Posts Tagged ‘log home repair’

Log home repair – how to check for rot

Log home repair starts with knowing when you actually NEED repair. Here are some tips for discovering if you have rot in your logs that needs attention.

finish buildup

Notice the grayed log compared to the surrounding logs. Rot!

Tapping on the logs is a simple and effective method of discovery. It is not 100% accurate but it is definitely worth doing. Use a hammer and tap on logs that you suspect may have some rot. Are they darker or grayed compared to surrounding logs? Are there lots of checks or cracks in the log that make it look suspicious? Are there small holes in the logs, which may be an indicator of boring insects (a sign of carpenter ants or powderpost beetles. Find out more…)

problems with insectsIf the sound you hear when tapping these suspect areas sounds different than when you tap on logs that look “healthy”, it may be an indicator that there is rot. To really do a thorough check by tapping, it will require a ladder to get to higher areas. If this is not possible for you to do yourself, it is worth getting someone who is comfortable with heights to get up there and do it for you. Rot can take hold underneath windows and underneath decks so be sure to inspect these areas regularly.

Check the ends of the logs (crowns) and if there are lots of checks, pay special attention to them. Are there soft spots? Are there places where pieces of the wood have broken away from the log? If these crown ends extend beyond the drip line of the roof, they are particularly susceptible to rot.  Water from the roof can hit one crown and then drip or travel down the entire stack of crowns, causing serious damage.

Our log home repair services includes replacing rotten logs with partial logs or worse case scenario, replacing the full log in a given section.  Replacing crowns takes some experience and skill if you want the new crowns to blend in with the original ones. Learn more about how we replace rotten sections of  logs, whole logs, and crowns.

Related links:

Why do logs rot?
Log home repair
Replacing vertical logs
Give your log home a check up
Contact us

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Posted in Log Home Maintenance, Log Home Repair, Log Homes and Rot |
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Logs homes made with “cabin logs”

Notice the flat surface on the up-side of the log.

Some of the worst log rot we have seen over the years is on homes made from “cabin logs”. These are round logs that are flattened on the top and bottom to allow them to be stacked easily on top of one another. While this is one of the fastest and least costly ways to build a log home, it can also be a recipe for decay down the road.

After repairing rotten logs in a home with cabin logs we often recommend chinking the home to prevent rot in the future.

What happens is that when it rains, the water running down the wall is allowed to sit on these “shelves” that are created by a smaller diameter log sitting on top of a larger one. Over time rot can occur in the log and eventually this log will need to be replaced. After repairing rotten logs in a home with cabin logs we often recommend chinking the home to prevent rot in the future.

Click here to see an example of a project where we repaired rotten “cabin logs” and chinked the entire home.

Other relevant links:

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Posted in Common Problems, Log Home Repair, Log Home Restoration |
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Log homes and wood boring insects

Here is a related question from our previous posting.

Question: I need to get wood-boring beetles and carpenter bees stopped. No serious structural damage yet but the insect problem needs to be addressed. I am the original owner of the home. It was built in 1985 out of southern yellow pine. It was a kit supplied by Real Log Homes out of North Carolina. It was last cob-blasted, borated and sealed in 2004. Borate applied at that time did not stop insects. Need help to get insect damage stopped and house resealed.

Notice the honey combing that the ants do as they "excavate the rot". Until you get rid of the rot, you can't control the population of boring insects.

Answer: What we know about carpenter bees and powder post beetles is that they feed on decaying wood. Therefore, they often are a sign that the logs are retaining moisture and that there is some rot. Borate treatment is not a guarantee against these insects. It isn’t a pesticide but more of a treatment for the logs to raise the PH level of the wood to the point where the rot organism is impeded, and subsequently the bugs are less able to attack it. Click here for more information about insects in log homes.

Sometimes it works to squirt some concentrated borate solution (Bora-Care) into the holes themselves. Other times, it is necessary to get an exterminator in to knock back the population of the pests so you can get ahead of them. Click here for more information about borate treatments.

In this example, the rot was in the middle of the log and you can clearly see where they were attacking.

My first concern is that you may have some rot issues. I would be curious to know what type of finish you have on at this time. Some finishes build up a “shell” over time that does not allow the logs to breath. Moisture gets trapped between the logs and the finish and rot can take hold.

Another situation we have seen with pine logs is that sometimes they were cut when they were standing dead trees. These tend to rot from the middle out and the rot is not readily evident from the outside of the log until it has advanced. Click  here for a link to our site that talks about lodge pole pine cabins. I am not sure if this is the same type of log you have but this information may be helpful.

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Posted in Insects and Log Homes/Cabins, Questions and Answers |
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Holes in knots in logs

Question: There are holes just in the knots of our log home. Are these from a wood boring insect or are these commonplace in the knots with aging?

Telltale signs of wood boring insects.Answer: It’s hard to say for sure if the holes in your logs are from boring insects but it sounds like they are. Small (or big) holes in your logs are a sign that something is wrong. I would suggest that you tap around the logs near these holes and see if the they sound hollow. If they do, then I would suggest that you have your logs inspected for rot.

At the very least – I recommend injecting these holes with a mixture of borates. The one we recommend for homeowners is called Bora-Care and it is available at Do It Yourself Pest Control.  I hope this helps.

Other helpful links to our site:

We have a brief video showing the application of the borate treatment.

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Posted in Common Problems, Log Home Maintenance, Log Home Restoration, Questions and Answers |
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Covering up rotten logs – good or bad idea?

Question: I have a home where the floor beams rotted. I ground off as much of the rot as I could and then I treated them heavily with a borate solution. Next, I sprayed foam insulation over them to seal them off. Do I need to be concerned that they will continue to rot despite my efforts?

Answer: Rot is all about moisture. Sometimes when it comes to the practicalities of doing repairs like yours, one has to leave some rot.  The most important thing to its longevity is to keep that area as dry as possible.  So… it sounds like you are on the right track.  The only thing you might find is that some of the rotted areas could attract carpenter ants and/or powder post beetles.  The borate treatment you used might help this but if the wood boring insects get really annoying, then you need to have an exterminator come in and treat these areas as well.  Good luck.

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Posted in Common Problems, Insects and Log Homes/Cabins, Questions and Answers |
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Log Homes with Cantilevered Decks

Cantilevered log decks are a potential area for problems with rotten logs. We run into this type of deck a number of times each year. A cantilever deck is a deck that is supported by a log that sticks through a wall (on the outside) and supports a deck. These decks are usually located on the second floor of a log home and most times are small in size.

The problem is that most of the time, they are constructed with pine logs that are designed or allowed to stick right out beyond the roof line where they are exposed to the weather. They take on so much moisture that they become susceptible to rot.   When these logs begin to rot, it often happens very fast.

This one was built right. Notice the drip edging around the perimeter. These logs underneath see very little water. Built to last.

In our assessment, there are basically three options for the home owner:

1) The deck can be removed. This is an option but leaves you with the problem of what to do with a “door to nowhere”

2) The length of the extending logs can be shortened enough to get them inside the drip line. This means cutting them back typically between 12″ and 24″, which eliminates the rotted portion of log. Usually with this option, the railings can be modified and used again.

3) Convert the deck into a roof. To do this, we take off the railings and decking, make a new platform and create a flat roof.

Here are some related links that may be of interest:

Replacing rotten logs
Replacing perlins
Borate as a preservative

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Log home repair and WATER – what’s the connection?

In the simplest of terms – logs rot because of WATER! It seems like a simple concept but the solution to keep logs from getting too much moisture in them is anything but simple.

We spend a good deal of our time helping customers remedy problems they are having with rot that is directly caused by the fact that some of their logs have been allowed to stay too wet over time.

So what’s the big deal with too much moisture in the logs? In a word – ROT! The rot organism needs four ingredients to begin degrading wood.

It needs:

  1. Moisture content between 20% and 30% in the wood’s fiber. While this percentage varies from species to species, most wood will start to deteriorate at around 20% moisture.
  2. Temperatures between 60º and 90º. This is why most of the active rotting occurs during our hot, humid summers.
  3. Oxygen – rot needs it to get going. This is why wood that is underwater does not rot. There is not enough ‘free oxygen’ for the process to take place.
  4. A food source. This is what the rot organism eats – in this case the wood in your house.

Rot needs all these things to get established. If we can eliminate one of these ‘ingredients’ we can stop the rot process, which is easier said than done.

It is impossible to change the temperatures away from being 60-90° in the summer. As living organisms ourselves, we need oxygen too, just like rot. Rot eating wood is one of the laws of nature, so the only factor that we can control is the moisture content, i.e. WATER! (more…)

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Log home maintenance – Another story from on the road

Remembering George “Buzz” Geist

They say it is a small world. Well, the world of log homeowners is even smaller.  And the world of owners whose log homes have been revitalized by Edmunds and Company Log Home Restorations is smaller yet.  Back in 2007, Dave Geist and I were standing together on the banks of the Encampment River on the North Shore of Lake Superior, going over details of the job we were on.  Dave was the contractor overseeing the restoration we were doing in this historic compound of privately owned log cabins, nestled in the ancient rock formations and large trees near where the river empties into the lake.

Over the constant roar of the river, I heard Dave ask,

“We might have something in common.  Do you have a fellow named Blaise working for your company? I hear he is dating my pediatrician’s daughter.”
“Yes I do. Actually he is my oldest son. But doesn’t your children’s physician live in Northfield, MN? That’s a long way from here.”
“We live there in the winter. My wife teaches at St. Olaf College.”

That was a coincidence.  And that it should even come up in conversation was more unlikely. By the way, my son went on to marry that fine young woman, the daughter of the woman who is a pediatrician in Northfield. There was something else that I couldn’t put my finger on.  Dave’s last name seemed familiar.  When I mentioned the exchange to my boss, Matt Edmunds, he told me that Dave Geist was the son of a former client of ours, Buzz Geist.  Now this was another coincidence. (more…)

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Welcome to our Blog!

The purpose of this blog is to become a forum for information on log home ownership, and a place to discuss the restoration, care, and maintenance of log homes. I also hope it will become a place for the less practical — a place to tell stories about what these homes mean: our escape from the daily grind, a place where our families gather, a place that represents our country’s history. (more…)

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