Hello! The NPC houses are only meant to display information about the AI, I thought it would be a cooler idea than having a menu for that. About the Log Pile, Its my first time doing any sort of building system and I struggled quite a bit with it, but you should be able to place it if you try moving it further away using "Y" and "H" keys on your keyboard. Sometimes it doesnt place because it thinks its overlapping the player, so sorry for any inconvenience that may have caused.
Also, Thanks so much for playing my game, it really means a lot!