3 Most Common Log Home Restoration Questions Answered!

We are commonly asked what it takes to restore a log home?

We will tackle these questions which will hopefully give you a better understanding of log home restoration and what it takes to get the job done.

There are currently three methods used to remove the existing finish on your log home.

Each of these three methods require the greatest amount of time when restoring your log home. Removing the existing finish completely is probably one of the most important steps in the log home restoration process since it gives you a blank canvas to work on.

As a log home owner you should research each of these methods and figure out which method would suit your budget and needs. As always check out a contractors past work IN PERSON to get a clear picture of what the end result will look like.

Each log home is unique in its own ways and therefore costs are usually across the board when it comes to restoring them. Over the past 22 years of being in business we have restored hundreds upon hundreds of log homes and have seen prices ranging from $15,000 up to $100,000+.

Obviously the higher price range is for much higher end log homes or even commercial log buildings. The average cost for a medium sized log home (1,500 s.f. - 2,000 s.f.) would be between $20,000 - $40,000 dollars and more depending on the design of the log home and the landscaping.

These prices may seem high but you must consider what is being done to your log home. When we restore a home we usually go around the building 10 TIMES. Now thats a lot of moving ladders, scaffolding, man-lifts, etc. We give your building the attention it deserves and probably has never received!

Proper procedure means everything when restoring a log home and if any step is skipped you could be putting your log home investment at risk of premature finish failure and even rotten logs! Rotten logs are something every log home owner dreads and for good reason since log replacement can often be pricey and preventable.

While each log home is different it takes on average 3-6 weeks to restore your log home from start to finish. It usually takes this long due to drying time from washing the home, drying time in between coats of stain, and curing time for any caulking or chinking that had to be done.

Removing the existing finish can take 3-6 days depending on the type of existing finish, size of building, design of building, and landscaping around the building. Washing a log home takes a day and needs at least 2-4 days to dry out depending on the weather conditions (humidity, precipitation, temps, etc.).

Applying a borate log preservative should only take a day but requires the same amount of drying time as washing the log home.

Applying the first coat of stain can take 1-3 days also dependant on the size, design, and landscaping around the home.

Caulking or chinking can can take 5-10 days and usually needs 3-6 days to cure before applying the second coat of stain. This curing time is dependant upon the joint size of the caulking or chinking.

Since caulking should not be applied to a joint size greater than 1" it usually takes less curing time than chinking.

Chinking joint size can vary from 1" to 6" and usually the larger joint size requires greater curing time so you can apply the second coat of stain to it without ruining your beautiful chinking job.

The second coat of stain can take 1-3 days to apply and needs a day of dry time.

Finally the top coat of stain, which usually goes on as a two coat process, can take 2-3 days to complete.

We always wash windows at the end of the project and that can take a day in itself depending on how many windows there are.

Thats log home restoration in a nutshell. Please feel free to share your comments or questions in the comments section below!

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3 Most Common Log Home Restoration Questions Answered!