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Jpatt
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2013 09:10pm
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Never owned a log home, need to know how serious this cracking and water damage looks. I can see daylight and water stains in the corners, large open cracks inside and out (see pics) this is a foreclosure vacation home I am considering buying.
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davey25
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2013 10:07pm
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I just did log replacement and repairs last year..these logs look to be in excellent condition..you can you a small hunting knife and shove it in the cracks where it looks soft or rotted. If it goes in more than say 3 inches then I would suggest log replacement..which on yours doesn't look like it would...and your logs are not locked together just butted up which makes replacement easier..that rot in the last picture can be dug out and use ewood and mbalm to repair...the light showing through is probably just some shrinkage..use energy seal and seal up all the joints to keep water out...use permachink products their the best..there website shows you how to use the stuff too..anymore questions just ask
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davey25
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2013 10:12pm
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Ohh and the only major concern I see is that deck up against the logs...is it properly flashed on the header board? Proper eavestrough is a must ..water bouncing off that deck will rot the bottom logs in a short time..will dirt and leaves ect get stuck between the deck plate and the log...it's good to have a space where stuff can fall through and you can stain that bottom log properly and keep it dry
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2013 07:51am
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This log home is a type of kit. The 'logs' have been milled to uniform dimensions by the manufacturer, which is a different type of construction than working with rough logs. Probably makes the repairs described by davey25 easier. Can you find out who the manufacturer was? can they supply replacement logs milled to the same dimensions?
I decided not to build log for exactly the reasons you are faced with now. Sealing it up to avoid rot is a challenge. If this much rot has occured in the last 20-30 years, how much work will you have to do in the next 20 to avoid the same thing happening again? Experienced log builders will tell you it's possible and tell you how, you just have to decide if you want to take on that kind of maintenance.
Is this cabin in a cold area? Remember that logs are poor insulators.
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TheWildMan
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2013 08:19am
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that rot doesn't look too bad, i had owned a house once that was condemned and forclosed and sold in a tax auction, a lot of the beams that were structurally important were rotted to dust or toothpicks full of ants (big carpenter ants). contractors told me to just burn the house and build a new one (paid $3000 for 3 bedroom victorian with an acre) i replaced the rotten stuff over several years and sold the house for $40,000. it was not built to standard and required a lot of jerry rigging and creative repairs to do (floor joists had included tapered logs with bark still on them, old rural house).
you are considering a kit house that was built to standards and should be a lot easier to repair, the water damage should be easy enough to fix (doesn't look rotten, just wet a couple times over the years and stained). you could reinforce the wall a few feet back from the corner (like how doorways are added to old cabins) then fill in the corner with regular lumber and siding, if you use a decorative and tastefull style you may increase the value of the house more than just a standard kit (maybe a stone fireplace? or a couple large windows?). since it was a kit and uniform in construction you should have an easy time of it, or just replace the section with logs.
old log cabins had used a mud based chinking and had large overhanging roofs thsat protected the water soluable chinking from rain. even on newer style log cabins an over hanging roof protects the logs. the log cabin kits i have seen were built by people who think in terms of modern construction (not old time cabin knowhow) and usually end the roof with only a couple inches extending past the wall, a practical money saving measure on vinal siding or wood siding but not a practical feature on log cabins (that siding reprells water on its own, logs do not).
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ShabinNo5
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2013 08:30am
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I agree with davey25 that the logs appear to be in very good to excellent condition. The picture on the right appears to show a large rotted section. However I believe that the large patch has been there since the building was constructed. The water marks are only near the corner of the building. If you decide to purchase I would focus on sealing from the outside. While the water damage is currently minor. The fact that water marks are visible suggests that the end grain of the corner logs are absorbing moisture. Structurally the cracking is not a problem.
Good Luck in your decision.
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Jpatt
Member
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2013 12:32pm
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Thanks for the replies, this home was built in 2006 so it is less than 7 years old and from what I can tell it has never had any cracks filled, it has been restrained.
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Truecabin
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# Posted: 27 Mar 2013 02:31pm - Edited by: Truecabin
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Water can be blowing at those corners during storms, maybe its a seldom event. Maybe all you have to do is seal the cracks. You may be able to "wash" off some of that discoloration with a careful application of bleach? And that rot... I'd just seal off the cracks on the outside, and then try to stabilize it. It doesn't look that bad. There are some chemicals you can use that absorb or inject into rotted wood and firm it up, then you could fill it and sand it. Try asking a log cabin products company like..... cant think of it, but just search "log cabin products".
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