It's time to give your log home a checkup.
April 29, 2010
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Greetings!
It's
spring and time to start thinking about maintaining your log home. If I
could give log home owners one piece of advice it would be this: keep your
logs dry.
If wood
is allowed to have moisture content over 20%, it will rot. Everything we do to
prevent decay or rot has to do with keeping the logs dry.
Here is a spring checklist that we recommend log home owners do year. It is
also a good list to use if you are considering purchasing a log home or cabin.
Go
over your log home or cabin to evaluate how well you are preventing moisture
from getting into the logs.
1. Maintain a good finish on the exterior logs. A good finish for
log homes prevents the migration of water into the log in the form of rain and
(this is key) it allows moisture to make its way out in the form of vapor.
We must accept the fact that moisture will get into the logs and we need
to allow it to get out.
2. Have adequate overhangs wherever possible. This keeps water from
getting on the logs in the first place.
3. Have gutters in place and keep them in working condition, again
-preventing water from ever getting to the logs.
4. Free board - in other words: keep the house up off the ground.
This keeps it dry.
5. Protect the lower logs around your decks. Decks can pose some unique
challenges in terms of keeping water off the logs. It is very important
to make sure that a deck is properly flashed against a log wall.
6. The caulking and chinking between the log joints must be in good
condition. Sealants keep water from going between the logs and getting
into the areas where there isn't any stain.
7. Keep objects away from the logs to avoid water splashing back on them.
8. Pay particular attention to windowsills. These need to be pitched away
so as not to allow water to "stand" in these areas and cause the moisture to
rise in the logs.
9. Keep plantings away from log wall. Many times we see bushes,
trees and ground covers that are allowed to grow up against the logs and this
can keep the logs from drying out after a rainstorm.
Keeping the logs dry is key to preventing rot. We find that starting with
this perspective about log homes will help you to make good choices in terms of
maintaining your log homes.
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 A Frequently Asked Question
These holes have likely been caused by a wood boring insect. The two
main types of wood boring insects that we have in the upper Midwest
(which infect already cut down trees)are the carpenter ant and the
powderpost beetle. Powderpost beetles make very small holes typically
the size of pencil lead. Carpenter ants and bees are also prevalent in
the upper Midwest.
Read More...
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