Caulking And Four Other Important Log Home Maintenance Tips

If you are the proud owner of a log cabin or a log home, you are probably aware that it is not maintenance free. Log homes like other types of homes require regularly scheduled maintenance to protect it from the abuses of the elements. If you would like for your log home to survive being battered by the water, wind, and sun as well as last for many generations, it is important to take a consistent approach to maintenance.

Here are five important log home maintenance tips to keep you ahead.

1.    Perform an Annual Log Home Inspection

The best time to perform the annual log home inspection is in the spring because any issues that are discovered can be easily corrected during the warm weather. The annual review can be relatively straightforward since all it takes for you to walk around outside your log house and examine the condition of your log walls carefully. It is also important to inspect the log to window connections to ensure that they are tight.

2.    Identify The Vulnerable Areas

It is important to pay particular attention to areas susceptible to water damage. Sensitive areas include the logs set just above deck, or close to the ground, or stairway areas. These are areas that easily become wet and remain that way for extended periods. Water damaged logs are usually discolored compared to other wall logs. Other important areas to pay close attention to include logs around shrubs, bulkheads, and porches. Simply put, any logs that are exposed to water splash should be inspected then protected.

3.    Plant Cautiously

Trees and shrubs that are allowed to grow too close to your log home can pose long-term problems. While such plants do offer protection from the sun, they also lead to problems with moisture. Plants that grow too close to your log home trap moisture, which can lead to mold and mildew problems. They can also prevent proper air circulation, which is needed for the logs to remain dry. It is due to this reason that you all plants should be at least 18 inches from the outer walls of your log home.

4.    Stain On Demand

To determine whether your log home requires re-staining, you should spray the exterior walls with water from a garden hose. You should check whether water beads up on the walls. If it does, it means that the existing stain is still offering protection and keeping the logs dry. If you find that the logs absorb the water, the existing stain is no longer providing sufficient protection, and it is time to reapply the stain.

It is not uncommon to find that the stain condition is not identical on all the sides of your house. West and South facing walls are likely to get more sun and typically require more regular maintenance than those that face East and North. Walls protected by covered porches are naturally sheltered and thus require less maintenance.

5.    Caulking

While performing the inspection it is important to watch out for checks in the logs. Checks are the openings that run horizontally along the grain of the wood. Log checks should not be the cause for alarm since they are a natural part of the drying process. However, large checks on the upward curve of the logs should be maintained.

Maintaining checks in log walls involves filling them using log home caulking. Before caulking, you can place backer rod into the check to improve the adhesion of caulk. Backer rod is a type of closed cell foam material sold in a variety of thicknesses. Since it is cheaper than caulk, placing foam into the check first helps to reduce the amount of caulking required to fill them. If you discover any insect holes during your inspection, you should treat them and caulk them too.

Final Thoughts

Preventative maintenance of your log home will save you money and time in the long run. It is always preferable to deal with issues while they are still minor before they grow into bigger and costlier problems. The corrective measures required for a poorly maintained home can be quite costly. Follow the log home maintenance tips discussed here and your log home will serve you for a very long time.

Building Modular Log Homes

Log homes have been the home of choice for Americans for hundreds of years. In the past, log homes were built by cutting down trees and asking your friends and family to help you build a home. These log homes usually had only one room and had a dirt floor.

Over time, log home construction changed as the demand for homes with numerous rooms and amenities grew. Log homes became more complicated, and craftsmen began specializing in building log homes. When this occurred, the price of a log home increased significantly. In response to the demand of affordable log homes, manufacturers began offering log home kits. A manufacturer of a log home kit cuts all the logs that are needed to build a log home in a factory and delivers the logs to the home site. Then, the log home is built according to the specifications of the manufacturer. These kits do not include the wiring, plumbing, interior walls, etc.

A modular log home is built within a state of the art manufacturing facility. The benefit to this type of log home is that none of the materials are exposed to the elements while the house is being built. The logs used in the construction of a modular log cabin are kiln dried, and the moisture content of the logs are monitored during the building process. Each aspect of the development process is done using skilled craftsmen. Everything, including the plumbing, wiring, and appliances, is in place when the home leaves the manufacturing facility.

Because the modular log home is built indoor, there is no delay in construction time due to weather delays. Once you choose your log home design, it can be completed in a matter of months instead of a year or longer.

If you are interested in learning more about modular log home, call us today to speak to one of our knowledgeable representatives. They will be able to answer all of your questions. Furthermore, you can even visit our facility to see your dream home being built.