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

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

Here is a fun video of a man building his own log home.

The video is a slide show showing his progress

He has done a wonderful job.

Here is a short video of someone peeling a log for a log home using a tool called a spud. A spud is a long or short handled tool with a flat and dull head at the business end.

The reason for using a dull tool is to prevent the edge from digging into the wood. When debarking a log you generally just want to remove the bark. There are some that will use a draw knife. A draw knife is a blade with two handles on either side of the blade. When using a draw knife one would straddle the log and pull the draw knife towards you.

See the video