Perma-Chink Systems, Inc
Log & Timber Home Care Experts
Q: How do I know what color the stain will be on my house?
A: Transparent stains develop color differently, depending primarily upon the wood species, the surface preparation, the application method and the kind of light illuminating it. Even photos can be edited in a way that alters the true color. The only way you will really know how the stain will look is to try it on your wood. We provide complimentary samples of LIFELINE for you to try on your own wood before purchasing product.
Q: Where do I use LIFELINE Acrylic clear finish on log homes?
A: Acrylic Gloss or Satin is an interior furniture-grade finish. Use it on log walls, ceilings, or any other vertical wood surface. Unlike the solvent-based finishes, it will never yellow and has no fumes. You can apply the clear finish by multiple methods - spray it, brush it, or wipe it on with a rag. It is available in Gloss or Satin sheen.
Looking For Stain and Sealant In One?
Perma-Chink Systems® has extended our log and timber home finish options for our customers with Log and Timber Defense™. Unlike our traditional LIFELINE wood finishes, Log and Timber Defense penetrates wood much like an oil coating. Once Log and Timber Defense penetrates the wood surface, it forms a strong lattice network within the wood, reinforcing and strengthening the entire system from the inside out. This mechanism greatly reduces the chances of peeling and flaking by leaving the system breathable to water vapor. Many traditional oil-based finishes can also form a network, but are often so high in solids that they can easily blister and peel. Vapor pressure builds up behind the thick, unbreathable solid film and pushes the film away from the wood. This leads to an unfortunate situation requiring removal of the compromised coating down to bare wood.
Honeybee after honeybee painted on buildings around the world -- each one is handcrafted by artist Matthew Willey, founder of the Good of the Hive.https://www.thegoodofthehive.com/
Photo Anna Walker/Courtesy The Good of the Hive
Painter Matt Willey is creating a mural at the Rifle Branch Library. The project will include events every Sunday through Sept. 9 — the scheduled day for mural completion.
Honeybees within the hive ‘think’ collectively. They are hard-wired to understand that their immune system is collective. Their health is based on the health of the hive, not the individual bee. A personal experience with a honeybee in 2008 sparked a paradigm shift for Matt Willey. He realized that human and planetary health are collective, although we rarely act like it. COVID was a reminder that we are truly all connected more deeply than we realize. The global hive Matt is painting is a metaphor for the connectedness of all things. Bees are a symbol for humans, trees, animals, pollinators, water, soil and everything in between…
What Do I Use on the Interior of My Logs and Timbers?
The inside is where you do most of your living. As such, it’s important to take time to select the right interior stains and finishes for your log and timber home. In this way, you will achieve an interior that is visually pleasing and performs well for years.
Sunlight offers life to Earth, yet also be one of the most damaging objects in our world. While we relish the warmth from the sun and we love the summertime fun, the sun’s ultraviolet rays damage any surface that isn’t protected. For humans, we get protection from clothing and sunscreen. But for your log home, what does it get? What can be done to lessen weathering brought on by UV light?
Given enough time, the sun and environment will eventually wear down any exterior finish whether it is latex paint, oil-based stain, or a semi-transparent finish. The goal is to prolong the life of the wood as long as possible through a combination of home design and protective log finishes.
Beauty is a Duty.
Your log home manufacturer built you a beautiful home. Now it is your duty to finish it with the best log home products to highlight and preserve that beauty. Let Perma-Chink Systems offer you the world-class stain and finish brand: Lifeline Ultra.
Simply Unmatched.
The benefits of Lifeline Ultra are endless, but here are some points that differentiate the Lifeline brand from others.
CHEMIST'S CORNER: Can All Wood Species Be Prepared the Same Way, Using the Same Cleaning Products?
The obvious answer to this question is NO. Although all wood species contain many of the same components - including cellulose and hemicellulose and minor amounts of extraneous materials - it is the wood extractives that differentiate wood species from one another. That's why we developed Cedar Wash.
This Custom Luxury Timber Home Is Draped In Perma-Chink Systems Ultra-7 And Advance Satin
This extraordinary custom timber frame home was designed by Jan Donelson with Timberland Design and Hearthstone Homes, in TN. Hearthstone Homes feature an unmatched ability to create any imaginable style of custom, luxury, handcrafted Heavy-Timber or Log-Based Home. Timber framing is a noble type of construction that utilizes exacting variations of mortise-and-tenon type joinery and massive timbers to form the framework of a building. Note Hearthstone's signature 'antique weathered' texturing on the Doug Fir Timbers
Built By Alpine Log Homes - Protected By Perma-Chink Systems
A 21-year-old treasure
Those of us that have been in the industry for 20 or more years will remember. Alpine Log Homes was one of the industry leaders in the design and build of handcrafted log homes. For example, this beautiful home in the mountains of Glenwood Springs, Colorado was built by Alpine Log Homes 21 years ago. I know you would prefer to see a photo with Spring flowers and green leaves by now, but it is a reality of the Colorado mountains have snow in April! Yes, the photo above was taken in early April of 2023. Indeed, the winters in the Colorado mountains can be long and present extreme conditions for any home. But it is not just the winter months that pose challenges to log homes. This log home experiences on average 12+ feet of snow a year but it also sees on average 320 days of sunshine a year, which presents extreme UV conditions being located at an altitude of 8,100 feet.
However, twenty years ago in 2003 the exterior of this home was stained with Lifeline Ultra-2 Bronze and Advance Gloss topcoat. Two coats Ultra-2, one coat Advance and with little maintenance done since this home looks as great as it did the year it was first stained. What a great testimony to Lifeline stains and finishes. This beautiful finish has weathered the environment for over 20 years!
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Perma-Chink Systems History Over 40 Years
The Beginning
In 1980 my neighbor told me about building a log home in Eastern Washington. He said that he loved the home and the lifestyle but was disappointed that with the wind constantly blowing and harsh cold winters, there was no real effective way to seal the gaps between the logs. The house leaked air and heat, and wind-driven rain literally came right through the walls.
He tried various caulking materials with little success. Caulking around a bathtub or sink was significantly different from ‘caulking’ literally miles of seams between logs in a log house. After a number of conversations and experiments, it became apparent that there was no readily available product that could seal the gaps, look like authentic chinking, and last more than a few months.
After literally months of trial and error, it became apparent that if we were going to design a material that would be acceptable, we would have to design it ourselves.