Maine cabin built in the 50’s. Has not been maintained in the 7 years we have owned it, and likely 10 more. We are planning to media blast and stain.
One stain quote suggests water-based Permachink Ultra 7 stain. Another suggested the use of oil-based PPG Proluxe. The quotes are similar.
Does anyone have pros and cons of these products and/or experience with both?
Deck is built right up against the log, no gutters and bad splashing. Probably a rotten mess behind the ledger. Lots of deep cracks, mainly in areas that get wet and then bake in the afternoon sun. Some log ends dry rotted, or straight up soggy.
Never managed a log home before, need advice on trusted resources, methods for maintenance and favored products, common mistakes, etc.
This home is my long-term plan, it’s on 30 acres and I have so many other projects I want to do. Just want to make sure my house is maintained and set to last, even if the quick answer is to tear the porch off and re-assess when I don’t have another priority project.
I’m in northern NJ and planning to build a few small log cabins, around 8x12, using 4x6 pine or hemlock that I’ll mill myself. I’m pretty set on using dovetail corners and stacking the logs tight with no gaps.
I also plan on chamfering the edges. I saw a guy on YouTube add a small drip kerf on the underside of the outside edge with a shallow circular saw pass to help keep water from getting pulled into the joint.
Curious if anyone here has done something similar.
My biggest question is shrinkage/settling since I’ll likely be building with green lumber. How do you guys handle doors and windows so the logs can shrink without causing problems? And if the logs are stacked tight, is there anything I should be doing between courses?
Some of these may eventually become small saunas, but right now I’m mostly trying to get the log construction right. Would appreciate any advice or photos from anyone who’s built this way.
I am replacing a deck on my log house. The deck sits over a walk out basement that has this log siding covering it. I cannot determine what was used to finish it and thus what I should use to match it. Any ideas? Thanks!
Hi all,
We just bought our first house in Ontario, Canada. It’s not full log construction, it’s tongue and groove log siding, but everything I’m reading says to treat it the same way from a maintenance standpoint.
Talked to a few neighbours and the consensus is the exterior hasn’t been treated in roughly 8 years, and looks like the old owners slapped some sherwin williams deck stain on it.
There are also a handful of rot spots that need dealing with (photos below).
I’ve gone down the research rabbit hole pretty hard and landed on the PermaChink product line.I was hoping for some gut checks from people who know what’s up.
Rot repair first:
dig out all the rotten/punky material, let it dry out
treat the cavity and surrounding wood with borate
LiquidWood into the exposed area
fill and shape with WoodEpox
caulk the checks
Prep and finish:
scrape off the sap runs with a paint scraper (there is a lot of sap spots right now)
chemical strip with StripIt, then pressure wash
spray Lifeline Ultra 7, back brush
spray Lifeline Advanced clear topcoat, back brush
log end seal
Questions:
Does this sound right? Anything I should adjust?
Should the rot repair happen before or after stripping and washing? My instinct says strip and wash first so I’m not blasting fresh epoxy with a pressure washer and stripper, but then I’m leaving open rot to soak. Curious what order people actually work in.
Appreciate any input
I've just bought a log cabin from Timber Sheds and I'm undecided on the finish. What treatments and colours have people used that have lasted well over the years?