Oakum for log home building schroeder log home supply inc. Cracks in log home logs and other warnings woodweb. I built a 6x4 cedar log cabin and where the logs butt there is the odd crack. Log cabin maintenance you can do yourself caulking cracks in your logs. Wisconsin log home repair and log cabin restoration in. Although permachink systems pcs is the largest manufacturer of log home chinking and sealants, we make a complete line of quality wood care products. Chinkpaint renew the color of your log home chinking. The old homestead had been neglected for over 40 years the house. Wood finishes, wood preservatives, wood cleaners and restoration products all are made in the u. Permachink systems log home chinking, log stain and finish.
When properly applied, chinking drastically improves a homes energy efficiency by reducing heat loss where the logs meet. Im not a structural engineer, so cant speak to the structurability, but i have seen log checks for a few years now and those look completely normal for a log home, both size and location. It is required between log courses on homes that are designed with a horizontal gap between the logs. Weatherall triple stretch chinking twin creeks log home.
Chinking is not necessary its just for visual appeal. Determining whether or not it is worth the expense of chinking your logs depends on if you use your log home as a cabin only in the summer or as a yearround, heated home. A properly built scandinavian chinkless style of log home will have no chinking at all thus the name scandinavian chinkless rather than scandinavian chinked. Do not just passively lay the sealant into the check recesses, which will have a tendency to not let the caulk or chinking properly wet out. Oh yes, chinking materials have definitely evolved from primitive to impressive. There are many ways to make a solution, but two mixtures in particular offer the stability of commercial mixtures with the cost effectiveness of a homemade substance.
It offers a brief introduction to the different options. This kerf runs the length of the log and will absorb most of the cracking. The elasticity of chink paint smooth enables it to expand and contract with the sealant without cracking or peeling. Properly installed chink and caulk help to keep moisture and insects from invading your log home and it makes a big difference in the amount of energy loss from gaps between the logs and around doors and windows.
How to repair chinking on your log home video weatherall. Chinkpaints elasticity enables it to expand and contract with permachink or energy seal and other synthetic chinking products without cracking or peeling. In log homes, these cracks are called checks and they shouldnt be a source of. The log cabin was birthplace and home for young abe lincoln, as well as other national figures, and assumed by many 19th century historians to be the very first type of house constructed by english colonists. You must first fill in any gaps in the mortar with a backing rod, so that the surface of the backing rod is level with that of the original chinking. Understanding the idiosyncrasies of log homes cabin life. Ive recently moved into a 10 yearold log home yellow pine dlogs with a twostory stone and mortar chimney running top to bottom on the sunny end of the house. It is not uncommon for log homes to develop a problem. However, one thing you could do is to make a deep cut in the bottom of the log when it is first peeled. Chinkpaints elasticity enables it to expand and contract with permachink or energy seal without cracking or peeling.
Essentially, chinking a log home will ensure logs which dont fit. Sealant can be perfectly combined with the wood and has good. In short, chinking is the material which is placed between the logs of a log home. Todays more flexible chinking which shifts with the logs can be applied over old cracked mortar. Chinking and log sealant faqs first, it is important to realize that the most. As the warm weather begins, its the time of year when we start thinking about chinking our log homes. It is particularly popular with log home owners who want their home to have a historic look.
Cracking logs on interior and exterior the log home. It is virtually impossible to prevent logs from developing cracks and checks as they age and dry. This video is provided courtesy of the weatherall company. We offer our customers an exciting assortment of log home decor and supplies that feature high quality and value at discounted prices within a secured shopping environment. Log homes are difficult to build even for experienced builders. While it may seem like an easy solution, we do not recommend filling the checks or cracks in the logs with caulk. It is important to seal up any upward facing checks that would be expected to hold water or for insects to make their home. Our solid reputation has been built on 35 years of experience in custom log home design and construction. Log home maintenance issues sometimes need to be resolved by experts. Caulking between logs and chimney the log home neighborhood.
Follow this guide to chinking repair, removal, and reapplication, and learn how to perform log home maintenance that lasts. We then conclude with the dos and donts of maintenance and some handy maintenance advice. Traditional log home chinking cant handle big shifts in the logs, so cracks form and the chinking fails. Permachink chinking is a flexible, textured chinking that seals the open gaps between logs to eliminate heat loss and air infiltration. The first step of caulking or chinking is applying backer rod. And well explain a variety of ways to apply chinking. This makes it ideal for giving a facelift to your home by brightening the appearance of old, dirty chinking or altering the color of existing chinking. There is no chinking between the logs, only a bead of caulk.
Our wisconsin log cabin restoration and log home repair experts can help assess any problems you may be facing with your beautiful wisconsin log home. Cement makes excellent chinking, but it is not a caulking compound to fill vertical gaps in trimwork so less care and skill are required when building a log home if we know gaps and holes from hastily done work will be covered over with goopchink. Chinking is perhaps the most critical part in constructing a log home. Permachink chink paint permachink chinking log home.
Sealant is intended for sealing joints and cracks between the beams of log houses, as well as for sealing other wooden structures. Horizontal cracks running along the exterior walls of a log home are known as. Sealing upward facing checks and cracks in log homes. Essentially, chinking a log home will ensure logs which dont fit together perfectly have a nice seal. Yesterdays mortarbased chinking compounds were inflexible and sometimes cracked as logs settled. The log home shoppe is an online extension of the woodworkers shoppes superior line of wood products and services. Chinking is clearly visible on the surface of the log walls and is both decorative and functional.
The bottom referred to is after the log is in place, so you need to have the future in mind. For checks that are about 14 and larger in width which are large enough to accept round backer rod, they can be effectively sealed with such products as log builder caulking, or, for a more textured appearance, log jam chinking. Chinking and caulking ask the log doctor questions answers. Log siding choose durable steel log siding log home siding. With faux log siding, chinking is functionally unnecessary but aesthetically desirable.
Carry on reading as we take you through the most effective guide to log home maintenance. Leaks, whether they are air or water leaks, are holes in the building what should be fixed. In other words, we have the knowhow to turn your ideas into your home. Whether its a new home or an antique, log homes need to be sealed and protected.
These log home sealants are stable through freeze thaw cycles, resistant to chemicals, salt spray, water vapor and mildew, are suitable for both interior. Lightly spray the chinking with the water and alcohol mixture, and use your finger to smooth the chinking into the crack between the logs. Learn how to use check mate 2 to seal checks and cracks in logs. Butch, and i moved to our very own log home on 40 acres in the southern oregon woods. While natural properties of wood vary by species, the complete log home system including sealants, chinking, etc. Whats involved in chinking your log home lets look at some common techniques and materials to use. It dries to form a tough, durable and decorative coating which effectively seals the space between the logs.
While delivering the appearance of traditional mortar, permachink chinking is formulated as a pure acrylic to deliver lasting durability and elasticity for your log home. Chinkpaint smooth is a highly elastomeric, nontextured, pure acrylic latex paint for renewing or changing the color of chinking. Log cabin chinking repair made easy mother earth news. A good chinking job will leave your log home sealed against the elements, pests and drafts while maintaining the desired appearance of the log home. Commercial waterproofing suppliers sale adjustable rollers that control your depth and lighting fast. Log home chinking weatherproof your log home by chinking or caulking to seal up gaps between the wood. Custom timber log homes is a familyowned and operated business, located just south of knoxville, tn.
Essentially, chinking a log home will ensure logs which dont fit together perfectly have a. Chesapeake by brewster echo lake lodge chinking chestnut wood panel. Chinking is the material that fills the gap between logs in a log home. The saddle notch, butt and pass, and dovetail or appalachian style will all have chinking. Unless they go through the entire log, they dont normally affect structurability. When restoring an older home, chinkpaint can save time and money by eliminating the need to mask off the chinking before staining.
Ideal sealant depth is 12 of the joint width, but no less than 14. The history of chinking weatherall, log home finishing. Weatherall triple stretch chinking is a uniquely formulated chinking manufactured specifically for use where exceptional elasticity is required, such as logs with greater moisture content, log or slab siding, log corners, or other dynamically moving log joints. It is always best to perform the following steps when sealing checks with caulking or chinking starting, of.
I recently built myself a log cabin from white oak. Chinking in the log home industry has come to mean an elastic sealing material that looks like the oldfashioned portland cementbased mortar in color andor texture, used to seal the joints between logs. It is susceptible to cracking as a result of freezethaw action. Log cabin maintenance you can do yourself caulking cracks in. These failures result in leaks and drafts around the log home, and another application of the lesser chinking material. As long as you use triple stretch log cabin chinking you wont have to be concerned with a leaky home again. Whether a home needs chinking depends on the log profile or building system you choose. We chink around each window and door, along gablesoffit lines, and around purlins and ridgepoles to completely seal each log home. One of those is chinking, the insulating substance placed between the logs. Chinking your log home log home store building supplies. The preservation and repair of historic log buildings.
Chinking in a traditional log cabin refers to the line of sealant used between the logs. Chinking is a flexible material used to fill gaps where logs dont meet completely. Heres a concise history of the chinking tradition, and some discussion of the best. Homemade chinking is the process of creating your own cementlike solution to fill in cracks in a log home. As the logs dry out, checks and cracks will appear. Log home chinking and caulking sealing log homes high. In days of old, virtually any material that could be found was used as chinking to fill the. Oakum or jute, has been used in log building for more than a hundred years and works well as a filler because it is pliable, a good insulator, resists decay, and repels insects and rodents.
As you weigh which of these products you need, be aware that the sealant you choose also must be compatible on a chemical level with the stain, preservative or other product you apply to your logs. Not all but a few of them mostly because they were not cut perfectly square. Trulog steel log siding incorporates the appearance of chinking lines in the design so that your. Published on august 20, 2014 log home chinking leroy walker so, its time for some chinking repair. This will allow for the elasticity to perform the way it should and eliminate cracking or pushing out. Log home chinking log cabin backer rod insulation tips. New checks will appear each year due to the nature of the logs. Lc5 log chinking is a highviscosity textured coating which has been specially formulated to serve as a chinking material to fill the spaces between the logs of a log home. All of our log home caulking and chinking products are formulated with premium acrylic latex. Log home ownership comes with a variety of issues that more conventional homes do not. How to remove outdated chinking if your log home is more than a decade or so old, chances are youll need to identify and replace outdated chinking the moment this material starts to lose its efficacy.
The log core will take you through a two part series. For more information on chinking and caulking your log home click here. The logs look brand new and the chinking has really made the homes exterior look inviting. This material makes it easy to complete the facelift process for your log home. Log jam, log builder, and permachink be sure to apply a bond breaker between the oakum and the caulking or chinking product. Chink paint smooth smooth latex paint for log chinking.
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