Archive for the ‘Log home maintenance’ Category

Waterproofing your Log Home

Nov 25, 2008 Log home maintenance

Log Homes change as they get older. The process is slow, but steady. As time passes, the water inside the logs begins to dry up, shrinking the wood more and more until gaps start to appear. No matter what joints you use, after a few years, you will find that your log cabin protects you from the elements lesser and lesser.

Waterproofing your log home doesn’t just keep out water. It also ensures that your home remains insulated from the weather and your cabin doesn’t lose precious heat. In log cabin parlance, waterproofing goes by the name of caulking or chinking. The difference between the two, is that chinking is used for larger logs and larger gaps.

Caulking

In the diagram above, we see the caulking material being applied using a caulking gun. The special property of caulk is that it can expand along with the wood. In fact, modern substances are designed to tolerate as much as 50% of the joint expansion. This is necessary because it can take upto 20 years for a log home to fully dry in Ohio. Having the caulk expand as necessary is important so that you don’t haveto have it redone every single year.

Caulking is a complex process and is best left to a professional. There are techniques that a first timer will not know and you risk ruining your beautiful log home. Contact a Professional to get your home waterproofed.

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Finding Rots and Decays in your Log Home

Oct 11, 2008 Log home maintenance

A simple technique to help you locate any areas of rot or decay is by tapping the logs with a hammer every few feet. Sound wood will have a nice resonate tone. Rotten wood will have a dull thud. The best preservative for your logs are the borates. They are less toxic to humans than table salt, they don’t change the color of the wood, they have no smell and they poison the wood as a food supply to just about every wood destroying organism know to man, including decay fungi, beetles, and termites. However, there are limitations. Wood needs to be retreated about every 5 years, the wood needs to have some moisture to allow for proper diffusion and you must apply and maintain a water repellent finish over the borate treated wood to keep them from leaching out. Given these few limitations, Borates become very inexpensive insurance against a host of problems. Borates disperse into wood through a process called diffusion. Better that you can Consult Experts to do this. Click here for More Info on Maintenance of your Log Home.

Jaworski Coatings Inc.

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