14) Q: How much maintenance can we anticipate with our new log home?
A: To protect your new log home right away and for all the years to come, a stain or preservative needs to be applied to the exterior of your home. There are many different products available today, and we are happy to discuss all of the available products with you.
We build with green logs – this means they are cut; debarked, air dried up to one year, and then used for building. Because the trees have moisture in them a preservative that breathes (don't trap in moisture) must be used to protect the wood. Polyurethane; sanding sealers, etc. cannot be used on ‘green’ trees. If logs have a sealer applied to them, they can grow mold, mildew, and can turn white, green or black under the sealer. If this were to happen, the sealer will need to be removed, the logs will need to be cleaned, and an application of preservative will need to be applied. By applying the proper preservative right away we can eliminate excess cost and time and heartache with respect to the exterior and interior of your home.
Each preservative on the market states a different timeline for re-application of its product. Typically you can expect to re-apply a coat of stain the first year of your home, four years later, then about every 6 –7 years after that. You must use a pigment in the preservative to protect your home from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, which can damage your home and will turn the logs gray and black. The longevity of the stain will depend on the product you choose to apply to your home, and whether your home has full direct sun all day or if your home is shaded. If there is shade or some protection from direct sunlight and weather extremes your home’s stain will last longer.
The interior logs of your home will only need staining once. Some homeowner’s have applied oils; preservatives and some have left them bare. Applying a preservative to the interior of your home will also give it a more finished look and feel, and can protect it from spills penetrating and staining the wood.
The only other maintenance that may be needed is with screw jacks on exterior and interior log posts that have them. Screw jacks are set under a log post that is made out of metal with a plate on top, rerod, and a bottom plate with a large adjustable nut. Screw jacks need to be adjusted monthly during the fall and winter months for the first two years, or until settling of your log home is completed. We will go over this with you at your home as to how to adjust screw jacks, and how to keep track of the settling of your home. Typically each posted log with a screw jack needs to be lowered ¼ to ½ turn with a wrench each month. If you are not comfortable with this, we can come out and assist you the first time – you will not hurt your home by lowering the jack – but it can cause problems to your home if you do not lower the screw jacks. We would rather come out if you forgot to lower them for three months, than for one to two years – so please call if you have any questions/concerns about the screw jacks. You should consider this as preventative maintenance. We can also set up a scheduled maintenance check where we will be in charge of keeping track and making adjustments for the settling.
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