Hello and Welcome to Bearfort Lodge. I hope that you enjoy your visit and find the information you seek. Please feel free to leave a comment. -- Bearfort

In many previous posts I discuss the use of boric acid during the process of replacing chinking, repairing logs and have identified several other uses where boric acid should be used as well as methods of application.

Boric acid works as a wood preservative — it kills mold, mildew as well insects and is very useful to have around any home - not just log homes.

I have received numerous emails and questions as to where to find boric acid. In fact more than one reader has emailed saying that they found boric acid at a local pharmacy which was both very small amounts and at an astronomical cost.

Boric acid is not very expensive and a little goes a long way.

I have placed in the side bar a link to the best source for boric acid they carry boric acid (PeneTreat) in the perfect sized quantities for most applications at a very attractive price.

Over a period of time I will be sharing my sources for materials as I have chosen them very carefully. I do not take such relationships lightly. Service and quality are chief concerns. I could easily load up on links to various suppliers of materials yet I refuse to do so. Links to such are chosen very carefully and only after extensive conversations.

Please follow the above link and should you wish to call them, ask for Mike Carey. He is a wealth of information. Tell him that Bearfort Lodge says hello.

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.

More chinking info for Mark

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 take a look at some log homes of some of the readers of Bearfort Lodge.

It was so exciting and I’m looking forward to sharing the experience with you. So - here I am and I’ve got a tremendous amount of updating to do as well as answer numerous emails from readers with questions. I see about 50 or 60 emails in my in-box to which I need to attend.

My apologies to Eunice - What a fantastic and beautiful email - I am responding to your questions on your log home in Ontario. With your permission I would love to post your email here on the site.

Read more on reader responses

I make my own wood preservative. I could run out and purchase a similar preservative for about $95 a gallon or I can spend about $10 and make my own. I make a concentrate that I can store and when desired mix with equal parts of water use in a garden sprayer on my logs.

My ingredients for a home-brew wood preservative include Borax, Boric Acid and Propylene Glycol.

Read more about home brew preservative