5 Log Home Maintenance Myths to Know

There are plenty of stories floating around about the perils of building and keeping a log home.  While some of these are valid concerns – particularly when it comes to maintaining homes in wet or humid climates – most of these stories are harmless myths that can be safely ignored.

Log homes do have specific building and maintenance requirements because they are mainly made from wood rather than brick and stone, but that simply means that they have different needs, not that they are inherently more difficult or time-consuming to maintain.

So long as you educate yourself on proper maintenance techniques, or hire a reputed company to take care of maintenance for you.

Myth 1:  Log home maintenance takes a long time.

Reality: log home maintenance doesn’t need to take that long at all. If you plan ahead properly and pay attention to how your house is designed, then maintenance shouldn’t take long at all.  Proper landscaping and foundations, large overhangs and porches, all of these things will help in maintenance, as will remembering that log homes do have different maintenance requirements.

Myth 2: Log home maintenance is complicated.

Reality: While it can be complicated, because again, log home have different maintenance requirements than other homes do, it doesn’t have to be.  The main thing is to keep everything as clean as possible.  Keep the walls clean of dust, pollen, insects, eggs, and mould.  Make sure that the walls are dry as well, since moisture can cause the wood to expand and crack.

Myth 3: Log homes have mould problems.

Reality: all surfaces have the potential to grow mould.  It depends on the amount of moisture present, not on the material said surface is made of.  As above, keep the surface of the wood clean and dry – this is where good landscaping will come into play.  Ensure that any trees are planted far away from the property, make sure that the drainage is good and the drain pipes are kept clear, and you should be able to keep your log home relatively mould free.

Myth 4: Different log home stains are the same.

Reality: not all log home stains are created equal.  Each company produces its own stain, to its own specifications, and while there is some overlap, it is probably best not to take things for granted.  While you can probably choose from a variety of different stains once you know the specific needs of your own house, you still need to be careful to choose correctly.

In the same vein, while shops which cater to log home maintenance will carry their own varieties of stain, it might be a good idea to avoid that brand, unless the wood of your home is particularly low maintenance.  Yes, it will be cheaper, but it is likely that the reduction in price has been managed by reducing the quality of the ingredients.  If you are serious about log home maintenance, avoid stain which seems suspiciously low in price.

Myth 5: Cracks in logs are automatically a problem.

Reality: cracks in logs are a fact of life.  It is extremely rare to impossible to find a log which doesn’t have a crack somewhere in it.

Cracks are formed by moisture within the wood.  While timber is dried before being used as building material, this doesn’t mean that it is bone-dry throughout – often the core of the wood still has moisture in it.  As the wood settles into its new shape and reacts to the weather, this moisture will expand and contract, causing cracks in the wood.  Smaller cracks can be safely ignored, but larger ones will need attention before they undermine the integrity of your log home.  Use of chinking or caulking to seal the holes will solve the problem.  You can either do the work yourself, or hire a company to do it for you.