We thought you might be interested in seeing an in-depth look at low home repair in the Twin Cities and Northwest Wisconsin areas. In the last month, we have looked at two log homes that have had bowed walls. Each was a little different.
Both homes we repaired had bulging log walls.
The first log home was in the Twin Cities area. It is a 25-year-old “turned” log home in White Bear Lake. A “turned” log home is one where all the logs have been turned on a lathe to the same diameter. It is unclear exactly when this bulge in the log wall occurred, but it is certainly related to the large open roof plan in the great room/kitchen. The combination of relatively small diameter logs, short pieces of log, and the “pushing out” effect of the rafter system made for a situation where this type of warping can happen.
This picture is of a log cabin in northwest Wisconsin near South Range. It is a 35-year-old Aspen log home with a framed second full story. This makes for a bit of weight on this log wall.
My suspicion is that the log wall was just a bit taller than the rest of the walls when it was built. As the logs shrank, the weight of the floor above placed significant pressure on the logs between these two windows. The logs bowed out in response.
These are just two of the interesting and challenging types of repairs we encounter each season. In the coming months, we hope to repair both of these homes. This should minimize the bowing and stabilize the logs.
We fix many types of log home problems. Look for updates on these two log home restoration and repair projects in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We repair log homes all over Minnesota and Wisconsin! Call 715-373-5744 or contact us
