard earned and time is somewhat of the essence when you want a place to relax and enjoy without stress. So I suggested that I could have a builder come in and do a stick build on site and leave the work to the construction company and be hands off. Matt Albrecht had this to say about that suggestion.

“You have to be realistic about price. You can have a stick built log home. It will take a long time and cost a lot of money. You may or not recoup that investment. With the huge variety of styles and customization in modular Zook Cabins you can have your cake and eat it too! You can have all that you want. We bring lots of fresh ideas to the table and walk you through it all making it an enjoyable experience for you and your family. We take care of the build and deliver the building to your site and put it together to your complete satisfaction with attention to detail. As we buy top quality materials and build log homes all day everyday our experience is a fundamental benefit to the homeowner. Add to that our Amish workmanship which is renowned as first class and you can be happy that everything will be as you like it.”

The idea of the instant installation of a log home is tempting indeed. When you visit Zook Cabins website you will be impressed by the variety of styles and designs they offer. To make the process as easy as possible they include a 12 step program to help you plan and execute your dream hunting cabin or year round log home and to get a taste of how straightforward working with Zook Cabins check out Fred Eiblings case study where he shares his experience first hand. http://www.zookcabins.com/casestudy_FredEibling.asp

We asked Matt Albrecht how much of the build is completed at their facility and how much is done on site.
“ About 85% of the build is done at our location and then we deliver the components to your property where our team of professional carpenters completes the installation. You can even order furniture from our site and have that delivered too. Zook Cabins really is a one stop shop.”

I took a tour of one of the Zook log homes in Atglen, PA and was very impressed by the feel and workmanship of the structure. The kitchen had a lovely open plan to the living area, and the bedrooms were all light and spacious. Upstairs there was the perfect Master Bedroom space that allowed for a big private bedroom with an en suite bathroom or could be converted to two bedrooms. It also offered a balcony overlooking the living space. Outside there was a porch and also a deck area to complete the whole outdoor living lifestyle. It was apparent that the wood used was of high quality throughout and the finish carpentry was excellent.

So if you are ready to make your dream of a log cabin or home a reality give Zook Cabins at call at 610 595 4641 and visit their website at www.ZookCabins.com