There are many different companies on the Internet selling “stuff” to fix problems with rot in log homes. These include borate rods, liquid treatments and epoxy fillers.  If you’ve found this blog post, you have likely seen a few of these sites.  One of the most common log rot repair products out there is generically called “epoxy fillers”.  Basically this type of product is advertised as something one would use to fill holes where rot has happened.

Over the years, we at Edmunds & Company have worked on a number of buildings that have had epoxy “repairs” done on the logs in the past. We have seen that this type of repair does not last and at worst, it can cause further rot.

This is what is wrong with epoxy: Let’s start with the basic fact that epoxy is not wood.  Epoxy expands and contracts at a different rate than wood does. Here in lies the problem.  A few years after the epoxy patch is done, the wood surrounding the patch loosens and cracks appear around the epoxy.  When this happens, water is allowed to make its way into these cracks. Once the water finds its way in, the rot continues.  (See Why Do Logs Rot) (more…)