Log Home Maintenance, Done Properly, Done Regularly, Keeps Your Promise to Future Generations …
Log home maintenance is the cheapest insurance for the one place that brings your family together like nothing else. It’s the heart of family vacations, family history and memories.
Maintaining your log home properly keeps your log home in the family for future generations. Don’t let dry rot, failing or graying finishes, or unprotected logs destroy your log home treasure…
Give your log home a check up
Because of their very nature, log homes are usually in places that are tough on homes. And these homes can often go for months or even years without the regular care and visual inspection you give your city home.
So just like every pilot, you should run a ‘pre-flight’ check on your log home once or twice a year. Below is everything you need to give your log home a checkup…
Follow this link to download a free printable copy of the Log Home Check-Up Sheet
- Keep trees trimmed and away from the logs.
- Any leak you notice inside your house when it rains should be repaired.
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Water splashing off decks will rot your logs, especially the bottom logs. (See photo - to the right)
Improper flashing between decks and walls allows debris to collect, which holds moisture up against the logs and eventually can cause rot.
Click here for a PDF on the proper way to flash a deck to a wall.
Keep plants at least two feet away from the logs and be sure to remove debris.
As you can see from this photo, debris is being allowed to accumulate against the building and eventually this will cause the log to rot.
- Watch for water splashing off objects stored near your house.
- Eave troughs are necessary to keep logs dry - especially around roof valleys.
- Windows and dormers should have flashing around them to prevent leaks.
- No log should project beyond the edge of the roof.
(See photo - right)
- Re-stain your house when water will not bead up when sprayed on a log surface. How often you need to finish varies. Click here for more information on refinishing.
- Caulk around vents and pipes passing through logs.
- Any crown (corner) or purlin that extends beyond the drip line of the roof should be trimmed and refinished to help prevent rot. (see before and after photos - below)
- Make sure flashing between roof and logs is sufficient to keep the logs from getting excessively wet. (See before/after image below of proper log home flashing.)
- Follow this link to download a free printable drawing of the proper way to flash an upper log wall to a lower roof system..
Related Article
Preserve & Maintain Log Structures
Prepared by the Technical Committee of the Log Homes Council, Building Systems Councils, and the NAHB, this 14-page document is a must if you are contemplating designing, building, and living in a log structure. It compiles features and methods that will ensure the permanent quality of the log structure.
File download : Preservation of Log Structures.pdf
Some good advice: Keep a record of who did what and when to your house, including any blue prints and what types of preservative, stain, caulk, or chink were used. |