Top log repair on log home (rot)

[Lincolm]

Hello, my in-laws have a log that’s quite rotten. They guy that came to estimate the repair, keeps pushing back the date for repair, so they asked if I could tackle it to prevent further damage. They told me the guy who was going to do the repair was going to just dig out the rot and  fasten a 8x3 to it. That got me to thinking I might be able to….. so I’d like to ask if this is too complex of a job for someone that’s fairly handy? This is what I’ve come up with.

Used to have a deck here, no flashing, roof doesn’t have a very good overhang, used to not have an eavestrough. Worst of the damage is in the corner. About 2-3” of the log is rotten to about two feet from corner notches. no rot once I get 9’ from notch( roughly under the door). Log is 9”(ish) diameter at the end here.

Would one just, remove rot, plane surface flat, seal flat surface with some sort of primer, fasten a planed log face to this, with lag screws, and seal the joints, put flashing in? Seems easily doable am I incorrect in thinking I can do it?

Other than the top of the log is missing from the corner where I can see the ready rod ( where I would put a block in place before proceeding with repair) the rest seems structurally sound.

Thought?

Thanks



 

 

 

 

[Don P]

That is one way but dig a little deeper first. There was no flashing there, the siding, which looks to need replacing, is dumping water onto a flat top, I doubt it all went out. The sill of the door looks rotted and I would check the floor joists behind it, I've had that deck rot travel into the floor for feet in the past. 

Alternatively, or all depending on the full extent, you can build an interior temp wall under the floor, jack and shim it a little, cut and slide out the old log and slip in a new one.

That mess on the left needs attention as well, again directing water off a wall to the logs rather than shielding them. Rethink that end, maybe a covered balcony?

[Lincolm]

I do remember after reading your post, the whole point of just putting a 3x8 up there was the gentleman had planned on building. 2’ overhang to protect the logs below. Guess we’ll definelty add one to keep he water off and away from the logs.

I’ll dig a little deeper when I go up there next week, I didn’t dig too far, just drove a spike into it to take a quick peek of how much rot there was there. I do feel like a whole lot replacement would be beyond my skill set, the sill under the door looks pretty rough but it seemed decent when I was up there.

Anything else I should look for when I go take a second more thorough look? 

And thank you for the Insight. 

[firefighter ontheside]

I built a large roof over my deck because the logs on that end of the house were getting some rut due to the weather that blows in on that northwest facing wall.  The roof overhang is 4 feet, but windblown rain comes right in.  Long term, you definitely need to build some sort of overhang.  Tap around in other areas.  Rot is not always as evident as that really bad spot.  You may find other rot that is hidden deeper in the logs in other locations.

[kantuckid]

The devils in the details of course but you could potentially remove an entire portion of that log for a part of it's length then slide in a replacement. The sill would be done as a part of that repair. How deep it goes? that's the crux of the fix. 

PLUS!!! the left issue off the roof already mentioned by Don P

[barbender]

You might be better served to build a lean to roof or some other over hang and move on, or just add a half log over the rotted one. That rot is extensive enough that I would wager some money that opening it up will turn into way more than you bargained for.

[Tom King]

I'd check out the wall 90 degrees to that one while you're up there, as well as the edge of the roof on that shingled gable. 

[Joe Hillmann]

If your goal is to stop it getting worse for now I would tuck some sheet metal up there under the siding and window that would cover the log and direct water out away from the logs below.  Then eventually put an eave of some type to direct the water even farther away and protect the logs below from rain hitting them directly as well.

[Lincolm]

Well thank you all for your comments. Have much to think on and researching to do ( one plus of night shifts I guess). 

I will chip away and see what's really under all that rot and come back with some more pictures and I'm sure many questions. 

Looks like they may be getting covered deck here!

[Ianab]

Looks like they may be getting covered deck here!

That's the long term solution. Don't worry too much about digging out the rotten wood, it won't make things any worse, and it basically has to be cut out at some stage. Even short term some sort of flashing that directs water out over the top log will let the log dry out and slow the damage. 


When you look at traditional log homes, they all have decent roof overhangs all around. That got missed off the design here. Logs can last a LONG time if they stay dry, but depending on the species their life is limited when exposed to the elements. 

[Joe Hillmann]

Well thank you all for your comments. Have much to think on and researching to do ( one plus of night shifts I guess).

I will chip away and see what's really under all that rot and come back with some more pictures and I'm sure many questions.

Looks like they may be getting covered deck here!

If you start chipping away at it you may find it quickly becomes a much larger job than you are prepared for. 

[snobdds]

My mom owns a log cabin, that was built not too long ago.  Had some dry rot that affected a few logs.  It made no sense to replace the logs.  We used a product called woodepox that is like playdough.  You can stuff it into the rotted wood and mold it to look like a log.  It dries white and it needs a solid stain top coat.  It totally fixed the rot issue on her place. In fact, the exoxy'd wood will probably last longer than the natural wood surrounding it. 

[kantuckid]

Auto body Bondo is cheaper and basically what you used. It also takes stain and can make a decent repair. I had an area on my home where a wall planter had damaged my logs as unseen damage from the planter. Several of the log/wood repair products are simply "polyester filler", i.e. "Bondo" as it's mostly called. 
There are far more versions sold for AB work (than wood labeled stuff) such as fiberglass reinforced and premium versions too. I used red hardener as it makes the product closer to a brown tone than the also common blue hardeners. 

[Don P]

Some view either as the kiss of death but if replacing the log is the option, what's the difference. The woodepox is an Abatron product, good stuff. It is an epoxy rather than a polyester resin for whatever that's worth, I think epoxy goes longer and these ones were tailored for wood rather than autobody resin looking for another app, but that's pure opinion. I've used Abatron's liquid epoxy thinned with their solvent to saturate rotted wood and then the putty to recreate the missing sections. The oldest repair I have is right at 20 years old. And I probably should have replaced that log. I'm working on 4 of the oldest windows at work that they would like to reuse. They are much lighter than sound wood and sections are missing. I'm saturating and forming a lot of it with West System epoxy. The kiss of death part, you are making a hard to dry shell over an active compost pile. Much like bondo over rust, it probably isn't a real long term solution. When I look at the old chevy, a little bondo probably isn't going to be the impending final straw.

[kantuckid]

Yes, to the above. I will say that I did buy that product and used some of the wood repair epoxy material (all the small can) and it seemed rather fluffy even when hard as I recall, so I switched to Bondo with glass in it when I needed more to finish.
 
FWIW, I live in a "hard core bondo area" ;D where in the past myriad AB shops bought auction rust and wiped holes full of the stuff, sprayed them up and resold. The county next door to mine had 58 AB shops when I worked at the Vo-tech school there in late 70's/early 80's. I've seen guys mixing on cardboard and fill one in no time! 


My repaired log home area was not a structural repair, it was superficial. One spot I took a wood chisel and made a precise concave area and took a 6" wide manufactured log siding scrap (KD) which was glued in and screwed down. It looks sort of newish compared to a peeled SYP natural log but beats epoxy or bondo or whatever else except a SYP slab dry and peeled then fixed into place.