This log home maintenance and repair article explains the basics of log wall chinking, caulks, gaskets, and coatings and sealants for log buildings.

We provide links to log home sealants & coatings, product sources for log homes. Our page top photo shows a Pennsylvania log home that was left to the elements. Ultimately the roof failure, leaks at the chimney, and a bottom course of logs in ground contact were the three areas of failure on this structure.

Other, nearly identical cabins in this location along the Susquehanna river were in good condition where basic roof and wall maintenance had been kept up.

Log Sealants, Log Chinking Products & Log Home Log Wall Coatings

A traditional log home constructed of individually-cut rough (and varying-in size and shape) logs is shown in our photo at left.

Concrete chinking was used, here painted white, to fill in the irregularities between the mating horizontal logs to stop drafts and water from entering the structure.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Some of the really unfortunate disasters we've seen on log home exteriors were caused by use of a log coating or sealant which was not recommended by the log manufacturer. Use of the wrong sealant can lead to peeling and ugly surfaces that can be very costly to correct.

Here are some Log Home special sealants and caulking or chinking products. But before applying anything to the logs on your home, inside or out, find out what products your log manufacturer recommends.

• Geocel Caulk or other GE^TM caulking products specifically designed for log buildings
• Compriband^TM, an impenetrable sealant made by Secoa Corporation, Warminster PA
• Log Home Foam^TM, Norton Sealant Operations, Granville, NY

• Perma-Chink™, a flexible log chinking material that looks just like concrete, remains flexible, from PermaChink Systems, Knoxville TN 800-548-1231 (Photo above was taken by the author of a sample provided courtesy of Perma-Chink) permachink.com.
  
  Our sample has remained flexible and un-damaged since PermaChink sent it to us more than 20 years ago.
• Lifeline^TM Natural Wood Finish (acrylic polymer) is also from Perma-Chink Corp.
• PR-5636^TM, poltyurethane sealant, Products Research & Chemical Corp., Glendale CA
• Traditional mortar log chinking (we do not recommend this approach as it falls out, leaks, requires frequent repair)
• Preservative stains, pigmented, penetrating type: we've used these with success on slab log siding on log homes; a good practice for maximum durability and insect resistance of slab log siding is to seal all surfaces of the log siding before it is installed.

Our photo (left) shows concrete chinking on an antique log home in Pennsylvania along the Susquehanna River.

Click to enlarge and you can see the exposed log mating surfaces where chinking has fallen away from between the second and third logs near the corner of this wall.

Also note that the bottom logs were placed on flat stones set right on ground level. Original growth first-cut timber that grew in the United States produced trees that grew slowly and produced wood that was quite durable, resisting rot and insects for decades.

The growth rings in these logs were close together and the wood dense. But even first growth timber eventually rots when left on or close to the ground, exposed to ground moisture and splash-up from roof spillage during rainstorms.

Log Home Sealants, Chinking, Research

• LHAB "Caulking, Chinking, Insulators, Sealants - which System works Best," Log Home and Alternative Housing Builder, Nov-Dec 1983.
• Lincoln Log Homes Marketing, Inc., 6000 Lumber Lane, Kannapolis NC 28081 704-932-6151
• Mintz, Martin, AIA, "Shop Talk," Builder Magazine, April 1986, detailed solutions for log shrinkage movement by using a "T" jamb at windows and doors. A January 1986 Builder Magazine article shows window installation details in 8" thick log walls.
• PermaChink Systems, Knoxville TN 800-548-1231 provides a range of log chinking products, coatings, and sealants for log and other wood buildings.
• R-Value of WOOD [PDF] U.S. Department of Energy
• Rawlings, Roger, "Log Homes in a New Light," Rodale's New Shelter, April 1983, p. 28 Insulating Characteristics of log homes were neatly summarized
• Robbins, Jim, "The Logless Log Home," New York Times, 05/05/2010 Home section, p. D1 & D6.
• US DOE LOG HOMES: MINIMIZING AIR LEAKAGE [PDF] U.S. Department of Energy
• US DOE Log Homes: CONTROLLING MOISTURE in LOG HOMES [PDF] U.S. Department of Energy
• US DOE Log Homes: LOG HOME DESIGN [PDF] U.S. Department of Energy
• US DOE LOG HOMES: MINIMIZING AIR LEAKAGE [PDF] U.S. Department of Energy
• Young, Robert A., Historic Preservation Technology: A Primer, Wiley (March 21, 2008) ISBN-10: 0471788368 ISBN-13: 978-0471788362

Producers of products for the construction, maintenance, repair or protection of log homes

are welcome to submit product data for inclusion; there is no fee; our website has no financial relationship with any of the products or materials discussed here.

CONTACT US with any suggestions.

This series of articles provides information on the inspection and diagnosis of damage to new and older log homes and includes description of log house and log siding insulation values and alternatives, and also a description of the characteristics of slab-sided log homes as well as all other types of log home construction. We include illustrations of log structures from several very different areas and climates in both the United States and Norway.

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2023-09-11 by InspectApedia Publisher (mod) - Log home owner uses foam (?) covered-up with custom-fitted wood "slats" stained to match

@Sandie,

That added photo is helpful. I agree that you'd have trouble pulling off one of those fill-in "slats" between the logs without damaging it.

My annotations to to your photo are above and below I include a closer-look.

From these photos we can see that someone went to a LOT of extra work to cover up those interior log wall curved meeting faces.

A close look at part of your photo (below) shows some light material that might be foam - someone may have added foam insulation to stop air leaks and then, not wanting to see it, they nailed in those custom-fitted slats, probably using hand planed beveled edges on each piece (making the edges a bit fragile).

This approach looks very nice, is unusual, and the amount of labor probably explains why people instead use a log wall chinking add-on product that has an insualting value - it looks a lot like cement but has a better R-value.

Try gentle probing of some of that lighter-colored material - you should be able to determine if it's foam or if it's cement.

Traditionally people used various materials between logs: oakum or jute, or cement.

Those details are above on this page.

"Modern" kit log homes use much fancier (or "sophisticated") factory milled logs that incorporate a spline system to avoid air leaks.

On 2023-09-11 by Sandie

Thank you for your quick response! We have not looked behind the slats as they fit tightly and I would be afraid of damaging it. I may be able to find one on the exterior that is more viable. I hope this next photo is oriented correctly

[Photo above]

On 2023-09-09 by InspectApedia Publisher (mod)

@Sandie,

Thank you for the interesting log home "slat-chinking" question and the photo.

We're researching this question and will post more here.

I agree that adding wood strips between logs would be a lot of work to cut and fit such "slats" to fit the irregular log surface so would be uncommon. I'd figure someone did that to cover up some sort of insulation - animal wool, grass, moss, or something else.

Have you ever looked behind one of the log filler-slats?

I'd like to see some closer photos of a pair of logs filled with a wooden trimmed-to-fit "slat" too.

On 2023-09-09 by Sandie - wood slats between logs on interior walls, 1927 Oregon Log Home

Hello,
We purchased a 1927 log home located in Oregon. I would like to know a bit more about the use of wood slats rather than chinking. Our home has the slats on the exterior as well as the interior.

Was this common? It seems much more labor intensive and I have found no information on why this technique was used. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[Photo above]

This Q&A were posted originally

at ANTIQUE & OLD LOG CABINS

...

Continue reading at SHRINKAGE & HEIGHT CHANGES, LOG WALL or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Log Home Articles

• LOG HOME GUIDE
  • AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS
  • ANTIQUE & OLD LOG CABINS
  • CRACKS CHECKS SPLITS in BEAMS, LOGS & POSTS
  • DIAMOND WEDGE CUT LOG CABIN
  • ENERGY EFFICIENCY of LOG HOMES
  • INSULATION R-VALUE, SOLID LOG WALL
  • KIT HOMES, Aladdin, Sears, Wards, Others
  • LEAK DIAGNOSIS & CURE in LOG HOMES
  • LOG HOME CONSTRUCTION
  • R-VALUES & THERMAL MASS in LOG HOMES
  • ROT, TIMBER ASSESSMENT
  • SEALANTS CAULKS COATINGS for LOG HOMES
  • SHRINKAGE & HEIGHT CHANGES, LOG WALL
  • SLAB SIDING LOG HOMES
  • SPLINE & GASKET DESIGNS for LOG HOMES
  • SPLINE GAPS & GASKET OMISSIONS
  • THERMAL MASS in BUILDINGS
  • VERTICAL LOG WALL CABINS

Suggested citation for this web page

SEALANTS CAULKS COATINGS for LOG HOMES at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING STRUCTURES

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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

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