Western Log Home Supply Blog

Western Log Home Supply - X-100 and Log-Gevity Log Home Stains and Sealants

2009-10-05T14:06:00.001-07:00

We would like to introduct ABRP as one of our newest suppliers.

American Building Restoration Products, Inc. is a think tank.

Borne out of the building restoration problem solving arena, American Building Restoration Products, Inc. (ABRP) is a system developer for the restoration and preservation of wood, masonry, metal and glass.

We offer surface restoration/cleaning systems using environmentally safe, economically practical and contaminate specific products. Surface preservation products that provide protection from organic and man made atmospheric pollution, graffiti, water intrusion and debilitating micro organisms like fungus. This means we have taken into consideration the future of the surface being restored. It is not good enough to just restore or clean a surface. The surface should be protected. X-100 Natural Seal for wood, Hydro Seal 100, 200, 300 for masonry and the original POLYSHIELD for protection from graffiti staining.

Implementation of proper maintenance procedures and restoration methods are just as essential to the integrity of the surface. Too abrasive a method of restoration and the surfaces integrity will be compromised. Using one of ABRPs preservatives, water repellents or graffiti barriers will allow you to use less aggressive cleaning measures, thus minimizing the abrasive nature of surface cleaning. We have developed surface restoration/cleaning systems utilizing researched technology, statistics and facts backed by results from five to ten years of market performance per product line. We take the R&D off the table, saving you start up costs at the same time adding value to your business. X-100 Natural Seal®, Log Gevity finishes and their complement of restoration products for Log and wood sided homes are product lines designed to bring service life and sustainability to your homes exterior.

X-100 Natural Seal® Wood and Log Gevity formulas consist of essential wood protecting ingredients blended in an oil that is non-sensitive to ultraviolet rays. Both product lines finishes are designed to penetrate the wood. X-100 Natural Seal® and Log Gevity finishes protect wood against cracking, splitting, cupping, curling, sapstain, mold and mildew. The X-100 Natural Seal® Wood Preservative unique oil-borne system is E.P.A. registered and V.O.C. compliant.

X-100 Natural Seal® and Log Gevity finishes are for use on all vertical wood surfaces susceptible to moisture damage including cedar, redwood, pine, plywood, T1-11, cypress, fur, dimensional lumber, logs and roofs. X-100 Natural Seal® and Log Gevity finishes are available in ultra transparent stains and natural oxides. The ultra transparent technology enables the natural wood grain to show through allowing for a natural wood finish.

Wood Wizard - Pueblo West forester, builder shares expertise on log homes

2009-09-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

Pueblo West, Colorado forester and log home builder shares expertise on log homes

By MARY JEAN PORTER

THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Clyde Cremer calls himself a "wood technologist."

The Pueblo West businessman holds a master's degree from the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, but he doesn't spend much time in the woods with the trees. Instead, he concentrates on wood as an ages-old building material; he's an expert on trees once they've been harvested and he's designed and built log homes for more than 30 years. He started American Log Homes in 1977 in Missouri and opened a second plant in 1984 in Pueblo West.

Now Cremer, 66, and his son, Jeffrey, have written a book about Clyde's favorite subject. "The Complete Guide to Log Homes" includes everything a person needs to know about living trees, about logging and timber preparation, about buying an existing log home and caring for a log home - and why building a log home yourself might not be the best idea.

"I don't really recommend people building (a home) themselves," says Cremer. "In the book we say to be very honest with yourself." It might seem like the picture of pioneer spirit to build the log home of your dreams in a clearing in the forest beneath the stars, but can you cut rafters with a framing square, Cremer asks. Can you put down a subfloor? Can you size joists and rafters to be structurally sound for snow load, wind and other factors? Do you know about electricity and plumbing - and what about local building codes? How much time can you devote to the project?

Cremer's intent isn't to throw cold water on weekend Daniel Boones, just to inject a large dose of common sense into the log home-building process and to impart his years' worth of knowledge and experience.

Sitting in his office at American Log Homes, Cremer says he already was writing a book about a relative who fought in the battle of the Argonne Forest in France during World War I when Jeffrey urged him to write the log home book. The younger Cremer, who's company vice president, helped with the book's graphics and charts and worked with the publisher to get it released. Jeffrey lives in Colombia, where he operates his own business, Western Log Home Supply, via the Internet.

Clyde Cremer says log homes account for a small percentage of the houses built in the U.S., but they remain popular because they are durable and can be energy-efficient. It's hard to say whether they are more expensive than conventional homes because people often want amenities that drive up the price, such as a fireplace, cathedral ceiling, large windows. There are cheaper packages for people who want "a little home in the hills," he says. The 2009 price list has a model that costs $26,000 in pine and one that's nearly $150,000 in red cedar, and many models in between.

"We do mostly custom homes. We go over a person's plans and ideas, tell them what's most efficient, what's feasible. We can do the blueprints and get it engineered if it's (being built) in Colorado. We can get the logs graded, if required, and can ship them out on a tractor trailer. It takes one to two trailer loads for a house."

Pine and spruce are most often used, though western red cedar is best, Cremer says. The trees are cut in Colorado and Utah and some in Canada.

Log homes appeal to people all over the U.S., not just in the West, and Cremer says potential customers e-mail from as far away as Belgium. He's also gotten inquiries from Israel, Spain and Turkey.

In their book, the Cremers offer advice on many aspects of buying and building a log home, including the tree species used in log homes; how to estimate costs; construction concerns; evaluating and purchasing an existing log home; and the threats to log homes, such as decay, termites and other insects, and fire. The book has checklists and a glossary and provides illustrations and questions to ask at different stages of the construction process.

"Based on many years in the business, we firmly believe that far too many potential customers do not have quality information available when they shop for log homes," Cremer writes in a press release. "This book provides you with that knowledge, enabling you to make intelligent decisions at every step of the process."

"The Complete Guide to Log Homes: How to Buy, Build and Maintain Your Dream Home" was published by iUniverse and sells for $16.95. It can be ordered at the company's Web site, www.westernloghomesupply.com; through the publisher's Web site, www.iuniverse.com ; or from online booksellers.

Steps to Log Home Repair

2009-09-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

Log Home Repair Steps

Treating, cleaning, caulking, staining, chinking, clear coating—In what order do I do these? Who should do all of the above and how do I find them?

The following general steps should always be followed:

Make sure the moisture content of the logs is appropriate for the product that you are about to apply to the logs – and verify this with a moisture meter.
Make sure the log surfaces are really clean and composed of sound wood.
Always apply the products to be used in the proper weather, with the surface temperature of the logs appropriate for those products.
Apply wood preservatives (such as Sashco’s PeneTreat).
Apply the stain (such as Sashco’s Capture / Cascade or High Sierra).
Apply the backer rod and caulking or chinking (such as Sashco’s Log Builder or Log Jam).

If you have any questions please give us a call at 719 547 2135

Paleobotany - Just how old is an old tree?

2009-06-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

In the summer of 1968 I was working for the U.S. Forest Service in southeast Alaska, cruising potential timber sales. During these trips to the various islands, I came across active logging sites with the proliferation of freshly cut stumps. The growth rings on these stumps made me wonder just how old these “old growth” forests were.

Growth Rings in Living Trees

Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock

In the spring of 1968 I had been on a forestry field trip to northern California and Oregon and saw everything from giant redwoods to slow growing ponderosa pine. A cross section of a ponderosa pine at one of the Forest Service buildings pointed out the fact that this tree began growing before Columbus set sail from Spain. Wow!!

When I counted the growth rings of the Sitka spruce and Western hemlock in Alaska, I was disappointed to find out that they were a mere 150 years old, plus or minus 15 years. This was an even-aged stand of timber that regenerated after a large die off of the original timber. Even at this “young” age the hemlock was beginning to suffer from rot and the stand was in decline.

Eastern Red Cedar

I grew up in the unglaciated region of northeast Iowa and southeastern Minnesota. Due to the lack of glaciation (the technical term for this is a “nunatak” area), the region is quite rough and hilly. Large sandstone bluffs overlook much of the area which is very picturesque when one floats down the Mississippi river on a summer day. Along these bluffs grow Eastern red cedar trees…barely clinging to life as their roots try to pry moisture and nutrients from the sandstone outcroppings. Recently I cut a cross section from a dead cedar growing on the edge of a precipice. (These small, gnarly trees are known by the German word krumholtz.) The growth rings were so close together that it was extremely hard to determine its age, even with a magnifying glass. Simple math gave me a rough figure of 150 years of age. However, some of these trees have been found to be over 500 years old. They grow slowly with very little photosynthetic area and thus, can survive for hundreds of years with little moisture and nutrients.

Bristlecone Pine

Another type of vegetation that grows in a very demanding environment is the bristlecone pine located in various areas of California and Nevada. This trees species has been found to have lived a precarious life in the harsh mountains for some 5,000 years. By cross checking dead trees lying about the area, a chronology of tree ring dating has gone back some 7,100 years. When trees grow alone in the absence of any other vegetative competition, the only factor that will limit their growth is moisture. Thus, one can get insight into the climate in that area spanning thousands of years. This is important data for climatologists and glaciologists. Archeologists use tree ring data to date timbers found in ancient dwellings in the Southwest and can accurately determine when a certain building was constructed.

Sagebrush

In the dry western United States, sagebrush dominates the landscape as it needs very little moisture to survive. The big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is the major player in these dry areas. Many of these specimens are 100 years old and they too can lend insight into drought conditions for a particular area.

Sequoia

The giant sequoia of California is not only very large, but very old. Specimens have been found that precede the birth of Christ by a thousand years. The redwood tree also tops the list of trees that can live to a ripe old age. These trees reside in an area with excellent growing conditions including fog and its resultant moisture. Redwoods are quite impervious to rot and fire and can continue to grow with few pathogens to worry about.

So much for the age of living trees. What about those dead trees that are entombed in the muck and rivers of the world. We are not talking about petrified specimens that have been turned to stone, but wood that has been preserved in an environment not conducive to rot.

The Fossil Trees of Axel Heiberg Island

On Axel Heiberg Island west of Greenland, a forest has been found that has been buried for 45 million years in the mud of that cold environment. The trees in this forest once grew to be 150 feet tall and lived to be 1,000 years old. However, the existing climate changed and they died and were buried. For 45 million years they lay where they fell, covered in sediment and waiting to be discovered. Remember, these trees are not petrified, but are still real wood that one of the researchers probably used to brew his coffee. There are many layers of trees and tree stumps in this location and some were able to be identified as dawn redwoods even though over the fallen tree trunks of an earlier forest, a new forest grew up.

The Terminal Moraine of Long Island New York

When the glaciers retreated from the northeastern United States, they left behind a terminal moraine which is now known as Long Island, New York. Another remnant of this glacial retreat was a lake located north of New Haven, Connecticut. As the area became forest once again, dead trees, leaves, butternuts and beech nuts floated into the lake and were buried. Clay washed into the lake and settled to the bottom covering the dead vegetation. With little oxygen, a wet environment, and a low temperature, this organic matter survived without rotting. There it lay until the area was eventually mined for the clay to manufacture bricks. As these remnants of a distant time came to life, people wondered just how old they were. A scientific tool known as radio carbon dating solved this puzzle.

Some of the oldest specimens uncovered in the pit were sycamore, which were carbon dated to some 6,200 years before the present. The author has a cross section of an oak specimen that died 4250 years before the present. An Eastern hemlock was dated to 1,250 years ago and was in such excellent shape that the author could tell how it grew and died. (There will be more on this in a later article.) The beech nuts were so well preserved that when they dried out, they opened up as if to drop their seeds. The author of this article stabilized a section of sycamore and made a gun stock from it. Alas, civilization kept marching on and now this paleo-biological laboratory is a dump for used tires.

Various tree species entered the landscape at different times in the evolutionary path of the earth. As the climate changed on the planet, some species became extinct and new species adapted and proliferated. Two interesting species that have survived for millions of years are the ginkgo and the dawn redwood.

Ginko Biloba

There is one species of ginkgo that now remains and that is Ginkgo bilboa. It has been cultivated for centuries in China and Japan and is used for temple gardens. It is now used extensively in the United States as an ornamental tree and has has attained heights of nearly 100 feet and 27 feet in circumference. One specimen has even reached the ripe old age of 1200 years. The point of this article is that the ginkgo has been identified from fossil records from the Tertiary period, or about 60 million years ago. It is remarkable that it still survives after all of these millions of years and in the same form.

Dawn Redwood

The other interesting tree species is the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) that has been found in the fossil record from the Mesozoic Era. It was a great surprise to the scientific community when a grove of Metasequoia was discovered in China during WWII. After the war the species was studied in its natural state and in 1948, Harvard brought some of the seed to the United States for propagation and study. It has been planted in various parts of the United States and makes a beautiful ornamental planting. Unfortunately, man may be the final arbiter in its survival after all of these millions of years. Illegal seed collecting in China threatens the regeneration of this small stand of natural dawn redwood in China.

Now that you have read this article you may never look at a tree in the same way again…whether it is large or small. When you see a lone tree growing along a water course in the Great Plains, you just might wonder what that tree has experienced as it kept its lonely vigil on what appears to be a desolate landscape. Did it hear the rumble of mighty herds of bison a hundreds of years ago? Did the gnarled oak in the heartland feel the weight of thousands of passenger pigeons on its mighty limbs? Did the small, twisted Eastern red cedar growing on the bluffs of northeast Iowa see the boats of early explorers ply the Mississippi river, or hear the final cannon shots at the Battle of Bad Axe when Chief Black Hawk was defeated and his land taken away for one last time? I hope that I have piqued your interest in this small treatise on paleo-botony!

How Long Will Log Home Stain Last?

2009-06-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

I have spent my last 15 years promoting finishes and sealants for log and wood structures. In this time, I’ve visited hundreds of buildings to work with owners, contractors, architects, and other various who all have the goal and desire to achieve a look they had in mind and to keep it looking this way for the least amount of money and maintenance costs for years to come. If the rest of you are like me, you’ve also spent a fair amount of time studying the information and opinions offered on the web. I read a lot of comment, both good and bad, about the various finish products on the market. Consumer experiences range the full gamut. Opinions and experiences from others prompted me to chime in and hopefully add some value to the ongoing discussion.

After carefully studying the prices and types of the various products available, the number one question consumers seem to be asking time and time again is:

"How long will your stain last?"

As to the durability and life span of any stain or finishing product, there are three basic factors that apply to all finishes on all log structures:

The actual quality of the product and suitability for its purpose
Surface preparation techniques employed
The environment the finish will be expected to perform in.

A high quality finish (defined by the quality of resins, additives, and application research) applied to a properly prepared surface will undoubtedly outperform and remain more durable than a lesser quality or non-suitable product in almost any environment. This is a fact that is proven by conscientious application contractors, homeowners, and manufacturers for many, many years.

Product Quality

A wood stain or finish is generally the sum of three parts: a solvent, a resin, and a pigment. Be it water based or oil based, the solvent’s purpose is to evenly distribute the resin and the pigment over the surface of the wood. When a finish is applied to a structure and it has dried, the solvent has evaporated and its work is done. You are now left with a resin and pigment on the surface of the wood. The resin in a finish is the material that carries the pigment and binds it to the surface. The resin also serves as a barrier to the moisture elements of our environment that can bring damage to wood. Performance enhancing additives that add water repellency, mildew/insect resistance, or UV absorbers may also be found in the overall resin technology. The pigments in a stain are what give us the desired color and also what provide almost all of the UV protection. Aside from the resins, pigment represents much of what is being touted as the “solids”. These “solids” are very small microscopic objects that create a barrier between the sun and the wood. Imagine a thick piece of glass or clear plastic suspending some objects like coins or flat rocks. The glass would be the resin, and the coins/rocks would be the pigment.

Logs behave differently than dimensional lumber or siding. Their mass and their natural physical characteristics naturally make them more vulnerable to “changing”. Logs cut, shaped, and moved from one location or climate to another will eventually adapt to their environment, be it a few feet away or in another state or country. They can twist, settle, shrink, check (crack), and continue to adjust to local humidity levels. All of these factors place a much larger strain on the coatings and sealants used to protect them. High quality products used in the log construction and maintenance industry must use resins that when cured have the ability to flex, adhere, and suspend a sufficient amount of pigments to not only protect the surfaces of the logs, but to protect the resin itself. These resins and this technology are generally not included in the products found on the cheap shelf in the big box stores. The more economical products are not designed to accommodate the needs of log surfaces.

Surface preparation

While there are many arguments as to the best and most suitable prep methods, the durability and longevity of a log finish is directly related to its ability to adhere to the surface its being applied to. Power washing the right way can be a sufficient prep method; however has its limits and weaknesses.

Power Washing

To properly power wash a structure, the existing coatings or existing surface damage should be removed to the point a sound and clean surface is reached for the new coating to properly adhere to. Power washing is most suitable for light maintenance and recoating over currently performing previously stained surfaces.

Media Blasting

The ultimate and best method for surface prep is to mechanically remove damaged surface wood or existing non-performing stains through the means of media blasting, sanding, grinding, or brushing with various available equipment. These methods ensure a clean, textured, and sound surface for application of quality stains. Mechanically preparing surfaces is a major step in ensuring the long life and beauty of a log home finish. There is a ton of good information about this provided through most resellers dedicated to the log home market.

Environment

Imagine your log home as a piece of your best furniture. Would you set your grand piano in the driveway and expect the weather to leave it alone? This is one of the best ways to look at your investment. People who have good experiences with finishes are generally following the guidelines being provided, AND they are applying finishes to structures that do a good job of protecting themselves.

The largest enemies of logs and finishes are:

Water

Sun

Debris

Blowing wind that may contain dirt or sand.

Large overhangs, covered porches, proper water drainage systems, and large surrounding trees all contribute to the success and durability of finishes for log homes.

Does your house protect itself?

Do you have areas where snow piles up?

Are you stacking firewood against your home?

Do the gutters or drainage systems channel water away from your home?

Does water falling from the roof splash off your deck onto your walls?

Is your sun exposure on certain walls more than it should be?

This list can literally be very long, but common sense tending to these areas will make the critical difference in how long your finish will last.

Conclusion

So how long will your stuff last? Nobody can really answer that question perfectly, but the facts remain. If you invest in a quality product, study and employ the best surface prep methods, and understand or modify the environment for your log structure, you will maximize the life of the product you choose to use. Doing the above will almost certainly double or triple the life of a finish and the beauty of your structure for years to come.

I was recently in a paint store where I saw a large sign that read, "Only rich people can afford a cheap finish." When you do the math, this is absolutely true. Over time, not adhering to these principals will cost much more money, frustration, and potentially structural damage than is not necessary and completely preventable.

Scott Stropko

Contact Us

Recommended Log Home Stains:

High Sierra

Capture

Cascade

Symphony Interior Stain

Log Home Stain Definitions

Solvent: be it water or oil, all stains use some sort of a solvent base who’s primary purpose is to blend and suspend the resin and pigments in such a viscosity allowing us to move the resins and pigments evenly and beautifully over the surfaces we are coating. Most suitable solvents, once applied, will dry away and leave the resins and pigments adhered to the surface to protect the logs.
Pigments: All durable protective finishes contain pigments in either a premixed color or may allow for a solvent base to be custom tinted. The pigments in any stain not only determine the finished color desired, but are the element in stains that do most all of the protecting from the damaging UV rays. Clear products do not ever offer long term, low maintenance propositions for any log homes with any kind of exposure to the elements.
Resin.: This can also be termed as the polymer or the binder that is responsible for suspending the pigments and making sure they are attached well to the log. Not only do the pigments in a stain protect the underlying wood, they protect the actual resins that suspend them.
*in a lesser expensive stain, or one with little R&D work, the chance are the stain will not end up being as durable because

Western Log Home Supply

Rocky Mountain Pine Beetles - The Demise of the Lodgepole Pine in Colorado

2009-05-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

Traveling through Colorado, the keen observer will note that vast areas of the montane forest are covered with trees that have a reddish, rust-colored tint to the foliage. These reddish colored crowns are evidence of the death of the lodgepole pine forest in Colorado. Populations of the mountain pine beetle have exploded over the last decade and it has not been possible to control this spread through thinning of the timber stands or by spraying.

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus monticolae) will attack trees which are more than 3-inches in diameter. They girdle the tree with their boring into the wood and this prevents the lifeblood of the tree from reaching the crown. They are not like the common termite that eats all of the wood nor does this beetle live in the tree for years on end. They spend the winter in the tree bole and leave in June through August as an adult. In heavily infected stands this life cycle continues as the off spring infest neighboring trees.

In Colorado, the winters have been unseasonably warm over the last 10 years. This in return has helped the mountain pine beetle increase its populations and spread over wide areas. Presently there are 1.4 million acres infected by the beetle over a forested area of some 22 million acres in the State of Colorado.

The first “knee jerk” solution to this dilemma is to cut the trees in the infected stands of timber. There are many drawbacks to this solution when one considers the commercial cutting of the dying lodgepole pine.

1) The volume of timber affected is so widespread that commercial operations cannot handle the amount of fiber available.

2) Much of the timber is of small diameter and thus is really pre-commercial timber. A sawmill cannot log and haul loads of logs into the mill which are 4 to 10 inches in diameter. If all of the trees were in a diameter class of 14 to 24 inches, for instance, the sawmill could cut the logs into various lumber products and make money from the expenditure of their capital.

3) During the present recession, the demand for lumber products of all types has decreased precipitously. At the present time most sawmills don’t need yards full of merchantable logs as the markets have dried up.

4) When these trees are attacked, the carry spores of a fungus into the tree which results in blue stain. This staining of the wood is desirable in the West for paneling in a home. However, if a mill is sawing logs for grade lumber, then this blue stain is not desirable.

5) These vast areas of infected timber could be used for pulpwood, but the Intermountain West does not have pulp mills that could use this wood fiber. The wood would have to be shipped to the Pacific Northwest or even to the Lake States at a high shipping rate. The wood in partially to completely dry when it is harvested so a very large load could be placed on a rail car without and concern with weight. The blue stain wood also increases the absorption of chemicals into the wood fiber and this would decrease the time it would take in the digester at the pulp mill.

6) The lodgepole pine would make good posts if they were pressure treated but again we must think of the number of pressure treating plants in the area and the markets available for the finished product.

7) Firewood comes to mind, but this “small potatoes” when one considers the amount of acres affected and the limited market for firewood in the 21^st Century.

8) It has been suggested in the State of Colorado that the sales tax be rescinded on products produced from beetle killed lodgepole pine. However, this will probably be reminiscent of the song from the 1960’s, Mona Lisa: it will just lie there and die there!

So what will happen if this dying timber resource is not harvested before it becomes unmerchantable? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that fire will be the final arbiter. Fire has been an ecological factor in the lodgepole pine forests since they first colonized the Intermountain West tens of thousands of years ago. In fact, lodgepole pine depends on fire to maintain its foothold in the mountains. Fire clears out the thick stands of pine and creates factors conducive to the growth of a new stand of timber. The heat from the fire opens the pine cones and a proliferation of seeds will cover the area. This results in “dog hair” stands of pine after a fire which can be in excess of 5,000 stems per acre. Although this life cycle which is dependent of fire was fine thousands of years ago, it is not something that can always be tolerated in modern times with houses and towns being in close proximity to the dying lodgepole pine stands.

As one travels through Colorado, dying and dead lodgepole pine is found in close proximity to towns, business, condos, and homes. One lightning strike or ignition source caused by a careless human will wreak havoc on a very large region of northern Colorado. One only needs to think of the Peshtigo, Wisconsin fire, which took place the same time as the Chicago fire, to know what can happen when a forest fire gets a good start. Another large fire in northwestern Montana and northern Idaho was the 1910 burn which devastated the region in which it took place and spread. When fire hits the region of dying lodgepole pine the news coverage will be great, but at the present time this sleeping monster is mostly unreported except at the local level. The U.S. Forest Service has closed a number of campgrounds at this time due to the fire danger. This should prevent an errant camper from causing a fire but they cannot control lightning hitting a snag or mountain peak.

1) Increased harvest is a “no-brainer” but as mentioned earlier, the markets are limited. When one considers the hauling costs, the sales available are not extremely attractive.

2) Should the state and federal agencies that own much of this timber, pay mill owners and others a fee for taking it from the forest? They can have the timber as an added incentive, but in this way a large forest fire could probably be averted or kept to a minimum. Why is it that this is not an option but fighting a forest fire with millions of dollars is money well spent?

3) When a landowner has noxious weeds on his land, the local governments can have the landowner remove these weeds at his own expense as a public nuisance. Should the local governments compel homeowners to remove this timber from their land and especially around buildings to deter fire spread? This would be considered an action taken for the public good.

4) Some policy must be taken soon as the problem is not going away. Each year more timber dies, it becomes drier and less marketable. Sooner or later nature will take its retribution as it has always done in the past. Do you remember the Yellowstone fire back in the 1990s?

In conclusion I need not reiterate the problem and the imposing danger stalking the mountains of Colorado. What I need to stress is the lack of strong and immediate action by foresters at all levels and local cities and towns in minimizing the danger of fire if they cannot completely eradicate this threat. This treatise is not a call of hysteria but a call for immediate and positive action to remove the fire threat. I am afraid that once again, “after the horse has got out of the barn,” fingers will be pointed at one another as to who was to blame for leaving the barn door open! We don’t need a blue ribbon panel to report on the obvious, we need action for the good of all.

Along the Arkansas River in Colorado, the tamarisk and Russian Olive are using too much water from the river. This deprives the state of water for irrigation, drinking, flushing toilets, car washes and industry. This problem has been studied for a number of years by various agencies but I have yet to see the tamarisk go the way of the bison. It is till there through drought years and years of plenty. Just study it to death and everyone gets a warm, fuzzy feeling that something is being done. With the state of Colorado in the economic doldrums, as are most states, don’t look for any infusion of money to correct any natural resource problems. Maybe we need another study!

When the fires move across northern Colorado, all I can say is “I told you so.”

Clyde Cremer has a BS in Forestry from Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, and a Masters Degree in Forestry from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, New Haven, CT.

Western Log Home Supply

869 Industrial Blvd.

Pueblo West, Colorado 81007

(719) 547-2135

The Log Jam Fire Test Explained

2009-03-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

Log Jam is the only chinking to hold a 1 hour UL fire rating when applied in accordance with the Fire Resistance Directory Design No. UL519. What does this mean and why is it important?

What is UL?

UL stands for "Underwriters Laboratory".

UL develops standards and test procedures for products, materials, components, assemblies, tools and equipment, chiefly dealing with product safety.

UL has developed more than 1,000 Standards for Safety, many of which are American National (ANSI) Standards, and evaluates nearly 20,000 types of products. A typical standard for electronic products includes not only requirements for electrical safety, but also spread of fire and mechanical hazards. UL evaluates products for compliance with specific safety requirements. UL certification does not guarantee the product will perform acceptably or that it is safe under all conditions (such as product misuse).

Why was a certification needed?

The rebirth of the log industry in North America could be described in a number of terms. “Easy” would not be one of them.

Log home companies and their product suppliers have constantly faced resistance from:

Architects
Building code inspectors
Loan officers
Governmental agencies steeped in the doctrines of conventional “stick” construction.

The fledgling industry has often found itself in the frustrating position of being condemned not by facts but by biases.

One such bias has been that water-based chinking materials used to seal the courses of log walls could never pass a one-hour fire test.

The experts felt that since many of the compounds used to make water-based chinking decompose at temperature far below the 1700 degrees required by the test, a chinked log wall could not survive it.

This belief persisted in spite of the fact that a one-hour fire test had never been attempted on any log wall system, chinked or otherwise.

The end result of this widely shared view was that many log projects were held up or stopped completely since most major building codes required a one-hour fire rating in critical areas such as between the garage and house or in commercial structures.

Often, log home customers were told that their log partitions would have to be covered by drywall in the critical areas.

Certainly, this tended to dampen enthusiasms for solid timber walls.

Now, a test conducted by Underwriters Laboratories has laid this belief to rest. Recently, it tested a complete chinked wall system which passed the one-hour fire test. The chinking compound under scrutiny was Sashco Sealants Log Jam Chinking compound.

It cost Sashco, a Colorado-based company, about $10,000 and months of research and testing to perfect the formula for Log Jam Chinking. But the company believed an answer had to be found to the problem.

Preliminary Research

According to company officials Sashco began with a pragmatic “back yard” approach. A miniature log wall section was constructed out of 4” fence posts. In a crude simulation of the one-hour test, they exposed the section directly to flame from a propane torch for one hour.

Researchers quickly discovered that they could not prevent decomposition of the chinking material. So, instead, they found a way to make the decomposition work in their favor. They reasoned that if they could not get the chinking to stay put and not melt away, the burned exterior might act as an insulator in much the same way as the charred surface of wood provides a thin barrier between the flames and the material behind it.

They arrived at a formula which actually formed small “heat shields” as it charred. It gave an unexpected bonus in that it also expanded as temperatures increased. This further protected the integrity of the log joint.

Funds were then made available for the Underwriters Laboratory test which essentially was to certify the results found by the Sashco researchers. Certification by UL meant that building inspection could be passed by log walls using Log Jam Chinking. Correspondingly, this would expand the availability of log structures for many commercial and residential applications where one-hour fire ratings were required.

The Underwriters Testing Procedure

The UL test involved the use of a giant furnace at the Underwriters Northbrook, Illinois laboratory.

A 10 foot high by 10 foot wide wall of 9 inch round lodge pole pine logs was constructed leaving one inch gaps between the logs.
Round backer rods were then fixed in the joints and Log Jam Chinking was tooled over the top to a minimum depth of ½ inch.
The wall was framed in brick and insulation to insure that no flames passed through the assembly which was not a result of wall failure.
Because it was felt that any residual water left might artificially aid the fire resistance of the chinking material, the assembly was left to stand for 30 days t allow all of the water to leave the Log Jam Chinking for a thorough cure.
The test wall was then rolled into the furnace where it was exposed to 68 gas jets throwing flames which raised the surface temperature to 1000 degrees F in 5 minutes, 1300 degrees F. in ten minutes and, ultimately 1700 degrees F. in one hour.
The unexposed side was left at room temperature.
After the test the wall was rolled out of a blast furnace and exposed immediately to a blast of water form a 2-1/2 inch fire hose, exposing it to “impact, erosion and cooling from a fire house stream” of 30 pounds per square inch of force. Of course, as UL officials explained, water could not be allowed to spray through the wall.

Pass Requirements

The chinked joint obviously could not fail allowing fire to pass through the wall.
In order to pass the one-hour fire test, the unexposed side of the wall could only climb 250 degrees F. above its starting temperature.
Water could not be allowed to spray through the wall after the spray test.

In other words, the Log Jam Chinking had to be a good insulator as well as being fire resistant.

Results

The investment Sashco made in time and money paid off. In July 1986 Sashco received the full UL test report. Not only did its Log Jam Chinking pass all aspects of the one-hour fire test, the unexposed side showed a rise in temperature of only 160 degrees F., qualifying it as an excellent insulator.

“Log Jam Chinking is now the only answer to a one-hour fire wall needed” said one Sashco official, “unless, of course, you’d like drywall over your logs”

Information Courtesy of Sashco Inc.

Using Old, Old Wood for a New New Rifle

2009-02-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

During the last ice age vast areas of the northern latitudes of what is now the United States were covered with, yes, ice. Glaciers slowly moved across the land and ground the bedrock into dust. Everything in their path was pushed out of the way and deposited far from their original source. As proof of this, walrus and caribou remains have been found as far south as the Carolinas. Trees slowly moved south as the temperature cooled.

When the climate warmed and the glaciers retreated signs of their visit remained. Large boulders in New York’s Central Park still have the grooves in them caused by the glaciers. Long Island, NY is a terminal moraine left behind as the glaciers retreated. Potholes and lakes were formed as the glaciers melted and turned to water. Eventually, vegetation began to carpet the landscape once again and as the cycle of living and dying ensued, the rotting vegetation began to form soil once again to provide a substrate for a new forest.

During the periods of heavy rainfall and snow melt in the spring, some of this vegetation was washed downstream and was deposited in the bottoms of ponds and lakes. Parts of trees and even full sized trees ended up in lakes, became water logged, and sank to the bottom. In time they were covered with clay and other sediment and were lost far below the lakes surface, not to be seen again for thousands of years.

One of these lakes lay north of New Haven, CT in the town of Hamden. The organic debris from the forest was washed into the lake and sank to the bottom. In times of heavy rainfall and flooding, layers of leaves, twigs and nuts were buried. Logs and various other wood debris were also covered and would not be seen again until the area was mined for clay to make bricks.
The logs which are found in this area are generally Eastern hemlock, various oaks, and sycamore. Buried deep under a tomb of clay they do not rot because the temperature is cold, oxygen is in short supply and the moisture content is high.

Yale University (especially the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies) has carried out radio carbon dating to determine how long these logs have been buried. This determination is based on the half life of Carbon 14 and has given quite accurate results over the years.
This author had a sample of Eastern hemlock carbon dated and found that it had died 1,250 years ago. An oak log was dated as having died 4,200 years ago. It has been found that sycamore logs are some of the oldest trees having been dated some 6,200 years! This probably attests to the fact that some 6,000 years ago the hills of Connecticut were made up of a large number of sycamore trees.

In the mid 70´s I noticed a large log, more than 2 feet in diameter, which had been pulled from the clay pit. A thought quickly came to mind: “How about making a gun stock from this ancient tree?” A chainsaw and 10 minutes of cutting led to a stock blank that was the approximate size of a normal rifle stock and about 3.5 inches thick. As a person who holds a BS in forestry and as well as a Masters Degree in forestry from Yale, I new that some quick work needed to be done to prevent the rapid deterioration of the stock blank. Rapid drying and shrinking of the wood stock blank would result in checking and splitting much to the chagrin of the gunsmith who would turn a rough piece of wood into a thing of beauty.

The wood was taken to a nearby stream and with the help of a large rock, was submerged in the water. This was left in situ for nearly a month. Now the wood was completely saturated and was ready for a chemical stabilization process. I took several pounds of polyethylene glycol (which looks like a block of paraffin in its solid state) and dissolved it in a special long vat of warm water. To keep the water warm a gold fish tank heater was installed. The stock blank was now immersed into this vat and left for several months. Remember “Haste makes waste.”
The technical explanation of this process is as follows: The wood must be thoroughly soaked with water for the PEG to be able to move through the wood cells. After this chemical has completely saturated the wood it is slowly dried over many months in a dark cool place. The PEG turns back into a solid after drying and fills the cell walls of the wood. If the cell walls are saturated with a solid material they cannot shrink when the wood is dried. If the wood cannot shrink, then it cannot crack and split.

After the initial several months of drying in a cool location, the stock blank was set aside and nothing more was done to it for 5 years. Then I sent it to a gunstock maker and had the sycamore stock blank semi-inleted for a Martini action which had been rebarrelled to .22 hornet caliber. A friend of mine (Rick Dotzenrod at Big Sky Firearms & Outfitters Incorporated) has a gunsmith shop and he engraved the action on both sides and used silver for the relief engraving of a fox and a crow. Additionally, he fitted the old wood onto the new rifle. Finally, to embellish the rifle further, he finished the exterior of the stock to a high gloss.

The stock does not have the brown color of normal sycamore wood, but looks more like mahogany. Referencing the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook I found that sycamore gets red with age and this piece was certainly old. It is unfortunate that I did not save a piece of the raw wood to be carbon dated but like they say “Too soon we get old, to late we get smart. ”

The end result is a beautiful little .22 hornet single shot rifle that is more than a little unique. Everytime I take the rifle out for target shooting I think of the long and interesting process that was required to bring the gun to fruition. I must say that my good friend, Rick Dotzenrod, did most of the labor for this project. It goes to show that two heads are better than one.

Clyde can be contacted at 719 547 2135 or www.WesternLogHomeSupply.com

The Case of the White Redwood Tree

2009-02-23T09:48:00.000-08:00

In 1972 I was on an Inter-Regional Fire Crew (Hotshots) out of Clarkia, Idaho on the St. Joe National Forest. Our job was to be ready to deploy on 15 minutes notice to fly wherever we were needed to fight forest fires. In August of that year we flew to Monterey, CA to fight a fire in the southern redwoods and in the Manzanita scrub on the rim of the mountains.

During the mopping up phase of this fire, just above Big Sur, I was called down into a canyon by my fellow firefighters. I was the only person in the crew that had a BS in Forestry and was working on my Masters in Forestry at Yale University. They had spotted a peculiar tree that defied a rational description.

In the canyon was a redwood tree (Sequoia sempvirens) that had foliage that was completely white, not the green that one would think of. The tree was not some small seedling of one or two years but rather a tree that was approximately 16 feet tall. Now remember if a tree does not have green foliage, then it cannot take sunlight water and nutrients and convert it into food for the tree (photosynthesis). Quite simply, if the tree does not have the green chlorophyll in its foliage it will die.

So what was the reason that this tree had white foliage and yet it still survived?

First of all, there was a genetic anomaly in the tree so that the tree did not have any chlorophyll.

Second, it had to survive but how? The only explanation that I can give is that it had a root graft to a normal productive redwood tree. Thus it was basically a parasite and took its nutrents from a healthy tree and that is how it survived. Without this root graft it would have died very early in its life cycle.

It is uncommon, but not unknown, for trees to have white foliage without the life sustaining chlorophyll, but they do not live long, only a few years.

Is this tree still living? It is doubtful. As the tree gets older and larger it requires increased amounts of nutrients. Eventually the donor will be unable to accommodate this high demand for nutrients and the parasitic tree will die.

I still have photos of this tree as well as some of the sample foliage. It was quite an unforgettable experience for someone schooled in botany and forestry. As they say in the natural sciences: never say never.

Clyde Cremer holds a Master degree in Forestry from the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in New Haven, CT. He has over 35 years of experience in the forestry industry is currently the president of American Log Homes Inc. in Pueblo, Colorado.

Environmentally Friendly Log Homes

2009-02-17T09:18:00.000-08:00

From Forest to Finished Residence, a Log Home is True Green Building Choice

Mention the words “log home” in these environmentally aware times, and unfortunately the first thing likely to spring into the minds of many people is an image of lumberjacks clear-cutting entire forests and destroying habitats for spotted owls. At a time in this planet’s history when climate change, pollution, the destruction of the natural environment, and soaring fuel costs are truly legitimate concerns, the thought of a home made from trees can understandably cause an initially panicked reaction.

That notion of log homes being anti-“green,” however, could not, however, be farther from the truth.

Today’s log homes are, in fact, among the most environmentally friendly residential choices available, good both for the planet and for the people who live in them. Log homes can help restore, renew, and safeguard nature. The best-made log homes are manufactured with virtually zero waste. From every stage of their creation, from standing timber through construction to move-in, are responsibly built log home leaves one of the smallest carbon footprints of any residential choice.

A Log Home Begins: Responsible Logging

Every log home has its start when the logs from which it is built are first cut. Today, the most responsible builders of log homes become responsible stewards of the environment by carefully choosing the trees they cut for the most positive impact on the environment.

Some trees may be harvested strategically for log homes with the goal of optimizing the well being of trees left behind. Done correctly, this can allow remaining trees more room to grow and more direct access to sunlight and rain.

More importantly, however, is the fact that the smartest log homebuilders aim to use dead standing timber—trees that, at first glance, may look alive because they appear upright and strong, but have in fact died. One prime example of such trees are pines killed by beetle infestation, a major problem in America’s forests.

Dead standing trees scattered throughout the forests are removed selectively by helicopter logging. In many cases entire tracts of woodlands may be composed of dead standing timber, which are most efficiently removed by clear cutting. Either way, such dead trees have drier wood that is much more prone to catching fire from lightning strikes, sparking power lines, or careless campers. Caught alight, one such dead standing tree can lead to the devastation of vast living forests and related ecosystems.

Fortunately, most dead standing timber is prime material for log homes. Beetles, for example, attack only the cambium, the thin growing layer beneath the bark, leaving the rest of the timber unaffected. Since a tree destined for a log home will be milled down to its heartwood, any and all traces of infestation are eliminated long before construction.

In these fundamental ways, logs are a sustainable resource. And that fact alone makes log homes a superb green building option. But there are more good reasons still why log homes make superb eco-friendly choices.

Log Homes: Less “Embodied Energy”

The term “embodied energy” is becoming more and more familiar among folks concerned about the environment. In brief and put as simply as possible, it refers to the sum total amount of energy expended to produce a product. For a brick wall, that would mean every bit of energy involved in digging up the clay, trucking it to the brickworks, building the moulds, firing it in the kiln, trucking it to the store or brickyard or building site, similar energy for the mortar, and assembling the wall, plus a share of the energy expended to make all the machines or equipment used in every step of the process.

By this standard, the walls of a log home contain consume less energy than walls of brick and mortar, and also less than walls of milled boards. That makes logs a much more responsible building material choice for the wellbeing of our planet.

Log Home Milling: Waste-Free Manufacturing

Once they reach the mill, responsibly harvested timbers go through a milling process that is a model of environmentally responsible manufacturing. Virtually no part of the tree goes to waste.

As mentioned, trees destined for log home construction are milled down to their heartwood and cut to length. But what, you may wonder, becomes of the parts that are milled or trimmed away?

When a manufacture receives a log it is usually in the form of a "cant." A cant is a round log that has had slabs cut off of the sides to make it square. These cants are ready to be run though the planner machine but before this happens they go through the first grading process. Logs that have a large amount of cracks, bends, curves, bows, or other flaws are either rejected before they are even milled or are cut down to a smaller usable length and placed in a Grade B or Grade C pile. Logs that make it through this process are Grade A logs.

These Grade A logs are run through a large planner which mills the tongue-and-groove pattern into the top and bottom of the log and makes one face of the log round (the side that is on the outside of the home) and mills the inside face of the log flat. This is done with tungsten carbide tipped cutter heads which makes for an extremely smooth finish.

After the logs are milled they are cut to length according to a log layout. The log layout is a blueprint of the house and contains the exact length of every that is going to be used in the home.

When the log is cut to length it a small slab is cut off the front of the log to make it flat and smooth. Sometimes if the log has a crack which was not seen in the first grading process that portion of the log will be cut off to assure that it meets Grade A standards. These small trimmings from logs are sold as firewood.

Logs graded “B” or “C” because of cracks, bends, curves, bows, or other flaws that render them unsuitable for large-scale quality construction also may be turned into playhouses, sheds, or garages.

Logs which are below Grade B or C quality logs get cut up for dunnage, the strips of wood that secure bundles of logs for shipping or are used to make the borders for gardens.

Even the wood shavings from the planer machines that make the tongue-and-groove cuts that fit logs together are sold for horse bedding or to decorate and hold moisture in garden flowerbeds.

Believe it or not but even the finest particles of sawdust finds use with environmentally friendly composting toilets or to soak up oil on shop floors.

Some enlightened log home manufacturers take the notion of waste-free sustainability one step further still. They become members of environmentally conscious industry organizations that actually fund the replanting of trees to keep forests well managed, healthy, and growing.

Log Homes: An Ideal Choice for Sustainable Living

Once a log home has been built, its value as a green living choice becomes all the greater. Especially when a log home is positioned on its site to take maximize direct sunlight during the colder months and to maximize shade during warmer months, logs are an ideal building material, absorbing heat effectively and releasing it slowly to reduce heating costs in winter, and keeping interiors well-insulated against exterior heat in the summer.

Using dry wood to eliminate shrinkage and built following proper construction, sealing, and chinking procedures, log homes are also extremely airtight. This factor not only further reduces heating and cooling costs but also improves indoor air quality. The result is a far healthier interior environment.

In such practical, everyday ways, log homes provide true benefits to those who build and live in them. From the ways in which the logs are harvested, through their milling process, to the construction of the finished home, they make an ideal choice for anyone who wants to reduce their carbon footprint and live a sustainable, environmentally responsible life.

By Clyde and Jeff Cremer

How much does a log cabin cost to build?

2008-12-28T15:40:00.001-08:00

The above question is asked by most people before any discussion ensues about log homes in general. The above question cannot be answered unless many questions are asked of the prospective home buyer. As an example, the above question is similar to one asked, “How much does a car cost?”

A basic consideration of home cost is what part of the United States are you planning to build. Will you be building in California, New York, Arkansas or North Dakota? There can be a great disparity in building costs between these various regions of the country. Costs may be higher in California than in Arkansas due to the fact that living costs may be higher in California than in Arkansas. In some states, there will be greater requirements of the builder and more approvals from various state and local agencies before a permit can be granted to build the home. Some states do not have building codes or stiff building code requirements or in terms of engineering and contractor licensing and thus costs will be lower. Building materials can also be higher in some states and in some areas of individual states than in another location. Thus, where you plan to build is a major consideration when the cost of a log home is analyzed.

Other considerations to consider are:

1) The type of log home you intend to build. Will it be a precut package, a custom hand-crafter log home or random length logs from a local sawmill. The price of these various components can vary greatly and thus it is a major variable in the cost of building a log home.

2) Do you intend to ship logs in from another part of the country so that you can get the home and the home plan that you desire. Shipping can result in extra costs, but should not be prohibitive when one considers the total cost of the home.

3) Do you plan to have a full basement, maybe completely finished, or are you going to build on a slab or crawl space. There can be a great difference in these various forms of construction.

4) People must remember that the logs are just a small portion of the costs that will be entailed when building a log home. The type of roofing that is to be used such as exposed beam, conventional 2x rafters, or a truss roof can affect the cost of the home. Do you plan to use a specialty metal roof or use regular asphalt shingles?

5) The insides of the log home can run up the cost of the finished home. For instance, a stone fire-place, with hardwood floors, custom cabinets, top of the line bathroom and kitchen fixtures, specialty lighting and electrical components, and interior wall finishing. Most people have the misguided belief that once the house is shelled in, they are near completion. This is not true! There is a lot of labor and materials that will go into the interior of the home before it is finished. It is at this stage that many people opt for the better cabinets, lighting fixtures, carpet, etc. and destroy their budget. One a budget is determined, stick to it or you will get intos a lot of trouble with the funds you have allocated to the project.

6) To get an idea if you can afford a log home, you need to check building costs in the area in which you plan to build. If nice, custom homes are being built in your area for $125 per sq. ft. then you can use this as a guide. However, if this seems feasible, then start shopping for a log package and a builder. A local builder can give you some idea what building costs are running in the area. In the end, you will have to bring a completed blueprint to a builder and tell him exactly what you want for flooring, cabinets, roofing, etc. He will also have to look at your lot to see if it will require more or less work than normal to put in a foundation, septic system, driveway, etc. As a last reminder, if the building costs are in the $125 per square foot range, that does not mean that you can the put in a deluxe bathroom, teak floors, imported crystal lighting fixtures, etc. Keep your feet on the ground when designing your home….unless your do not have financial constraints.

7) One might hear that a completed log home costs will run 2 or 3 times the price of the log package. This is not an accurate way to judge the cost of your finished log home. For instance, one package may sell for $30,000 and another of $60,000, but the less expensive package may well have fewer materials furnished. Thus you have a range of $90,000 to 180,000 for a completed home which are both the same size. Components that go into a log home (or any home for that matter) can vary greatly in price from the low end to the high end. Which end of the building spectrum that you plan to build will make a big difference in the final cost of the home.

8) To use a multiplier against the cost of the log package is like getting the price of an automobile by using a factor against the weight of the vehicle. The final, only reliable way to get a finished cost of your log home is have a builder(s) go over your prints after you have them exactly what you want in the house as to materials and components.

9) Finally always have a buffer in your budget of 5 to 10% to cover price increases or unforeseen expenses. If you are on a really tight budget, don’t just throw caution to the wind and say, “lets build it as it will work out.” It might, but if you are wrong you may or the bank may end up with a not quite completed home.

10) I have worked with people who what their “dream home” which is going to be a log home with the best of everything that can be had. They cannot get a loan to cover such a project so they eventually went to a factory built convention home because it was “less expensive.” If they had gone to a more realistic floor plan with fewer “bells and whistles”, then they could have had a log home that would have fit their budget. Be realistic when setting goals for your hew log home. Don’t design something that is completely out of your financial range. The belief that log homes are a very expensive way to build is just not true. What happens is that some people put in too many costly features that runs up the price of the home.

My Military History Blog

2008-12-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a great holiday season! Check out my new blog about military history and my Marine Model Johnson Rifle: Talking with Clyde

Clyde

Log Home Chinking - The Keys to Successful Caulk Joint Design

2008-12-20T12:54:00.001-08:00

With its thick walls of solid wood, a log home is one of the best-insulated buildings in which you could choose to live. But the nature of a log home's construction also presents a unique challenge: the opportunity for air to pass through the gaps between the logs.

Fortunately, air infiltration is a challenge that's easily met, thanks to caulking, the general term for the seals that are introduced between logs. With the right caulking method, or "caulk joint" as it is generally termed, a log home can achieve thermal efficiencies to rival those of any building method.

Two key elements are essential to effective caulking. First, the caulk used must form a "wet" seal, one that adheres to the wood surfaces rather than just filling the gaps between them. And second, it needs to be elastic (a quality sometimes referred to as "memory"), either stretching or compressing as the shapes of the logs themselves subtly move through natural expansion or contraction.

With those elements met, four principles govern the most efficient caulk joint design: caulk depth, points of adhesion, a caulk "well," and the conditions under which the caulk is applied. Each principle is fairly simple to grasp, and understanding them all will help anyone buying, building, or restoring a log home make the right energy-efficient decisions.

Principle 1: Apply the Right Caulk Depth

In general, the depth of caulk in a joint is more important than the width of the caulk's application. Why? Put as simply as possible, the most critical factor is that the caulk have enough mass at any given point to absorb any movement in the logs.

As a rule, whatever its width, the depth of a caulk joint does not need to be any more than 1/2 inch or any less than 1/4 inch. (See figure 1, which illustrates how a thinner cross-section results in less stress on the joint.). Also, a deeper joint is preferable to one that is too thin.

Principle 2: Provide Two Caulk Adhesion Points

Caulk works best when it adheres only to two elements, namely the two logs between which it is applied, so that the seal will hold if and when any movement occurs in the logs. (See figure 2, which illustrates how this principle applies whether the joint is being stretched or compressed.)

Adhesion to three or more points, by contrast, would cause the caulk to be pulled in multiple directions, thus increasing the likelihood that the seal will break away from one or more of the points of adhesion. (See figure 3, which illustrates how such ruptures can occur under three-point adhesion.) Placing a backing rod inside the well

With this principle in mind, any backing materials included in a caulk joint should provide a surface to which the caulk does not adhere. Doing so allows the caulk to remain at its most elastic.

Principle 3: Create a Caulk Well

Superior caulks have enough elasticity to absorb 25 to 50 percent of the total movement in the joint they fill. To allow for that movement, caulk joints require "wells," spaces that allow the joint to absorb that movement.

For a reliable seal, the caulk well should be two to four times larger than the movement that is anticipated for that joint, thus reflecting the 25 to 50 percent absorption properties of the caulk being used. (See figure 4, which illustrates how an anticipated 1/4-inch movement calls or a 1-inch caulk well.)

Obviously, the greater the movement expected in a particular joint, the larger its caulk well should be. Log homeowners can also take comfort from the fact that high-quality caulks currently being sold are capable of absorbing far greater movement than that for which they are rated.

Principle 4: Apply Caulk Under Optimum Conditions

Because logs expand or contract in response to temperature and humidity, the climate conditions at the time caulk joints are applied will affect the seal formed. On a very hot, humid day, for example, a joint will be at its smallest, since wood expands under such conditions; so caulk applied at such a time will later be subject to the maximum stretching. By contrast, a joint will be at its largest on the coldest, driest of days; so caulk applied then will later be subject to the maximum compression. (See figure 5, which illustrates the tension on caulk joints under both extreme and average temperature conditions.)

With this principle in mind, it is wise to select a caulk with properties that best suit the range of local climate conditions, and to apply it at the most stable, least extreme point in the climate cycle. But smart log home builders will also apply caulk at optimum times; for example, sealing caulk joints on the cooler side of a home will work most effectively on a warmer day, while those on the side of a home that gets more direct and prolonged exposure to sunlight would best be sealed on a cooler day.

By aiming to apply all four principles described above, you'll maximize the effectiveness of your caulk joint seal. That may require you and your builder or contractor to implement sealing techniques that go beyond the most obvious and simple solutions. (Figures 6 and 7, for example, illustrate how two logs conventionally sealed with caulk applied at their meeting point lead to a triangular, three-point adhesion that can easily rupture; but adding a caulk well with a backing rod to the same log cross-section results in much more secure two-point adhesion.)

Keep these guidelines in mind, and you'll thus enjoy the maximum benefits of log homes' superior insulation and energy-saving capabilities.

Log Home Care - How to replace a rotten log

2008-12-20T07:55:00.000-08:00

The rotten log dilema

Wood only rots between a moisture content of 30 to 60%. Thus if you find a log that is rotten, it is due to the wood/log getting too wet. Generally this results from a few basic causes of water reaching the logs in fairly large amounts. Many times I have talked with people over the telephone and told them their problem without them telling me much about their home.

There are many reasons or wood to rot:

The roof is the umbrella that protects the home from the elements. Thus minimal overhangs results in rain drenching the logs.
The lack of rain gutters and down spouts allows the water to run off of the roof and be blown onto the logs by the wind. In many cases rain running off of the roof will hit the open deck and splash water against the logs.
Finally bushes planted too close to the home can also divert rain water against the logs and this will leave the logs damp for some time as the bushes keep the sun from hitting the logs and drying them.

Repairing Rotten Logs:

If you have logs which are rotting (generally the lower courses of logs), then you must repair or replace them and then be prepared to take care of the root cause of water saturating the logs.

If the logs have some surface rot, you can chisel out the rotten part of the log down to good solid wood.
Then drench the problem area with a wood preservative such as Penetreat. This wood preservative would be the water soluble type which is a borate compound.
Then use wood epoxy to cover the area in need of repair.

Replacing Rotten Logs:

First obtain a suitable replacement from a supplier that handles the same log type as found in you home. WesternLogHomesuppy.com can manufacture replacement logs for your home. Just give us a call and we would be happy to talk with you.
Then cut out the offending log using a saber saw with a blade made for cutting metal. This will cut through the spikes or log screws holding the logs together. You will then need to remove the rotten logs using a chain saw and wrecking bar. If the log is badly rotten then this job should not be hard to do.
If the logs are tongue and groove type then the new logs will have to have the tongue removed on top of the new log so that it can slipped into the space left by the old log. It can be attached to the solid logs of the home with the use of plated deck screws.
The final touch is to use a good grade of chinking to seal the joints between the new logs and the existing logs in the log home.
Now apply a wood preservative to the affected area (preferably the whole home) and then refinish the home.

As was mentioned earlier, now take care of the problem that resulted in the logs getting wet in the first place!

For more information about replacing rotten logs, chinking material, stain or log cabin kits contact Clyde at Westernloghomesupply.com toll free at 719-547-2135.

Westernloghomesupply.com is a distributor of log home chinking, cabin caulking, log stains, wood finishes, knotty pine log cabin siding, replacement house logs & complete log home kits.

What is Sapstain / Blue Stain?

2008-12-12T18:35:00.000-08:00

The term sapstain and blue stain is used in many articles concerning rot and wood preservation. One should understand this term as a first step in understanding wood degradation and rot.

What is Sapstain?

A tree consists of many parts, but for this short treatise two terms, heart wood (physiologically dead wood located near the center of the tree) and sap wood, which are located on the outer periphery of the tree (physiologically active) will suffice. The sap wood carries water and nutrients up though the tree and thus is a perfect environment for sapstain growth.

When a board or timber is cut from a log, mold spores can come in contact with the nutrient rich wood with its inherent high moisture content and they begin to multiply and spread over the face of the lumber.

As they spread they create a stain which is normally blue, but can actually be different colors. Throughout the years I have seen not only blue, but also black, red and yellow.

If this mold/stain is not checked, it can penetrate into the wood with tendrils and take the infection deep into the lumber or timbers. They will eventually emit enzymes which will break down the wood and then you have the start of serious decay. We are talking about lumber which is wet (unseasoned) and in a nutrient rich environment. Many people talk of dry rot; but in reality there is no such thing. This is a misnomer. since wood needs to be between 30 and 60-percent moisture content for it to begin the decay cycle.

Preventing Sapstain

To prevent sapstain from discoloring the lumber and to prevent further degradation through decay, many mills will dip the product into a fungicide to deter mold from attacking the lumber. This is particularly important in the humid areas of the United States and its use is highly recommended for high quality, valuable lumber.

Lumber which has a high propensity of sapstain will not take a finish evenly. The area which has the sap- stain will absorb wood finishes more than unaffected areas. Thus, when finishing a piece of lumber so infected, one will have to use a number of wood finish coats to even out the look. For high quality products such as furniture or mouldings, the lumber infected with sapstain is discarded.

If one is installing wood which has mildew present, it should be washed thoroughly before applying any type of finish. We are talking about a surface coating of mildew, not a stain that has penetrated deep into the wood. Use a mixture of three quarts of water, one quart of household bleach, and 1/4 cup of liquid dishwasher detergent which does not contain ammonia. Never mix bleach and ammonia as it will give off hazardous fumes. This formulation can be sprayed on using a pump sprayer. After 15 to 30 minutes, it can be washed off using a power washer.

Remember that once the stain goes deep into the wood, it cannot be removed with bleach or any other product. It is there to stay. Always remember not to play chemist and experiment by mixing various chemicals as they could give off hazardous fumes...and more!

Please check out our section of wood cleaners and brighteners and log home preservatives. As always you can contact Clyde at 719 547-2135 if with any questions regarding wood or log homes or visit our website at www.westernloghomesupply.com

Why does wood crack when it dries?

2008-12-08T14:34:00.000-08:00

WHY DOES WOOD CRACK WHEN IT DRIES?

Differential Shrinkage

To get right to the point, wood cracks due to differential shrinkage! Differential shrinkage occurs because the outer fibers in the shell dry first and begin to shrink. However, the core has not yet begun to dry and shrink, and consequently the shell is restrained from shrinking by the core. Thus the shell goes into tension and the core into compression. With the stresses from the shell and core pulling in opposite directions the wood fibers break and a crack forms. The larger the wood member, the more stress is exerted to the wood member.

Examples

Lets take an example of a 1x8 board versus an 8x8 timber

The 1x8 board is only one-inch thick so it dries fairly quickly. The stress are minimal and just a few, small surface checks may result.
The much larger 8x8 (8-inches x 8-inches) timber takes a long time to dry which could be as much as six-months. The inside of the timber will stay wet for months while the outside is dried to well below 20-percent moisture content. The stress that is set up within the 8x8 will eventually result in a ½ inch crack or larger on one face to the timber. This crack will go all the way to the center of the timber and usually be on one face only.

I have seen people cutting a round, “lilly pad” from the end of a log so that they can use it as a cutting board in the kitchen. It looks nice in the green, unseasoned state but after a few weeks it develops a large, pie crack in the piece. It is eventually discarded as unsightly. After throwing it away they wonder what happened to the wood that allowed this to happen.

This is just another reason why wood materials should be properly dried before using them in any mode other than for exterior use such as fence posts, landscape timbers or a rough fence. If they are being used where their final moisture content will be 15% or lower, they should be dried prior to milling and installed into their final end use. In this way the seasoning, stress cracks can be aligned in such a way that they are hidden or discarded.

Preventing Cracks – Proper drying techniques and PEG

What can be done to prevent this seasoning degradation in wood? With large quantities of lumber, boards to timbers one can only resort to proper drying following the many details that make up the complete process. This can be done with either a kiln or by air drying but many details have to be followed to have the results desired. It is not the purpose of this short subject to outline what must be done to properly dry wood. This will be covered in another article.

For small, fairly expensive items such as carvings, another method can be used to prevent degradation due to seasoning checks and cracks. This is done using a chemical called polyethylene glycol-1000 or PEG for short. This material looks like a block of paraffin in the solid state but will dissolve in water. The correct method for using this material is to soak the newly carved piece of wood in water for a month or more depending on its size. After it is completely saturated with water it is placed in a solution of PEG and water. It is kept in this solution for several months for best results. The solution should be warm and can be kept this way with a fish bowl heater. After the carving is thoroughly saturated with PEG, it must be dried slowly in a cool environment and out of the sunlight. The result is a wood carving that will not shrink when it dries and thus will not crack.

The physical explanation for the above process is this: PEG can only be transmitted through the wood if the wood is thoroughly saturated with water. When the PEG enters the cells, it fills the cell walls and the cell lumen located in the center of the cell. When the wood is dried, it cannot shrink because the cell walls are now filled with a solid (PEG) and cannot shrink. If the wood cannot shrink, it cannot crack or split!

As a final note, I used this method on a piece of sycamore that was buried in a clay pit for nearly 6,000 years. I had it made into a gun stock and after 30 years of use the gun stock looks like new without the slightest hair line crack in any surface of it.

P.S. To treat checks and cracks in wood we recommend that you use our chinking and sealant materials found here. If you have any questions regarding drying wood or wood in general just give me a call at 719-547-2135 or visit our website at www.westernloghomesupply.com

How to Remove Stains from Wood Prior to Finishing

2008-11-30T07:05:00.001-08:00

During construction the logs can become stained from rain hitting the logs and leaving water spots as well as having black stains develop from water hitting the spikes or lag screws used in construction and leaving unsightly black stains on the logs and other wood. This can be easily removed by using several methods:
Oxalic Acid
For black nail stains you can use oxalic acid and water. A cup of oxalic acid in a gallon of warm water is the best mixture for normal stains. If you have a few stains, just rub the solution on with a soft rag and presto..they are gone. If you have a lot of stains or want to brighten up the logs prior to staining the house, you can use a hand, pump sprayer for the job. This solution is poison so keep away from any living thing. Also use eye protection and a face mask to filter out any of the chemicals. This chemical can be obtained at most home centers and goes by the name of "wood bleach".
Bleach and Water
Another way to brighten up and clean up logs or deck prior to finishing is to use a mixture of half house hold bleach and half water. This can be sprayed on with a hand held pump sprayer and worked in with a brush on tough spots. Never ever try to make your own super stain remover and mix oxalic acid (wood bleach) and house hold bleach together. This will give off a tremendous volume of noxious fumes that can be damaging to your lungs.
Sodium Percarbonate (CPR)
CPR is used to clean and brighten uncoated wood that is dirty, faded or gray from UV exposure. Mix CPR to the brightening solution strength for use on new construction just prior to staining to remove dirt and grime from logs during the building process and to break down mill glaze. Mixed at the log cleaning solution strength—use for periodic cleaning of stained logs to extend the life of your stain. It can be applied eaisly by using a garden sprayer.
Phosphoric Acid
Phosphoric Acid is a liquid concentrate for cleaning log and wood surfaces. It commonly goes by the nameLog Wash. It can be used as maintenance cleaner or to prepare the surface of wood for a new coat of stain or topcoat.
The exterior surfaces of a log home are a settling ground for dust, pollen and other airborne contaminants that dull the surface and encourage mold growth. A light cleaning once or twice a year will keep a home looking beautiful and helps prolong the life of the exterior wood finish.
For preparing the surface of bare or finished wood or for a new coat of stain or topcoat, Log Wash removes dirt, grime, pollen and surface mold and mildew without harming the wood or the finish. As opposed to bleach solutions, Log Wash does not upset the natural pH balance of the wood, thus preventing wood fiber damage and iron tannate stains. It can be applied easily by using a garden sprayer.
To learn more about log home and wood cleaners please visit our website at www.westernloghomesupply.com or give us a call at (719) 547-2135

What causes logs to rot?

2008-11-24T07:22:00.000-08:00