Although we are a long way from the “dog days” of summer – sitting out on beautiful decks, watching a loon swim by or a whitetail deer off in the woods – it’s never too early to read up on log home tips. At this time of year, snow and ice is piling up on our decks, making it easy to forget about those summer days.
In going through a few photos from the past season, I came across these two pictures that made me think about decks on log homes and cabins. Correctly attaching decks to logs is important so both the deck and, more importantly, the log home, stay in good shape.
Every year, we see log homes with deck-related problems. Almost all of these problems could have been avoided by correctly attacking decks to logs.
Decks create a flat surface at the bottom of the log wall. This is often the cause of what we call “splash back” problems, which is when water from the roof falls onto the deck and splashes back onto the logs. Over time, this additional moisture exposure can cause the logs to rot.
What to do? If you are adding a deck, design it so it attaches to the wall below the bottom-most log. This will give the water somewhere to go besides your logs.
If your deck is already attached to one of the bottom logs and it is impractical to modify it, consider one of the following solutions:
• Install rain gutters above the deck to reduce the amount of water splashing on the deck.
• Cut flashing into the logs to keep water off the logs.
As winter continues, it is a good time to consider this and other aspects of log home care. Be prepared in the coming year to address “deck splash back” or other issues of log decay on your home.
Below are some helpful links to more information on log rot caused by water splashing off decks onto logs:
