Re-stain my log house

[sparky1]

I dont know where i should post this, so i figured here is as good as any. My question is this. I want to re-stain my log house this summer. I have a lot of questions and no answers. I bought this house 3 years ago, and its probably going on 5 years since it was last stained. I live in southern wisconsin, so there are extreme temp changes.  we can go from up to 100 in the summer to -30ish in the winter. so i need a stain thats good in both.

well my first question is, what do i have to do to prep my house to re-stain? do i just buy like a wash and spray on and spray off?? If so what works? Now i noticed on the side that the house gets the most sun, the top of the logs are discolerd (blackish). Im assuming this is from the sun beating down on them. the rest of the house isnt to bad. Some spots have a little greeenish algae but i think that i will wash off.

my next question is what is a good stain brand name?? i dont wanna break the bank, but i want a good looking job.

Id love to hire this done, because i hate painting, staining. I dont know of anyone in southern wisconsin who does this. if anyone can lead me in the right direction on any of these questions that would be great!!

thanks,

[Burlkraft]

Hey Sparky....

I have the same problem. It's been waaay too long since I have stained mine.

It's hard to find anybody in this area who will do one and knows what they are doing.

Mine was finished with bee's wax and linseed oil. We had to pressure wash it a couple of times and then stain.

I went with an oil based amber color last time. This time I think I am going to use and oil based solid color like cedar.

I want it to be lighter in color this time.

When you are done with yours let me know and you can do mine too!  :D :D

[red oaks lumber]

we used sikkens brand stain/sealer its more money but, willlast longer. 5 years and still looks like day one

[Autocar]

My sister after staining brushes some kind of clear coat that is like a varnish but much thicker there place looks as good as the day the logs were brought there.

[Jeff]

power wash with bleach/water solution, then use sikkens.

[breederman]

sikkins is what most people are using around here I have been using CWF but because that is what was recommended 20 years ago, but after talking to my kit manufacturer I think I will change next time.

[Jeff]

You can use commercial deck wash or about a cup of regular bleach per gallon of water,

We use sikkens on everything around here

[sparky1]

I love how that looks Jeff. I read in a couple places where using a pressure washer will get water into the interior of the house, and then possibly mold issues. just curious if thats a big concern? i have a half log house, where i can in some places see the styrafoam directly behind the logs. theres no chincking or caulk between them. i just dont wanna open a bigger can of worms than i already have. Some people were tellin me to use a corn cob blaster, but i can not locate a rental place in my area that has one, and there 1000 plus to purchase one. I do like your idea the best, if its not gonna create a mold issue.

I was leanin towards the sikens stain before, i think ive been steered there for good. Is there a good website to buy it off of, price wise? or is it a big box item that is easily purchased?

[LAZERDAN]

American Building Restoration Products - Franklin, Wisconsin        If you want any info these people can help.  They even may know someone to do the work.                       www.abrp.com                 Our building is next to thiers  they have been in business a long time. Just my 2 cents

[Jeff]

never say it in big box stores, We get it at ace hardware stores around here. I am sure it has probably went up since we last bought some two years ago.  Around $35 a gallon, by the gallon,  and $135 by 5 gallon pail.

I would think you want to power wash when the weather is warm dry and stable. Same as when you would stain.  Blasting with corn cobs is definitely more effective, but pricey.

[LAZERDAN]

nam.sikkens.com/about-sikkens.cfm   I used ABR in the outside of the house and sik kens on the inside per the lumber yard folks   Both not cheap dates.     Lazerdan                  www.nam.sikkens.com

[1938farmall]

You want to be careful if you try corn cob blasting.  We had some Amish do it and the logs are now all pock-marked,  Looks like someone used the logs as a pattern board for 12ga. fine shot.  just sayin'.........

[blue mtn]

 I,ve been using Weatherseal by Continental Products. I am very happy with the finish,it lets the grain of the wood show through. I have also used it on a couple of customers homes. It contains borate ,which helps preserve your logs. I would be happy to look at your home and see what it needs. I,m located just west of Madison.P.M. me .  Let me know if you have any questions .Take care ,Dan

[beenthere]

I'd follow Jeff's advice and wash with the bleach solution to get rid of the mildew (black that you described) and the algae. I'd be careful with any power wash, as a good brushing and rinsing of the bleach solution will work, and you are less likely to force water in between the logs where it is hard to dry up (and being dry is important before applying the sikkens).

Check at the local hardware stores for a lead on locals that are into outside painting. It is a tough business if one is a painter, as the weather can play the devils role when trying to schedule jobs. Much easier to be an inside painter and not have to worry about the weather (or tall ladders and scaffolding). ;)

[sparky1]

so this whole bleech solution. how do I apply it? just brush it on?

[Jeff]

most power washers have soap dispensers or pick up tubes.

[sparky1]

cool.. thanks everyone for all the great advice!! this is a great forum, glad i ran across it!! im sure i will have many more questions...

I do have one, kinda off the subject. whats the best way to get rid of Bats in the attic?? the builders didnt make the soffet a supper tight fit, need less to say i have bats.. any good ideas. preferably legal ones!!!  ;D

[breederman]

I just use a pump up garden sprayer to apply the bleach then rinse with a garden hose.

[dovetails]

whats the best way to get rid of Bats in the attic?? the builders didnt make the soffet a supper tight fit, need less to say i have bats.. any good ideas. preferably legal ones!!! 

Bats leave at night to feed,when they go out,just staple some screen over the holes they use,so they can't get back in. They will go elsewhere. Ya might want to make and put up some Bat "Houses", They eat a lot of bugs every night!  I get a flock of them in my shop now and then, about 30-40 of them hanging from the wafer board roof. Other than the mess under them,I don't mind them at all, no mosquitos for a few days,till they decide I disturb their sleep to much,and they leave.

[sbishop]

Jeff,

Which product from Sikkens did you use on your place? Cetol Log &Siding?

They seem to have 4-5 products for log siding!

Thanks
Sbishop

[Jeff]

I'll find out for sure when tammy gets here. I can't reach due to the cling, but we have a couple gallons on the shelf in the closet so we can find out for sure exactly what it is.

[sbishop]

I  was going to start the same thread today as i need to get cabin stained this spring!

Thanks Jeff and everyone for their input.

i'm still not sure which one i will be using but it will be either Sikkens or CWF (flood). I've seen CWF in action as i know Pappy has it on his cabin. I'm suppose to visit him this weekend so i'll report back on how well the CWF has helded up.

Sbishop

[moosehunter]

This is a great thread. I am wondering if it should/ could be moved to the log home section so it can be found in the future easier?

mh

[Jeff]

 

[knowslittle]

I agree with all of the above.  I found the Cetol Log and Siding Natural more to my likeing. I don't use it on a log house, but on clear cedar siding on a house in Wa., and it works great.
Applied it (and the bleach) with garden sprayer.  If I remember correctly, you can't let the bleach solution dry before rinsing. Temperature during stain application is somewhat critical, as stated before. 

As maintenence, I use Sikken's maintenence product (forgot it's name).  Have to apply it more often, much less work than the Log and Siding, but doesn't cumulatively darken the siding like multiple coats of the Log and Siding.

Dovetails- can't say I have any advice on how to get rid of the bats, but do know there is an easy way to get them out of the house at night should one leave a door open.  Simply shut off all lights inside the house, turn on the exterior porch light and leave the door wide open. They head towards the exterior light.

[sbishop]

Jeff, any reason why the Sikkens SRD wouldn't work on my log cabin (its just a cabin, spruce logs).

SRD a gallon is around 35$
Sikkens Cetol Log siding is around $65 a gallon

from what i've seen online.

Sbishop

[Jeff]

Its all we have used on our house. So far we have never retained anything.  I'll go out side and snap a few photos so you can see how it has weathered over time.  I honestly can't see what the benefit is of paying for the $65 a gallon stuff.

[Jeff]

The House was stained in 2004
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,7218.0.html

The fence was stained in 2005
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,12636.0.html

and the cabin was also stained in 2005 
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,14094.0.html

My plan was to restain this year as you can see from some of the photos that there is getting to be some weathering, but that depends on how quick I heal from this shoulder surgery. We are talking 7 years now on the house and it still looks pretty good.

[sbishop]

So Jeff, you are saying (and i'm thinking) that SRD will work just fine!!!!!!

[Jeff]

I'm saying it works fine for me and I don't regret using it. 

[sbishop]

I also see you only need to put one coat on...... 8)

[Jeff]

That's all we did on everything you see there. One coat.  We tried spraying to begin with, but you had to brush it in anyhow, so we just brush it on.

I just recalled that we did re-stain one thing so far. The flag pole this past year got another coat.

[jander3]

There is some very good info on log home prep and stain at www.loghelp.com which is Schroeder Log Home Supply.  And, if you have questions, you call them up and they are glad to help.  Use them for many supplies.

[sparky1]

This is all great info. thanks to everyone who commented.

[woodnie]

Check out a product called  Penofin. Did my home sawed pine cabin in ne. Iowa  with it  5 years ago. This product will protect wood from uv rays. Kind of spendy but well worth it in my opinion. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[sparky1]

Ok, so i think tommorow im gonna give the bleech thing a whirl.. so what im gathering is just mix bleech and water in a sprayer. spray on and then before it dries spray off.. Do i have that correct?  so when i do this, all i have to do is let the house and deck dry and im all ready for stain?

it just seems to easy!! am i missing something here? What im gathering is that the bleech will take the logs basically back to there original color, even if i have a darker stain on them now?

[Jeff]

The bleach is not going to remove discoloration from under previous coats of stain, and its not likely to lighten the color of previous coats of stain. If the stain is weathered off, and the wood is discolored from mildew, mold or oxidation, it should help with those things.

[beenthere]

+2  Like Jeff said.

[sparky1]

ok, that makes a little more sense to me. So for my best results i should probably do the pressure wash thing and maybe even mix in a little bleech with the washer and then re-stain the whole house. im guessing i will have to apply at least 2 coats because of the darker color.

[Jeff]

You definitely need to wash before you stain to remove all the flora and fauna.

[sparky1]

Ok, I think im starting to undertand this ;D I could possibly get by washing the house with the bleech solution and then re-stain over the existing stain to "darken" it up to what it was originally was. This would eliminate the pressure washing.

[sparky1]

ok.. I'm ready to order some stain now, I was chatting with a sales man yesterday. He told me to use the Sikkens system. First use the cytol 1 (one coat) and then use cytol 23 (two coats).  So i seen a house he said was done, and it looked great. But I then seen the price of the stain and it's 60 plus bucks a gallon. Is this necessary, I don't want to short change it. I also don't want to pay more for something thats not needed..

[frwinks]

judging by the pics posted by Jeff, the one coat SRD does a pretty good job.  The house stained in '04 still on it's first coat and looking fine 8)

[Jeff]

The only thing I can say is that I'd not do anything different if I had to do it again. The other stuff worked fine for me. One thing though is my wood is all Northern white cedar. If I never stained the siding, it would still last my lifetime.

[oklalogdog]

sbishop

I used CWF on a rustic house I built in 1980.  The gables were rough sawn board and batten cedar with exposed rough sawn 6" X 12" cedar beams.  It was over ten years before I had to treat again.  The south gable at that time was the only one that really needed it.  The two east gables and north gable still looked pretty good.  I'm no preservative expert but CWF worked pretty good for me.

I am now in the first stages of building a log house and am also trying to figure out which would be the best to use.  There is another one used a lot down here TWP.

P.S. I'm in Oklahoma - I think the area makes a lot of difference too.

[MReinemann]

Looking back through this post even though it started in April.  Sparky if you still got the bats I believe wasp and hornet killer will kill them I remember my dad using that in our attic back when I was a kid.

[Jennsmith15]

Hi! I have a question. For the bleach/water mixture, can I just use regular clorox bleach?
We have white pine logs and woodguard stain was used the first time to stain them. The house and deck was stained in 2008 and they need stained again.  Do you all suggest going with sikkins? We have considered hiring someone to restain the house, but after reading these posts I think we can do it ourselves.  If I am correct, spray the bleach/water mix on with a power washer, rinse it off, let the logs dry, then apply the stain with a brush - 1 coat if we are using the sikkins correct?

[logsmith]

Re cleaning and staining, my experiences are
1. I avoid power washing for reasons stated on this forum
2. I use a stain product called TWP, not usually available at big box stores though
3. Someone asked about black logs near the top.  I found this on my house also, professional painters said it could not be removed.  I found it was simply ...dirt... that collected on the logs more protected from the rain.
4. To wash I just use a general house cleaner, like you can get at big box and attach to end of garden hose, and a brush on a pole and then good rinsing and drying.  But be careful, there are also products that will take off most of your existing stain, unless that is what you want.
5. I only use bleach or similar product to remove mold, which is usually just in areas that may collect water and are also more shaded from the sun.  Mold removal also takes some brushing
6. Re staining, after a couple of times having it sprayed, I have found that brushing is truely the best method and will last a lot longer.  But, there are some logs that I cannot reach easily with a brush, if any one has a suggestion for a tool for application in these cases would like to know (considered a roller tool with stain in the pole handle, but think that would be really messy and hard to get over a rounded log anyway)

[sparky1]

HOUSE DONE!!! WHAT A GOOD FEELING!!!!!! 8)  I ended up pressure washing it. that took three weekends. I used a bleach and water mixture.. it worked well!! I then used Sikkens cetol log and siding stain. It was about 70 dollars a gallon, but i love the look!!! we went through around 11 gallons! A case of Korbel to my boss for letting me use the boom truck, and a couple hundred dollars for gas. It took two weekends to stain the house too! Now i get to go through and caulk all the joints, the builders didn't think it was necessary to do that...uggh.  all in all i have 1300 dollars stuck in this so far!!

[Magicman]

Congratulations on getting that chore behind you.  Now you can concentrate on fun stuff.