WHY START WITH A BUILDER?
As builders, it seems silly to us to start anywhere else, but more often than not it starts with the log supplier. Which is perfectly fine if the supplier is reputable. They usually have floor plans and are knowledgeable about their products and have designers to work with. They can give you an accurate price for the log package and an estimate to complete it, but suppliers don’t build your project on site, so that estimate to complete may be pretty rough. It only makes sense to talk to a builder before you get too far into the process. A lot of problems can be averted by involving the builder from the beginning. We have been building log homes for over 30 years and have built for well over a dozen different suppliers of logs and timbers. When I first started it amazed me how many calls we got from owners, and even suppliers, for us to come fix or finish structures that were over budget, half completed, short of materials, you name it, we saw it. It was, and still is, a real problem in the industry. Most of those problems came down to a high pressure sale without the builder’s perspective, usually an inaccurate portrayal of what it was going to take to complete the project from a time and cost point. Most of those eventually weed themselves out of the business. Today with the internet and google reviews its much easier to sort thru the good and the bad and be better informed. If a builder and a supplier have been building log homes a long time its a pretty good indicator they know what their doing and are doing it right.
MEET THE BUILDER
TRAVIS TRIPPLE
From a young age Travis was always involved in construction. His father was an accountant by trade, but always remodeling or building a new home. When he was 8 years old his father dug out a basement under their existing home with a pick and shovel. That experience would discourage most from pursuing a life in construction or drive it further into their blood. It was a foundation of sorts for his own life. Travis enjoys hard physical work and the sense of accomplishment that comes with it. Having grown up in and around construction sites, he decided to get a degree in construction management. One does not need a 4 year degree in construction management to build homes, but the experience certainly made him a better builder with a broader background and able to relate to people from all walks of life. Its also where he met his wife Airica.
After graduating college, Travis got his first exposure with log homes from his father in law Chip Finch. They built several log homes from naturally tapered logs hand crafted on site. Its also where he got his first taste in remote site construction building a lodge on the salmon river for the Benz brothers. Everything was flown or boated in. He loved the challenge and the work but eventually thought he needed to use his degree. For several years he worked managing commercial and industrial projects. “As challenging as that was it was not the same, and while it was more good experience it wasn’t what I enjoyed”. Travis started building high end custom homes as well as conventional stick built homes, and did it for several years, yet he always found himself gravitating back to those log structures. “ I wasn’t sure if it was the logs or the the places where they were usually built. I like being in those places”.
Log Craft was born out of those experiences and desire to build with a natural renewable resource in natural settings. He started building log and timber frame homes all over Idaho. Based out of Boise, he built in Cascade, Donnely, McCall, Featherville, Pine, Yellow pine, Big creek, Pistol Creek on the middle fork of the Salmon river and developed a reputation for building remote projects in hard to reach places.
Travis has been married to his wonderful wife Airica for 30 years. Most recently their time has been spent in Southeast Alaska, raising their 6 children. “No matter where we are at, we still call Alaska home. Actually, any beautiful setting that needs a log structure we will call home for awhile, but if we step away during the summer or fall from a project there is a good chance we might be hunting or fishing back in Alaska.”
