Help with chinking between Cedar boards

[eddiebo]

I would like to try a small project of creating a Faux hand hewned cedar wall out of 1 1/2" thick boards. I want to stick build and make the exterior look like real squared logs with chink between the boards. Do I need to use thin wood spacers between the boards before chinking? Have any experience in this process? Tips please.....

[reride82]

eddiebo,
I am doing the same concept on a bath house I am working on. I have 1 1/4" thick boards with 1" to 1 1/2" wide spacers I cut from wood scraps that are about 1/2" thick. Then I am chinking over the spacers between the boards to give it a look of timbers with chinking. I wanted it stick built so it would make wiring and plumbing easier and to have a better insulation factor.

[1938farmall]

i am planning to do something similar and wonder what is the function of the spacers?  are the planks nailed to the studs?  i was planning to sheath the wall with 7/16" osb and use a strip of metal mesh between the planks to hold the chink.  will it work? 

[eddiebo]

reride82 you got any pics? 1938farmall there is a great site that explain the process at www.pioneerlogsiding.com/install.html

[reride82]

I'll try to get some pictures this weekend.

[eddiebo]

Really looking forward to checking out the pics. thanks

[LoneDuck]

I use a white cement and sand mixture for the wall inside the house. You can look at the pics on my gallery. Can't seem to load. All the wood is 2by6 that I got from work.

[beenthere]

lone duck
Posting pics is easy, just that when you are in your post (i.e with the modify button), go to the blue highlighted "click here to add Photos to post" and then go to "my gallery".
Select the photo you want to load and click on it. It will move from thumbnail to full size. Then scroll down until you see the blue highlighted window that says "Insert Image in Post".  That scrolling down is the trick that gets most people, as it isn't so obvious to have to scroll down.
Give it a shot.

[LoneDuck]

 

 
Hopefully this works. Like I said, I use white cement and it seems to work. It was used for a long time before I tried it.

[beenthere]

Good on the pic. Click on "preview" to test if the post is what you want, before clicking on "post".

How long has the white cement been in place? Will it give and take when the boards shrink and swell? Or is it just a matter of easily replacing what crumbles out?

[losttheplot]

Lime based mortar was originally used in contact with wood. The lime mortar does not dry hard and brittle like cement based products.
The lime mortar also allowed the wood to "breathe".

With changes in air temperature moisture will condense on the concrete, over time this will wick into the wood and accelerate the break down of the wood.

In new construction wood and concrete must be separated by a water proof layer such as a sill gasket below a wall plate. 

I don't know how this will effect your cladding, i am sure it will last for many years.

[LoneDuck]

I've only had it up for a few years and there is a little bit of a crack where the two meet. I just figured that if it got to bad I would go back and fill in more when the wood really has time to settle. The wood always is moving so I'm just holding off.

[1938farmall]

loneduck,  i also want to use the white lime-based mortar chinking rather than the synthetic.  did you do anything special between your planks to hold the mortar?  bent nails in the plank edges like they do on real logs?  thanks, al

[LoneDuck]

I actually used the metal lath. Cut it into strips and put that in with screws. Use leather gloves, I found out the hard way. I also twisted it a little so that the mortar could get a better grip.