This is a two part series post on the most common questions on log home restoration and maintenance. Part one is about- restoration of a log home, which is a big project to take on but once the log home is returned to its original beautiful state, all the effort that goes into restoration work seems worth it.
Restoring a log home to its former glory can be a tricky business and it involves getting a few key basics right. To well and truly begin a restoration project or a maintenance routine for an existing log home, it is absolutely necessary to know the history of maintenance program followed for the home thus far, whether by deduction or through proper documentation. Then you can set achievable goals for restoration of your log home, whether you want to go the DIY route or hire a pro for it.
Questions You Should Ask Before A Log Home Restoration
Performance Log Homes recommends that you should know the answers to these questions before beginning on the restoration project of your log home gets for the best results.
- Who is the manufacturer of the log package?
- What species of log has been used?
- Have additions been made to the original structure?
- What materials have been used in maintenance applications so far?
- Who constructed the structure and how old is it?
- Are there any known problem areas? Any known coating or sealing failures?
- What should the structure look like when you’re done?
- What is your workable budget to restore my log home?
- Is there a priority list for the work?
The most important three questions that you should be clued in on before a log home restoration project are:
What methods are used to remove the existing finish?
What is the estimated cost of a log home restoration?
How long does it take to finish restoration work?
What Methods Are Used To Remove The Existing Finish?
The three methods currently in use for removal of any existing finish on your log home are sanding, media blasting or sanding and each offer unique benefits.
- Ozzying (Sanding) uses an osborne brush or buffing pads at changing speeds of right angle grinder.
- Media Blasting is performed with corn cob granule, glass, walnut shells, or food grade baking soda
- Chemical Strippers -This step of removing an existing finish from your log home requires the greatest amount of time in the restoration project. It is very important to get this right and strip off any existing finish completely so that you have a clean canvas to work on.
As a log home owner, do due diligence before selecting one of these methods. You will need to work out which method would suit your budget and needs best. When hiring a pro, do check out the contractors past work to get a clear picture of what the end result may look like.
What Is The Estimated Cost Of A Log Home Restoration?
Not all log homes are made equal. Each log home restoration project will be unique in its own ways and costs will vary when it comes to restoring them. Performance Log Homes have restored hundreds of log homes and the prices can swing from anywhere between $15,000 up to $100,000 and more.
The design of the log home and the landscaping plays a part in the estimation of costs. While the price may seem high, you have to consider that it includes costs of moving ladders, building scaffolding, and more, along with repair, finish and materials cost. Log replacement can get more expensive and is totally preventable. So don’t just take into consideration cost when selecting a pro for the job.
How Long Does It Take To Finish Restoration Work?
Work on each log home will be different but on an average it takes roughly about 3-6 weeks for a log home restoration from start to finish. The reason it takes this long is because it includes drying time from cleaning and washing the home. Also the time in between coats of stain, and curing time from any caulking or chinking that needs to be done.
Removing already existing finish on the log home can take 3-6 days depending on the size and design of the building, landscaping around the building and the kind of finish used. Washing a log home will take about a day, with about 2-4 days to dry out completely, which will again depend on the prevailing weather conditions, such as humidity, precipitation, temperature, etc. A borate log preservative will have to be used, which should only take a day but it needs at least a couple of days to dry. Application of the first coat of stain can take 1-3 days depending on the size and design of the log home.
Caulking or chinking takes about 5-10 days and generally needs 3-6 days to cure depending on the joint size of the caulking or chinking, before the second coat of stain can be applied. Since caulking is not applied to a joint size greater than 1″ it takes much less curing time than chinking. The second coat of stain can be applied in 1-3 days but it needs a day of dry time before the top coat of stain comes on. This can take about 2-3 days to finish well. That is the log home restoration process in short.
Do keep checking our blog to read the next part of the series, which will answer most of your questions on log home maintenance. If you’re interested in getting repairs or restoration work done on your log home. Please call Performance Log Homes at 800-781-2551.
