Whether you’re looking for a second vacation home or simply want to downsize, a log cabin is an excellent choice no matter the climate: they are durable and well insulated, meaning they have low heating and cooling costs. With their natural, traditional look, they do great when nestled in a grove of trees or set up beside a tranquil lake.
When you’re thinking of buying a log cabin, you have two options available to you: a portable log cabin or a stationary log cabin. While they look very similar, there are several major differences between them that you must make note of.
Summary Table
Portable Log Cabin
- Transportable
- Set size
- Made off-site
Stationary Log Cabin
- Not transportable
- Can be any size
- Built on site
The log cabin is an enduring aspect of American culture; it has its roots in European immigrants who carried their building traditions to the New World. They were designed to utilize local materials, as it was highly infeasible to transport things such as bricks or sandstone to rural areas. Nevertheless, a well-built log cabin could last decades, or even centuries, while providing essential shelter from the elements during cold New England winters.
Nowadays, they are found all across the United States, and they are particularly popular in state parks and vacation communities. Their beauty, durability, and warm style are incredibly charming, and they blend in easily within a variety of settings.
These buildings have heavy timbers and are primarily made from wood rather than other construction materials like brick. Log cabins can be rustic, with no utilities, or they can be highly modernized with air conditioning and electrical wiring, such as with portable log cabins.
What Is a Portable Log Cabin?
Portable log cabins are small, transportable dwellings constructed primarily out of heavy timbers. They are built in a factory according to a template on top of a trailer frame; in essence, the trailer serves as the foundation for the building. Because it is built on top of a trailer, portable log cabins have predetermined sizes with little variation.
Once everything is completed, the log cabin is hitched to its transport and driven to the home site, where it is then hooked up to utilities. Owners will install stairs up to the door and enclose the trailer.
Should the owner later choose to relocate, they simply remove the stairs, hitch the log cabin to a truck, and transport it to the new site.
What Is a Stationary Log Cabin?
A stationary log cabin is built on the home site by contractors according to an architectural plan; however, they can be as large or as small as the owner would like. There is greater variation in size, floor plan, and intricacy with stationary log cabins: some are very small, while others are the same size as a standard home.
The owner has more say in exactly how large the home will be and how it will be laid out. They can select from thousands of different log cabin plans to find the one with the square footage and features that they desire.
How Are They Related?
Both log cabin types are generally made from hardwood in a particular style: the log cabin style. Their steady, heavy timbers make them very durable, sometimes lasting 40 or 50 years with proper maintenance.
In today’s world, this is mostly an aesthetic choice, as many enjoy the naturalistic style of a log cabin. All log cabins can be wired for electricity, air conditioning, plumbing, and other modern conveniences depending on the customer’s taste.
Both types make popular vacation homes and hunting cabins, and most are placed in rural areas due to their aesthetic. However, either can be transported or built just about anywhere that regulations allow.
What Are the Differences?
The primary difference is in the portability of the cabins and where they are built. Portable log cabins are made to be moved; they are built off-site and transported to the intended home site, where they are set down and hooked up to utilities. Stationary log cabins are built on-site and cannot be transported.
There are greater variations in size and floor plan when it comes to stationary log cabins, as they can be made much larger than a typical portable log cabin. A portable log cabin is carefully designed to fit on a trailer so that it can be safely transported to its intended destination.
While a stationary log cabin may be entirely rustic – that is, with no utilities – portable log cabins always have electrical wiring and plumbing installed, as they are built in a shop according to exact specifications.
Portable log cabins are legally classified as park model homes, which means that they are taxed differently. Different states have specific laws on how these are classified and where they can be placed. Stationary log cabins, however, are legally classified as permanent structures, so they are taxed just like any other home.
