Perma-Chink Systems, Inc
Log & Timber Home Care Experts
Sealers
“What product should I use to seal my log home?” is a question often put to us by prospective customers. Why do so many people refer to “sealing” a log home rather than staining or finishing? Few people talk about sealing siding or trim on a stick built home. They are either stained or painted, yet sealing is the term used by many log home owners. As it relates to log homes, the term “sealing” dates back to the early 1900s. Prior to then, most log homes were constructed using heartwood from old growth timber and left bare.
For the best performance and long lasting beauty, Lifeline™ finishes should only be applied to bare wood surfaces or an existing Lifeline finish that is still in good condition. To remove an existing finish, there are basically three options: pressure washing along with a chemical finish remover, media blasting, or sanding.
One key for keeping your log home in tip-top condition is to take an hour or so a couple of times a year to inspect the exterior of your home for any signs of potential problems. Remember that a bit of maintenance and small, inexpensive repairs now can prevent expensive repairs later.
Let us assume that you have a brand new log home, or a home that has had an old finish recently removed. The bare wood is nice and bright, and the color is exactly what you always envisioned for your log home. What's wrong with applying one or two coats of some type of clear sealer to hold the color of the wood and protect your logs from rain, snow, and ultraviolet (UV) light damage?
All of our stains and sealants are water-based, and while they are still wet, most clean up quite easily with just soap and water. That’s usually the best method to use for cleaning our wet, uncured products off of windows, gutters, downspouts, and other smooth surfaces, but there are occasions when other clean-up techniques should be used to remove some of our textured sealants from wood surfaces.
Do you need to remove any caulk that’s already in place before applying Energy Seal™, Woodsman™, or Check Mate 2®? Applying new sealant over old caulking is never a good idea, even if it looks like the old caulk is still sticking to the wood. The old caulk should be removed for several reasons.
As hot weather approaches, we begin receiving calls about resin bleeding out of logs, and what can be done to stop it. Some people call it sap, or pitch, or resin, but it’s all the same, and short of replacing the log or logs that are bleeding, there is nothing anyone can do to stop it from occurring.
“Which of your products should I use to seal my log home?” is a question often put to us by prospective customers. Why do so many people refer to “sealing” a log home rather than staining or finishing? Nobody talks about sealing siding or trim on a stick built home. They are either stained or painted, yet sealing is the term used by many log home owners. As it relates to log homes the term “sealing” dates back to the early 1900s. Prior to then, most log homes were constructed using heartwood from old growth timber and left bare.
Since heartwood is resistant to insect and decay infestations, and the people who built log homes knew better than to not include porches or leave log ends sticking out beyond the roof line, the best thing for them to do was to leave the logs bare but keep them dry. That’s why so many of them survive to this day.
Sealers
Log siding presents much more of a sealing challenge than stacked logs for several reasons. As stacked logs season and shrink, they settle on top of each other. If there are sealed gaps between the logs, the width of the gaps between the logs may remain fairly uniform as the logs settle. On the other hand, log siding is nailed or screwed into dimensional lumber which holds the siding in place. As shrinkage occurs, the gaps between the courses can become wider and wider (see pictures below). In addition, if the siding is not properly attached to the wall, it can twist and warp, creating even larger gaps between the courses.
“Never attempt to strip or clean a section of a wall without applying whatever you are using to the entire wall.”
For years this phrase was the key for obtaining a uniform surface in preparation for applying a transparent stain. In many cases, this phrase is still valid but with the introduction of some of the newer technology products and better methods of application, occasional spot cleaning and stripping can be accomplished without creating a problem.