Log cabin refresh

[Maximus]

My wife and I are refreshing a one-room 12x12 log cabin, built 28 years ago with little if any maintenance in the interim.  We bought the property 4 years ago and have been working our way through it.  Now, it's the cabin's turn.

The construction is rough, as to be expected from a diy'er with hand tools building their first cabin.  My hat's off to him (RIP), I think he did a great job.  It is solid and does not leak.  He sealed it with an expanding foam in the cracks on the outside.  Inside, nothing.

That foam is of course aged.  Our plan is to clean everything inside and out, boracare in and out, then let it dry well (which is where we are right now).  

We'll plug larger gaps with wood, smaller gaps with spray foam, then chink the outer seams, followed by linseed oil outside and clear polyurethane inside.

Seem about right?  Our goal is to make a nice 2-person cabin for sleep-overs.  Not airbnb, just friends.  More importantly, we want the cabin to last, structurally.  It is rather handsome.

We welcome your ideas.  Happy to spend some $ on it and sweat equity.  Not a resale thing, as we're going to die here.  Thank you!

[barbender]

That's a nice little cabin!

There are log home specialty products for a reason- you need finishes that breath, but yet keep water from getting into the logs where it will cause rot.

The biggest issue is getting the cracks in the logs that are on the outside if the building sealed up so they arent collecting water. You want an actual flexible log home thinking product for that. 

There's a company local to me that has pretty knowledgeable staff and a lot of books and advice on their website. I think it is www.loghelp.com

[doc henderson]

glad to hear from you!

[Andries]

2x what Barbender said.
Schroeder Log Home Supply Inc. is a great source of information and supplies. 

It looks like the roof is cedar shingles and the foundation is a concrete pad.
 It's been said (and worth repeating): "a good hat and a good pair of boots will keep a building in good shape for a long time."

[Maximus]

2x what Barbender said.

Amen, Andries, and thank you, Barbender.

I'm pretty sure I learned that hat & shoes mantra on this site, and my poor wife is more than sick of hearing it.  But it's so pivotal!

Thankfully, the gentleman that built the outbuildings on our property understood it and built accordingly.  That's why we get to "refresh" these wonderful structures instead of rebuild.

The roof is indeed cedar and the floor a concrete slab.  Oddly, it has a drain in the floor, which has me perplexed.  This dude was not one to do anything without a very specific and good reason, but darn if I can figure that one out.

I reached out to Permachink and got a gibberish response.  I'll try these other companies and see what they say.

Thank you!

[doc henderson]

can you seal off the drain to blow some air through it to see if it comes to daylight?

[Resonator]

Quite a few years back I helped a family friend renovate his hunting cabin. I believe he used a product kind of like a thick caulk called "Log Jam", came in tubes or a 5 gallon bucket. Would stuff closed cell foam "rope" into the gaps, then apply the product over it.

[Andries]

The products available for chinking logs (space between each log) is a big part of water management and thermal insulation.
There are a lot of both traditional and modern solutions.
However, a sneaky point of entry for rainwater is the checking in the logs on the outside of the building.
 An upward facing check can collect rainwater and promote rot inside the log, causing a need for one log in a wall to be replaced.
Which falls into a 'not fun if you've never done it before' category.
Products like CheckMate would probably interest you; it's a harder issue to deal with than chinking, and makes a huge difference to the longevity of the individual logs.

[Maximus]

Update:  It's been all log-cleaning for the last week.  We removed the 30 yr-old spray foam in all the gaps and seams, then sanded with 80 grit.  We will sand again, inside and out, with emphasis on the end grain.  Darn wood, it's so beautiful, it's hard to stop sanding!

Once it's sanded, we'll hit the seams with scrubby pads on drills to make sure the chinking surfaces are clean, then power-wash in and out, followed by several days of air-drying.

For stain, Cabot 3000 outside to show the wood yet still get some UV protection.  Checks are minimal, so we'll just flow a little more stain into them and call it good.  Satin polyurethane inside, with "Bug Juice" mixed in, a product brought to our attention by Google AI.  Looks like neat stuff!  Kills "unwanted guests", but I'll be darned how it knows who's who.

Wifey and I discussed chinking colors ad nauseam and decided to go with medium gray Permachink in the corners where the log ends stack, with 1.5 in. open cell foam backing.  In the much narrower log seams, "Dark Natural" Energy Seal chinking over 3/8 in. closed cell backer rod.

Why two different chinking colors?  Because we have to buy two buckets, so we figured we would give ourselves some options.  Since we have to invest in the follower plate and chinking gun anyway, might as well swing for the fence.

We plan to chink the inside also, but will wait until we finish the outside before making any decisions there.  Likely, given the two buckets of chinking, it will simply be the color reversal of the outside -- brown in the corner joints, gray in the seams, same backing (assuming the outside went ok).

That's the plan.  Thanks FF for the ideas and input!  We'll update again when something interesting happens, or we finish the project.

[Magicman]

I know nothing so I am just along for the ride.  You have a beautiful and workable beginning.  

[NaySawyer]

Okay .. took a bit to reconcile a one room cabin with the log ends between the door and window.  Guessing that was a poor attempt to stabilize the logs without a proper door frame or door bucks cut into the logs?  The roof eaves need to be extended to protect the lapped corners .. water will rot them fast.  Given these issues l would check the window is properly done before chinking.

[Maximus]

Okay .. took a bit to reconcile a one room cabin with the log ends between the door and window.  Guessing that was a poor attempt to stabilize the logs without a proper door frame or door bucks cut into the logs?  The roof eaves need to be extended to protect the lapped corners .. water will rot them fast.  Given these issues l would check the window is properly done before chinking.

Interesting, Nay!  I've been staring at that crazy log joint between the window and door for years, never a clue!  I think you may be right, it's there to stabilize the door.  I'll look at extending the eaves when we reroof the out buildings in a couple years.  I can only giggle though at the idea of "the window being done properly"...it most definitely is not.  Plexiglass between a couple twigs, so I don't think we're getting there from here.  "Rustic", that's my excuse.