Dennis Morris of Citrus Heights stands in front of the log home he is building on his property at Shake Ridge Road. Two years into the project, using a log home kit, he has the second floor in and part of the roof. Morris has done the bulk of the work by himself.

Tackling his first shot at building a house, largely by himself, Dennis Morris often goes to the hotline for help. That is, he calls the company that sold him the kit for his two-story log home. The company gives him tips on what he is doing.

What's the worst part?

"Everything," Morris said last Wednesday. But the two-year project is progressing and he thinks he might have the home done in another year.

Quail Creek Log Homes of Grand Junction, Colo., sold him the home with logs, lumber and plans and Morris has cut his teeth in the carpentry world. The first eight layers of the home, he hoisted by hand. Then, he learned to use a hoist and come-alongs to raise the heavy logs and a couple of major beams. He bought all his own equipment and even a tractor, used from a Lodi farmer, to help with the hoisting.

Quail Creek gives him technical support, running him through some of the cuts - rabbit joints and others.

"I call them all the time," said Morris, a former U.S. Navy cook and mechanical technician.

He said he has had a little help, mostly professional, including grading. A contractor did his foundation and another did his duct work and electrical, while a plumber did the pipe work. He did have help from a neighbor re-positioning a beam that had shifted and a Amador Crane Co. lifted one of his beams into place. And in about a week, they will come out to lift another beam - 7-by-9 inches and 35 feet long.

Morris owns a home and lives in Citrus Heights. He spends several nights a week at the Shake Ridge Road property, with temporary buildings for storage, cooking and sleeping, working on the home during the day.

The house will have an open loft, a mud room, two bedrooms and a bathroom with a Jacuzzi.

Morris was finishing up the day's work in a drizzle in the early afternoon last Wednesday and showed the interior of the cabin, which has three ladders in various locations around the site. He said he has taken photos of the home at various stages and learned to do the work as he goes along.

Despite finding out how hard the project is, he said he still would do the project again, adding that chances are, he might build another of the houses elsewhere.