Frequently Asked Questions
Building Systems

The Custom Home Guide

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The Custom Home Guide contains an abundance of plans & images. It offers unique designs to help you design the home of your dreams. The Custom Home Guide provokes thought and motivates the designer in all of us.

The PAN ABODE ADVANTAGE

What exactly does PAN ABODE Cedar Homes do?

PAN ABODE controls the quality, design and engineering of the structural building kit for your new home. With several building systems to choose from, PAN ABODE designs and manufactures the shell kit for your new home so you can add your personal touch by supplying the finish materials and other home comfort systems. PAN ABODE is known for Pre Cut Timber Systems for the DIY in all of us. We also offer a POST & BEAM System which is the true "Chameleon" that can be configured and customized for any style of building. Use our plans or yours; we give away custom design with our packages. We consolidate and ship your home to your site anywhere on the entire planet. PAN ABODE Experience

How does a customer get started with PAN ABODE Cedar Homes?

We like to start by giving the customer a Model Price quote along with the explanation of our services and materials provided. Preliminary Plans are the next step. A Preliminary Design deposit is required to start the Preliminary Plans. Preliminary Plans include the floor plan along with 4 elevations drawn to scale. The customer can change these plans and return them to PAN ABODE to be amended. The customer will use the Preliminary Plans to communicate with the building trades to gather a construction budget. The next step comes when the customer has decided to build a home is to purchase the PAN ABODE Cedar Home package. The Complete Plans are next. A deposit is required to move forward with the Complete Plans. These will be the plans used for construction, for engineering, permitting and construction. Note all deposit are credited toward the Model purchase price.

What is the advantage to using PAN ABODE Cedar Homes to supply our new home package?

PAN ABODE utilizes a Systemized approach to building which eliminates excessive waste, dictates proper use of materials and quantaties, and more importantly allows you or your builder to manage the build without spending time at the lumber yard. PAN ABODE Advantage.

How long does it take PAN ABODE to produce a package? How long does the design process take? How long does it take to build a PAN ABODE Cedar Home?

After the Complete Plans are done it takes us 5 weeks to put together a building package. This include loading a truck or container and ready it for shipping.

Normally a customer should allow for 4 to 6 months to build a custom home. The PAN ABODE Cedar Home package should be completed within 3 to 5 weeks. The additional time is used by the contractor scheduling the sub contractors and various trades to supply or to install their crafts.

The design process takes minimally 2 months to achieve finished Complete Plans. The design process is a process of communication between the customer and the designer. Changes are made, changes are received and returned to the design log along with other customer designs.

Where does PAN ABODE Cedar Homes ship?

Worldwide. We ship by large flatbed trucks mostly within the United States. Containers for trains and ocean travel to Europe, Australia, Asia etc.

How much should I budget to build a PAN ABODE Cedar Home?

PAN ABODE ships house packages worldwide. Where you build will affect your building budget. Rural construction, island construction, mountain construction will affect your building budget. Consumer options will also effect your price. A $125 toilet versus a $950 toilet. A set of nice cabinets can run $12,000 or $60,000.

We tell our customers under normal building conditions to budget between $250 to $400+ per square foot, which includes the Pan Abode Package for a Turnkey, or move in ready budget. (This does not include site improvements). Low range of turn key budget @ $250 to $315per sq. ft. assumes the home owner is involved in the construction phase. High end $325 to $400+ is full General contractor build. The PAN ABODE package portion of that budget averages $75 to $120 per square foot of the Turnkey budget. The choice of building system, the style of the building, specific site conditions is what varies the PAN ABODE Package Model Price.

What does PAN ABODE supply in the standard building package.

The PAN ABODE package called the Model Price starts with the Complete Plans. These plans can receive an engineering stamp, they are used for acquiring your building permit, financing of the home, construction of the home.

The materials supplied that facilitate the build of the Complete Plans starts with the structural floor joists, t&g plywood, including glue and screws. All of the interior and exterior walls. Windows are included with clear cedar trim for the interior finish. Exterior doors and interior doors are pre-hung and include clear cedar trim and handle hardware with key locks and deadbolts. For second floors, lofts and the roof we provide custom manufactured appearance Douglas Fir glu-laminated beams and columns. Structural hardware. The roof system is 2x12 rafters that set on top of the fir beams with plywood sheathing and cedar trim. All soffit material is 1x6 t&g kiln dried spf.

A list of the materials that are included can be found under each of our Building System descriptions listed below...

POST&BEAM Building System
PHOENIX Timber Building System
CLASSIC Timber building System

What are the most popular building systems that PAN ABODE Cedar Homes sells?

Our two most popular building systems are called The Phoenix Cedar Timber Wall System and The Post & Beam Building System.

What is the PAN ABODE Phoenix Cedar Timber Wall System?

Phoenix is the perfect timber/log home. We use kiln dried laminated western red cedar wall timbers for our exterior walls. All of our laminations are of solid cedar with the exterior and interior exposed surface graded for appearance. PHOENIX Timber Building System

Why would I prefer a home built with the Phoenix Cedar Timber Wall over a home with a conventional log wall?

The Phoenix Cedar Wall is the perfect timber wall. It will maintain much like a conventionally painted home. There is no chinking or gaskets in between layers of timber. The Phoenix Timber is a flat surface timber with curved shoulders which avoids dust and dirt build up. Dirt that builds up on log walls deteriorates the exterior protective stains.

Why does the Phoenix System use vertical columns?

Strength! At each corner of a conventional log or timber home the logs will overlap or notch into each other. This creates vertical joints that can be penetrated by inclement weather. With The Phoenix Cedar Timber Wall each cedar timber corner is connected to dado columns. Not only does this connection create additional timber wall strength but there are no penetrating wall connections exposed to the weather.

What is the PAN ABODE Post & Beam Wall System?

Post & Beam is PAN ABODE’s most economical, versatile, high quality building system. Picture in your mind Posts that support Structural Beams, that support a roof system. That is the simplicity of the Post & Beam. Exterior in fill walls are of kiln dried Douglas Fir framing with exterior plywood sheathing, house wrap and clad in our kiln dried cedar. The Cedar exterior cladding can be horizontal tongue and groove or vertical application ship lap channel style. Both Cedar patterns are exclusive to Pan Abode Cedar Homes. POST&BEAM Building System

What kind of foundations can a PAN ABODE Home be built on?

Most any type of foundation can be used. PAN ABODE Cedar Homes have designed buildings to sit on basement, crawl space, concrete slab, post & pier, triodetic metal etc.

What are the PAN ABODE Cedar Home Cabin Kits?

The standard line of PAN ABODE Cedar Homes are designed for engineering, permitting and year around use. The Cabin Kit Series are not for permitting. These are high quality wood kits that provide the customer a dried in shell. Customers who purchase Cabin Kits use them for building off grid and seasonal use.

Can we make changes to the plans? Can we change the window or doors?

Yes you can modify or customize our standard plans. There is no charge to make changes to the plans. The PAN ABODE price is based on the materials in the package. Example: If you increase the size of the house or add more windows that would increase the price.

Yes, you can change the windows or doors. For Example: PAN ABODE supplies Milgard Monticeto Lifetime Warranty Windows. These windows are available in tan or white. If the customer wants a clad window, or an all wood window, it is available. Interior doors are prehung solid core oak or birch. If the customer desires a raised panel fir or custom leaded glass door it is available.

What type of warranty does PAN ABODE Cedar Homes offer?

All PAN ABODE Homes are covered by a Ten Year Limited Structural Warranty. Items not manufactured by PAN ABODE Homes such as windows, doors, insulation, lumber, and wood sealers are covered by each manufacturers specific warranty that PAN ABODE passes through to its customers.