Home kits can make Alaska dreams come true: affordable answers for a well-built home.

• Author: Lavrakas, Dimitra
• Position: BUILDING ALASKA

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It is the Alaska version of the American dream--a small cabin in the woods. Across the state, there are companies that can make that dream come true. From log cabins of all sizes to timber frames to structural insulated panel buildings, there's a company to suit a would-be homeowner's needs and budget.

See that smiling man in the photo on page 174? Jerry Green should be smiling, his company, Superior Logs, has over the past 25 years built some of the most-recognized log structures in the state--like the 11,000-square-foot Kenai Princess Lodge at Cooper Landing, the 3,000-square-foot city offices at Pilot Station, the 4,000-square-foot Mat-Su Visitors Center on the Parks Highway, the ERA Aviation buildings and Alaska Railroad Depot at Denali Park, the remote Muskomee Bay Remote Lodge on Afognak Island, and the post offices in Talkeetna (3,400 square feet) and Kasilof (2,800 square feet.).

Depending on the size and how fancy the cabin, prices begin at $45 a square foot for a weathered-in shell and start at $160 a square foot for a turnkey log home, said Green.

Green's well-earned reputation as a log builder begins and ends with two things: the dryness of his logs and the "Simple Yet Superior" copyrighted bolt-together system. Green guarantees the logs leave the mill with a 15 percent to 17 percent moisture content and are manufactured within one-eighths of an inch to plan. That's quite something for a log structure that usually requires mechanisms for doors and windows to prevent breakage caused by the shifting and twisting of the timbers.

"We've never had a report of a door or window breaking," said Green, again with a big smile. This log cabin was built for Valley Sawmill on Cordova Street in Anchorage by Lee's Custom Designs, whose owner, Lee Raymond says he can build anything with logs. Valley Sawmill supplies Superior Logs with logs.

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Not a construction company, Superior Logs create pre-cut log packages for owners to either assemble themselves or have a builder do it for them. They come with complete instructions and the claim that anyone with a little building experience can erect their own cabin.

The 8-inch or 10-inch logs earn 4-Star-Plus or 5-Star energy ratings that can earn a tax write-off for energy conservation. Energy Star Homes is a government-backed program to promote energy-efficient homes that are built to use 70 percent or less of the energy required for heating, cooling and hot...