From the category archives:

Reader Q&A

Reader’s Question About Log Cabin Chinking Recipe, Insulation and Boric Acid

by Bearfort · 1 comment

in Reader Q&A

Mark just sent me an email asking about chinking, insulation, boric acid 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 boric acid 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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1 comment

Reader’s Question: Homemade Wood Preservative

by Bearfort · 15 comments

in Reader Q&A

Andrew asks about the homemade wood preservative:

Hi,

I found your post about the homemade wood treatment very informative! You mentioned at the end that you would post a recipe that didn’t use the antifreeze. Maybe I missed it, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I’d be interested in that preservative, though… We will be building an Aspen cabin this spring, and need to give the logs a borate treatment once they’re peeled to avoid the black sapstain… I would prefer not to boil down the glycol in my kitchen, though, even though they call it “non-toxic”…. kwim? ;-)

Thanks,
Andrew

Hello Andrew –

I’ll have to go back and check — I thought I had posted that — regardless it is simply the boric acid and water –

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15 comments

Reader’s Question: Log Face Replacement

Here is a great email from Andy.
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 [...]

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Reader’s Question: Log Chinking in a Bathroom

Sue recently asked a question with regard to chinking and exposed logs in a bathroom.
Hi there,
I just discovered your Bearfort website and want to thank you for the interesting reading and the recipe and process for chinking.
I want to ask your advice regarding my old farmhouse. Unless you went to the attic, you wouldn’t know [...]

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Log Home Chinking: A Reader’s Question on Chinking – Dear Brian

Recently a reader asked a question about chinking a hand hewn log home:
Am trying to figure out what is best to seal between logs [our log home is 100+ yrs. old.]. Most important consideration is keeping rodents out. .. Am sealing from the inside because clapboards are still outside. How can I apply mortar without [...]

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Return from Vacation

I have been away for the last month. Good to be back but lots to do.
Over the past several weeks I had the opportunity to visit Georgia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York State, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts and have taken a look at a number of log homes and other restoration projects as well as [...]

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Reader’s Question: Interior Chinking Recipe

Phil is working on a mountain cabin and writes –
I have been building what started as a relatively small cabin, now 5 years later with two timber frame additions in the mountains of Va. The first chinking I used was a mixture of cement sand and dirt and it seemed to crack a fair [...]

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Log Home Chinking: Can Chinking be Colored?

A reader recently asked if the chinking recipe provided on previous posts could be tinted or colored. Yes.
Here is an excerpt from his email:

I am restoring an old log cabin in WV and have gaps several inches wide (4-5 inches). I am going to use a stainless steel mesh as used for stucco as [...]

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