Wood Renew™ - To pre-wet or not to pre-wet?

Fairly often we get questions about Wood Renew™ with reference to whether or not to wet the surface before application. First, I would refer to the label directions as to use and application. There is no mention of the need to wet the surface prior to application. However, there is mention of proper pre-mixing and allowing a bit of “dwell” time prior to application. This dwell time allows the thickeners to activate and aid in helping it to stay on the wall so it can do its work for better results.

Spring Cleaning! Steps to Prolong the Life of Your Log Home

Every Spring life begins anew. Flowers bloom, trees blossom, and the grass grows thick and green. And somehow we've decided the springtime is the perfect time to clean! Log homes have their own cycles of maintenance, slightly different than a stick-built home. We have found that in the springtime, it's an excellent time to get things ready for the summer and shake off the wet fall and winter. 

We will walk you through our recommended process for making sure your home keeps looking great for a long time. From cleaning, to inspection, to evaluating your log home's finish, we'll prepare you with a system that's easy to follow.

Looking At Refinishing Your Log Home?

One of the facts of life in preserving the beautiful look of natural logs is that they eventually need to be refinished. Conventional homes are repainted, log homes are restained, there is just a lot more to consider with the latter: Is the existing finish intact enough to simply restain? Do you want to restain in a different color? If there are water stains and you want a lighter color, what do you do?

Oftentimes, if the stain is aged or has water stains, returning the logs to a consistent natural appearance is necessary in the restaining process. But what options do you have for getting those logs back to their natural look before applying the stain?

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.