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Log RotLog rot on a log home can be devastating to the homes appearance and it's structural integrity. This is the one area of the repair and maintenance part of owning a log home that you need to act on immediately. I have found from doing numerous log home inspections that there are three common areas where log rot can be found. CHECKS (cracks in logs) is an area that you need to keep an eye on. I cover this problem in the Checks section, telling you what to look for and how to repair them. You should make a point of reading that section so you know what to look for. GAPS in BUTT JOINTS is an area where I see the vast majority of rot getting started. If there is a gap in a butt joint you need to give that area some attention immediately. Check to see if the wood has started to rot or not, if it hasn't then seal the gap as soon as possible. If rot has already started then you need to make a repair which I will cover later in this section. THE BOTTOM TWO or THREE LOG RUNS on a home is also a leading area for having rotten wood. Any lower runs that are within one foot of the ground, a deck, a porch, driveway or side walk should be checked. The problem is that you can get alot of BACK SPLASH in these areas when it rains. Do a quick inspection to check the quality of the stain, look for any checks in the logs and gaps in the butt joints. If the stain is bad in these areas, or there are checks in the logs or gaps in the butt joints you need to address those issues as soon as possible. There is probably no way to prevent back splash in these areas so you need to make sure you keep up on the maintenance. This will help to keep log rot from starting. If when you are doing an inspection of your log home's exterior or someone else is and some rot is found, you need to repair it immediately. You want to keep it from getting any larger than it already is. When I find a rotten area on a log home I have to decide if I can repair it using epoxies or if I need to actually apply a veneer log. If the rotten area isn't any bigger than 4 or 5 inches in length and only goes a couple of inches into the log I use epoxies. If the area is longer than the 4 or 5 inches or deeper than a couple of inches I will apply a veneer log. The epoxies products that I use are easy to work with but as with most epoxies you need to work fairly fast. You will have any where from 15 to 30 minutes to work with them before they start to set up. I always make sure that the areas that I am going to work on are prepared and ready to accept the products before I mix them up. When it comes to applying a veneer log over a rotten area you are looking at a more labor intensive repair. This is why you want to repair any log rot immediately and address any maintenance issues that lead to the rot. I know that this sounds like a lot of work but it needs to be done if you have some rotten areas. If you have some areas that have log rot you need to get them repaired immediately. If you need more information on Log Rot or the products to repair it with please fill out the contact form below.
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