Log Home Restoration: On The Coast
- Recently Stripped
- Oil Finish
the topcoat does form a film, in this case, it helps keep the salt from accumulating on the upward facing side of the logs. In such a harsh enviorment, a topcoat will be applied every year for two or three years. Then, it will be inspected to determine if additional coats will be applied and at what intervals.
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Log Home Restoration: Another Cedar Garage Door
- Cedar Garage Door
This garage door had a linseed oil based stain. Between the sun and applying the stain to an improperly prepared surface, it turned black in a matter of a few months. Most likely, the door was cleaned with bleach and not rinsed well enough. Also, it probably was not neutralized. The homeowner thought the door was beyond repair. We were in the process of stripping it when this picture was taken. We did neutralize afterwards. Makes all the difference!
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Log Home Restoration: Mill Glaze and Mildew
Before Mildew Removal
This log home restoration was actually a newly constructed home left too long to the elements before sealing.
The disadvantage of waiting is obvious. However, a few things should be considered. First, newly constructed homes are often built with “green logs.” There is also a good chance they were recently milled. What this means to the homeowner is the wood is wet, tight grained and has “mill glaze.”
All three of these will prevent a sealer from properly penetrating and result in premature finish failure. Oftentimes this is unavoidable due to the manufacture’s building requirements or sometimes bank loan requirements.
Thats the bad news. The good news is, properly cleaning the logs will eliminate two of the problems. Time is the only way to solve the ”green”, wet log problem.
This log home was left to the elements for over a year. Mildew had covered most of the north side walls and the others had grayed out. In this situation a good cleaning will prepare the logs for sealing.
We used a solution of 12% chlorine/TSP solution applied with a sprayer starting from the bottom up. Always start at the bottom. If you start at the top and work down, you will end up with streaked logs that are hard to remove causing much unneeded work.
Once applied, it is allowed to dwell for a predetermined length of time. A light mist is applied to areas that begin to dry so as to keep the solution working. If it dries on the wood, you will have unwanted problems that could and should have been avoided.
Once the dwell time is met, a pressure washer is used to remove the mildew, mill glaze and dirt. It should be mentioned that the pressure washer is used more for water volume rather than water pressure. A pressure washer in untrained hands can do irreversible damage to wood. Under 1000 psi…. preferably 5oo to 600 is ideal. To give a comparison, the typical car was is around 1500.
Once the logs have been cleaned and rinsed, the job is NOT finished. I emphasize not because the next step is just as important as the cleaning but more often than not, it is overlooked or just plain ignored for financial reasons.
The next step is neutralizing the wood. I like to describe the reason for neutralizing as……if you have ever gotten bleach on your fingers and tried to rinse it off, you found it very slippery and hard to remove. The same is true when any kind of cleaner or stripper is used on wood. If caustic chemicals remain in the wood, it can and will react with the newly applied finish resulting in poor performance.
Copious amounts of water can be used to rinse the wood, but unless you test the wood with ph strips, you may or may not completely remove the entire chemical residue. When it is neutralized, it is very easily rinsed off using a small amount of water and you will be certain any chemical residue has successfully been removed.
As seen in the picture below, (the dark areas are wet wood from recent cleaning) the wood is clean and free of mildew, mill glaze and dirt. After the wood dries (to at least 18% moisture content) it is ready to accept the new finish.
After Mildew Removal
The neutralizing process is not hard. It does take more time, but the benefits far out weigh that and any associated costs. Moreover, if it will help the finish last longer, surely it is well worth it.
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Log Home Restoration: That’s the way you do it…
Log Home Restoration
The clear coat is always applied by brush. The guys working like a fine tuned machine start on one end, each with a section from top to bottom and five or six logs at a time with one continunious “wet edge” to eleminate lap marks. Once completed, they set up on another side and start over until the house is finished.
This particular top coat is a satin finish. With a light sheen rather than a gloss or semi-gloss, it adds protection without making the house look like it is made of plastic.
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Log Home Restoration: Short Video
In this video, Stripping Soffit must be done in such a way as not to push water up and into the corner of the wall. This is a chemical strip removing a clear sealer, or what was left of it.
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Log Home Restoration: Decks and Docks
Two tone deck, stairs and boathouse
1oo Steps!...finally finished!
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Log Home Restoration: Chemical Stripping
Log home restoration consists of many different procedures. Chemical stripping is one process of removing a failed sealer. Depending on the type, latex or oil, will determine the proper removal technique.
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Log Home Restoration: This Looks Worse Than It Really Is
This log home is 18 years old. It had one coat of a waterproofer put on soon after construction. Needless to say, that is long gone. The black mold is deep into the wood and the wood is very dried out with many checks. Log Home Restoration to the rescue!
Although the sealer has failed, we will do a light chrmical strip followed by a chlorine/TSP solution to remove the degraded wood and kill all the mildew and mold spores. After using a brightner to neturalize the wood, we will defelt the logs and finish the prep with a complete caulk. All window and door trim, corners, butt joints and log seams will be sealed for a weather tight log home.
Finally, A quailty oil finish will be applied by brush. Spraying is fine and has it’s place but, it should always be followed up with back brushing.
To keep this home from getting in this condition again, a maintenance program will be established for the homeowner.
I will post other photos as the job progresses. This will turn out nice when all is said and done although it looks hopeless now. Stay tuned!
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Log Home Restoration: What a Difference a Procedure Can Make!
After Stripping / After brightening
In this picture, on the left side shows the logs recently stripped. A typical oil stain was removed. Oftentimes after this step, some will go ahead an apply a new sealer on these logs without further preparation.
When using a semi-transparent sealer, any imperfection, stain or discoloration in the logs will be magnified when it is applied. So if a stain were to be put on top of this wood, it would not only look “washed out” but, it would not preform properly due to the stripper residue left on and in the wood.
On the right side of the picture, you can see how much better the logs look. This is what they should look like after they have been stripped and then neutralized. Neutralizing does a couple of things. It actually brightens the wood as is evident from the photo and it also neutralizes the stripping residue. Some think this is a waste of time and is not necsessary. If this procedure is not done, stripper will be left in the wood because it is impossible to rinse it all out. I describe it as trying to wash bleach off your fingers ( very slippery) . You can rinse and rinse, but it seems to still stay slippery. The same thing happens with the wood. You can not rinse all the stripper out. The only alternative is to…….Neutralize. Once it has been neutralized, rinsed and allowed to dry ( to at least an 18% moisture content or lower) the logs are then ready for the finish. It takes longer, cost more but…..but that is the proper process and it will last far longer than putting the finish on top of a log that has stripper residue still on it.
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Log Home Restoration: Restoring More Than Logs
Log Home Restoration is generally thought of as repairing or improving the interior and exterior logs and other woodwork of a log home. This can be as simple as cleaning the home and applying a fresh coat of stain or can be as complicated as performing major rot repair and log replacement. However, another aspect of log home restoration that is often overlooked or thought to be beyond restoration is the roof. Specifically asphalt shingled roofs.
Many log homes as well as conventional homes today with asphalt shingled roofs are streaked or completely covered with a brownish-black stain. Many homeowners think these stains are signs of a worn out roof that must be replaced. Oftentimes though, depending on the age of the roof, a good cleaning is all that is needed.
Log Home Restoration is generally thought of as repairing or improving the interior and exterior logs and other woodwork of a log home. This can be as simple as cleaning the home and applying a fresh coat of stain or can be as complicated as performing major rot repair and log replacement. However, another aspect of log home restoration that is often overlooked or thought to be beyond restoration is the roof. Specifically asphalt shingled roofs.
Many log homes as well as conventional homes today with asphalt shingled roofs are streaked or completely covered with a brownish-black stain. Many homeowners think these stains are signs of a worn out roof that must be replaced. Oftentimes though, depending on the age of the roof, a good cleaning is all that is needed.
In the southeastern United States with the warm temperatures and high humidity, there is a growing problem with algae on roofs and particularly asphalt/fiberglass shingled roofs.
This algae is known as Gloeocapsa Magma which is identified by the brownish black stains. Usually it is noticed on the north side of the house first (where there is the least sun and the most moisture) and then spreads to other areas over time. In such a warm and moist climate, the only thing the algae needs is a food source to grow and spread. One food source is readily available in the form of limestone. Limestone is used as filler in the shingles.
With the ever increasing cost of petroleum used to manufacture asphalt shingles, companies needed to find a more economic way to produce the shingle so they introduced fiberglass. This reduced the asphalt, and made the shingle much stronger, but it also made the shingle much lighter in weight. Therefore shingle manufactures started adding a relatively cheap crushed limestone mixture to the asphalt shingle mainly as a filler. However, this created an entirely new problem. A food source for Gloeocapsa Magma.
So, is this algae a problem or just an eyesore? In the early stages, Goleocapsa Magma is more of an eyesore, but as it grows, it can become a significant problem.
Gloeocapsa Magma in some cases left untreated can become a health issue to some people with chronic breathing and allergy problems.
It also inhibits the shingle’s ability to reflect the UV rays of the sun. This in turn causes excessive heat build up in the attic which not only causes higher cooling costs, but also increases premature deterioration of the shingles. Another problem if let untreated, the algae buildup acts as a bed for leaves, dirt and pollen to collect creating a home for mold and mildew as well as having the ability to cause water to “dam” up under the shingles causing leaks. So it can be both an eyesore and a significant problem.
The best advice is to have it removed by a professional roof cleaning contractor when it becomes unsightly. The longer it stays on the roof and the more it spreads, the more likely there will be problems and it will only cost more to remove it.
There are a few different ways to remove the algae, but according to ARMA, (American Roofing Manufactures Association) a chlorine solution applied lightly, (meaning no pressure washing) and properly rinsed is the recommended and proper way. The other most commonly used methods are pressure washing and using Sodium Hydroxide. Pressure washing can easily remove the granules from the shingles as well as actually cut into the shingle. Sodium Hydroxde is a caustic degreaser often found in dish washing detergent and oven cleaner. Applied to an asphalt shingle, it can dilute the asphalt pigment resulting in loose granules and thin spots or holes in the shingles. I would not recommend Sodium Hydroxide.
Removing Goleocapsa Magma from your log home is a good idea, but only if it is done properly. The homeowner should have a reputable log home restoration contractor inspect the roof to determine if it is this particular algae and if the shingles are in good enough condition to be cleaned. Older shingles may actually need to be replaced. A reputable contractor should tell you if that is the case. Be careful who you call. It is very easy to have someone with their own interest in making a dollar tell you what they want you to know so to benefit themselves more than to benefit you.
Log home restoration is really not complete if you are standing back admiring the beautiful new finish of your home and all you can see is ugly black streaks and stains all over the roof. So, restoring more than just the logs may be a good idea!
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