Log Home Restoration: Removing Latex Paint

This Log Home Restoration required media  blasting  removal of a fairly new coat of solid latex paint. The “hot pink” had to go!  Being a fresh coat, it was harder to remove than a finish several years old.  Crushed glass was used to “cut ” the thick coat.

 

 

 

 

 

After a chlorine wash to kill any mold and mildew, a coarse sanding will smooth the rough profile caused by the media blasting. Only a light sanding with coarse paper is required. Sanding too smooth will prevent a penetrating stain from absorbing properly.

Log Home Restoration: Proper Caulking

Log Home Restoration often requires repairing failing caulk. As seen in this picture, the caulking has separated. Usually this is caused by not using “backer rod” in the joint before applying the caulk. Backer rod acts as a filler to keep from filling the entire check (or crack) with caulking. But it’s main purpose is to keep the caulking from adhering to the back of the check.

 

The caulking needs only to adhere to the top and bottom of the check. In this way it has the ability to streach in two directions, up and down. If the caulk is adhered to the top, bottom and the back of the check, the elongation is greatly demished causing the caulk to tear loose and fail.                                                                                                  

In this picture, the backer rod has been installed, the caulking applied and properly tooled into the check joint. Neat and clean joints make it easy to stain and blend the caulk into the wood. This properly applied caulking will last for several years to come. But…log homes require constant inspections to keep up with new checks as well as older checks that may need to be recaulked. If inspections are preformed bi-anually and caulking issuses addressed early on, the maintenance can be kept at a manageable level. If you wait too long, maintenance issuses can become overwhelming making your log home a burden rather than an exciting log home experence.     

 Make a maintenance “checklist” and and use it. Make notes of anything unusual and keep an eye on it. The next time you do your inspection go back and check to see if anything has changed or gotten worse. Make repairs as needed and don’t put it off. It don’t take long for insects or wood rot to do major damage. It is much eaiser to make repairs early on than to wait until a log has to be replaced.

Log Home Restoration: Interior Media Blasting

On our You Tube channel are two new media blasting videos of  the interior of a newly constructed log home. The logs were left unprotected  for two years before they were finally erected. Weathered wood, clay and mildew had to be removed so we did a light media blast to remove a minute layer of wood from the logs. We then sanded with #40 grit sand paper to smooth the profile. Finally, two interior finish coats were applied by brush. Check them out at: www.youtube.com/taskmasters3