A question we recently received: “I have a friend with a log home. He’s been told that he has to seal it every 3-5 years. Is that correct? Seems like a lot to me.”
Every single person asks us this. So let me give our answers.
First, the question is often “How often must I stain my log home?” or “How often should I maintain my log house” or some other derivative. What I’ve learned is that all of these questions essentially mean: When I own a log house, what do I need to do? For this blog post, I’ll limit my thoughts to the frequency of stain re-application.
The answer is: and you will hate this answer: It depends.
I know, I know! You want something more definitive. Unfortunately, anyone that would confidently give you a definitive answer on this doesn’t know what they are talking about, even though they may sound convincing.
This question would be akin to me asking you: How often do you need to clean your house?
“Every two weeks!” you might say. Really? I’m single, I travel a lot, I’m very neat, I have great filters that prevent dust, and my house barely looks lived in a month after cleaning.
On the other hand, when I used to have dogs, I had to have my cleaner come once a week, and my house was a wreck by that point!
VARIABLES. There are variables. Here they are:
1) Stain type: We offer two stain varieties: An oil-base and a water-base. We maintain our oil homes every 3-4 years and our water-base homes every 4-6 years. So water is better, right? Not necessarily. The long-term care costs more. Again, variables.
2) Atmospheric challenges: Some of our homes in Western Kansas, or on gravel roads, get dusty quickly. Our homes in Oklahoma get red dirt dust on them which totally changes the appearance of the home. Further, a home with lots of tree cover may age very well…or it may mildew easily. Further still, what is the design of your home? Does it have wrap-around porches? Does it have large overhangs?These answers will make a huge difference. Variables.
3) Proactivity: Our wise clients follow our maintenance schedule and allow us to treat their home BEFORE it needs it. On the other hand, some clients become hyper-proactive and want to treat it every year or two years, thinking that more is better. It isn’t.
Consider this analogy: The Bible, when using the metaphor of salt, talks about how too little salt has no effect, but too much will ruin the taste.
Just so with your log home. The best practice is to allow the stain to remain not under-applied (failing) but also not over-applied (building a coating). There is a balance between these extremes.
Practically speaking, for those that don’t enjoy the grey area, with penetrating oil stains, every 3-5 years is probably a reasonable maintenance schedule. With the finishes that create a surface coating (Sashco, Permachink, Sikkens), every 4-6 years is probably a reasonable schedule.
I will emphasize that this time schedule is an estimate. Every home and environment is unique. Hopefully, you have a log home maintenance expert that you are leaning on to help you with this decision. Trust what they suggest. If you don’t trust what they suggest, then reconsider who you deem to be an expert.
Email us if you have specific questions about your log home.
