Log cabins... Maintenance???

6BangBronk

6BangBronk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2005
Location
Durham
@Jason W. and whoever else has one.

Your kick-ass random pic got me thinking.

They are the ultimate house period!!! But what about maintenance? Seems it would attract every bug within 100 miles? Have a buddy with one down on the Deep River that was supposed to spray the entire thing yearly with a chemical from the cabin dealer but his was built 15+ years ago. I would imagine nowdays they'd be a way to "treat" the logs beforehand?

What kind of log wood is the best to use?

I may be in the market for a small cabin kit and wondering. Figured it would make for some good conversation on a snowy day. I know hardly anything about them besides the fact I have many many hours under my belt as a kid playing with Lincoln logs...
 
Don't have one, but my aunt & uncle had one built 15-20 years ago and the garage added on ~5 years ago...biggest complaint they have is carpenter bees. At first my uncle would blast them with a revolver to get his revenge, but has graduated to carpenter bee traps and caulking/plugging their nests.
Untitled.jpg

My brother looked in to building one a couple years ago and found some special wood that was supposed to be better for building them, but they came from somewhere out west (Arizona or Nevada?). His plan fell apart after the land didn't perk so he stopped looking into it.
 
Most log cabin kits are going to be white pine or a pine. Don't get a wood from a different region than where it will be. It will cause the wood to check and split more than a wood from this area will. And all of them will. They make a borate product to persurve the logs and keep beetles and things like that from eating the wood but does nothing for carpenter bees. Not much but bee traps will do anything for them. If you want a clear stain on it plan on redoing it every 3-5 years. If you stay on top of it the house will look great forever. Let it get to far and it will never be able to be brought back to new, even with blasting all the old stain off. Sashco makes alot of stains for logs and probably are top of the line for logs.
 
read somewhere that folks use dry ice blasters to bring the exterior back to spiffy again. it was on the internet so it must be true.
 
Jus Jim said:
read somewhere that folks use dry ice blasters to bring the exterior back to spiffy again. it was on the internet so it must be true.
Click to expand...
Dry ice, corn media and of course sand. They all will remove the finish and we've used them all. Take a new log to the job and you can see a massive difference in color and stain doesn't seem to take as well after you blast all the old off
 
auploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20160121_f5bfce42cf3fee07506564b648b1ff23.jpg
top half has been blasted bottom half was what the stain looked like.
auploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20160121_ad4fc7e1489be0c1565e18d44e2b30a5.jpg
after old stain was cleaned off, this house was almost a solid red
auploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20160121_8aae46e79845415ebfaf4b26255a2470.jpg
cleaned on the left stained on the right.
auploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20160121_7de88c94098fdbcf0217fab97b1ff1ee.jpg
main entrance done
 
After a few years of plain privacy fencing maintenance I found out quick that you need to use a solid colored stain with PLENTY of base exactly like Jason W.'s for longest lasting.

To me cracks and splits really do nothing but add character if they defer away carpenter bees. I could deal with the cracks ALOT better than pesky bees after all the hard work. I'd go psycho during bee season.
 
I'd also say you need to decide on the style of log cabin you want before you start planning. Dove tail, D log, Canadian scribe fit, simulation chink joint, butt and pass
 
My parents purchased their kit from Southland Log Homes about 15 years ago. We help them pressure wash, caulk, & stain every 3-5 years & as previously mentioned, carpenter bees are a PITA. It started life as light honey stain but they recently opted for a darker finish to help preserve the wood.
FB_IMG_1453388838288-1.jpg FB_IMG_1453388825841.jpg
 
Since on this subject, what about insurance for a log cabin? I've heard several different responses and some were horrifying (as in no coverage at all).
 
jack and level maintenance is another HUGE concern
 
Thanks for the compliments on the house! Maintenance is really not that bad, believe it has been 10 yes since it's last staining with sikkens stain. I did the porch in solid stain last year.I am doing the house this spring.
We live on the north side of the mtn and it doesn't get really heavy sun and that helps.

As for pests that is easy, I spray the whole house with Bayer advance carpenter ant / termite 3 times a year, damn carpenter bees hate that stuff. The only. Carpenter bee holes we do have are in the side panels below the roof or porch overhang.they want nothing to do with the logs them selves.
 
As for log house living it is awesome, I still catch myself looking up and saying I can't believe I live here. We have had no settling problems and the power bills are no higher than any other home.

It is not a big house , 1100 sq ft, feels bigger because it is so open inside
 
Been living in a 2500 sq. ft. log house since 1992 and love it everyday. haven't had to do much cause I'm lazy that way. In need of staining right now. The wife has started doing it herself .
interesting thing that blasting the logs might look into that .
Carpenter bees suck but we generally just let them bee bees. plug their holes go about our buisiness.
 
IBC pretty much prohibits building traditional log houses. Can't meet the energy code requirements. Some states have exceptions, but NC does not as far as I know.
 
shawn said:
IBC pretty much prohibits building traditional log houses. Can't meet the energy code requirements. Some states have exceptions, but NC does not as far as I know.
Click to expand...
In haywood county they are allowing cabins to be build with a 12x12 log.... Haven't heard of a permit for one being pulled. We use to build 8x12 log dovetail. But each county at least up here is handling it differently.
 
Loganwayne said:
In haywood county they are allowing cabins to be build with a 12x12 log.... Haven't heard of a permit for one being pulled. We use to build 8x12 log dovetail. But each county at least up here is handling it differently.
Click to expand...

Required insulation R-value varies some depending on what county you're in. So that's part of it. The R-value of the log depends on the species and on the installation method, though. So I'm unsure how a blanket "12x12 is good" decree satisfies the code requirements. In any event, if you assume R-1 per inch, you're still short of the statutory minimum (R-15 in Haywood County), even after accounting for air film effects.
 
Back
Top