Log Home Maintenance Part 1
Roposted from September 2007
Ok, this is the time of year you should be thinking about sealing up the outside of your log home to keep things cozy for the winter. Here are three huge differences between your log home and the neighbors' siding-clad white and beige homes stretching down the street (other than the fact that your log home has much more character!). The exterior of your log home needs to be protected from the elements, from air penetration, and from insect infestation. With a little work, these issues won't get out of hand. In this article, let's address our first point of getting a quality exterior grade finish on the wood to repel water and look great.
Issue #1: The Finish
There are many companies that offer exterior finishes that they claim have been engineered specifically for log homes. Beware very careful when selecting an exterior finish. Some stains and sealers are not sufficient for protecting your logs from water, wind, and UV rays, and they may wear off very quickly (within a few years). After staining your entire log home, the last thing you'll want to have to do is start the process all over within two or three years! There are products that do very well, getting you about 5 or 6 years between coats. Of course, the sides of your house that are more exposed to wind, driving water, and sunlight may need attention sooner than the more protected sides.
Some log home finish products can make your house look dirty and dingy, especially finishes that do not harden beyond a sticky, tacky finish. Because of the tacky finish, wind-blown dust and dirt stick to the finish and soon you'll have a filthy stack of logs. That makes periodic reapplication of the finish much more difficult because of the extra effort needed to make the logs look presentable before glopping more goop over them. Manufacturers of these finishes claim the products have 'more solids added to them' to aid in water repellency, but some of them still have difficulty shedding water after time.
I have tried a few different products and in my experience, I am most satisfied with Sikkens Cetol Log and Siding finish. It hardens to a slightly glossy sheen and allows the beauty of the wood to show through perfectly, and has a few different tints available to lighten or darken the logs to your liking. I've just applied this product in recent years and I'm very happy with it, in comparison to the finishes I took off before using the Sikkens. Oh, by the way, don't get discouraged if you aren't satisfied with a finish you've already applied and you want to try something different. There's a product call Stripex-L that will remove your old finish easily and cleanly. I painted it on and did some light scrubbing (nothing seriously muscle aching) and the old finish rinsed right off with water, making way for two very good looking coats of Sikkens clear coat.
So, your tastes and mileage may vary. This article identifies my own experiences, and other people may have excellent luck with the products I've removed. Feel free to try your own. A great tactic is to use a scrap piece of log that may have been left over from your construction to test your final result. Oh, speaking of which, if you have a house built from solid logs through the first story but have thin log siding up top in the gable ends, be aware that finishes may apply to the different surfaces differently, causing some color mismatches. Again, the Sikkens Cetol I used did not have this problem, whereas the other products I tried did.
Coming soon, our articles about Log Home sealer and how to keep the hungry bugs away. Keep up to date by subscribing to our blog as well!
Until next time,
Ron
