Mark just sent me an email asking about chinking, insulation, borates and preservatives for a log barn project he is working on.
Mark writes:
I have an old log open barn the logs are from 1-5 inches apart it is 18 by 20 by 10 feet high i would like your chinking recipe and your insulation idea and the purpose of using borate powder also what is a good sealer to use on the chink and logs to seal it after you are done
Hello Mark and thanks for the question!
I’m going to stick my neck out and assume that the logs on the barn are hand-hewn. With that in mind you may want to check out the section on Hand Hewn Chinking for starters.
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Here is a great email from Andy Bell.
Bought some property 3 years ago in Southeast Texas. On it, a log cabin actually built in the 50′s with telephone poles. (Pine) Insert Air Conditioning plus poor design causes some pretty extensive damage though more facial, in some cases, half way through. After determining the damage, I formulated a plan to re-brace the wall at bottom (open), remove the rotted portions, buy treated logs (pine) which are actually used for corner bracing for large fence areas, split and replace rotted area’s. I thought (think) the best way to brace each replacement to the remaining log was to I bolt with curved metal brace. Not sure it will be that aesthetically pleasing but then….Im a rookie. Large nails? Screws? Your thoughts.
log face
