For all that have used log siding.....

[nateb8]

Im am making plans to build a small cabin and am going to use log siding. I am wondering what is used for stain and how much maintnence will be needed to upkeep the siding. Also If I was to build on at a later date would I be able to match the log siding color?
thanks

[glenn-k]

Do you mean real log siding or something like slabs from peeler cores or the like?

Most important for the preservation of the wood is to get the bark off and keep it off the ground.  A breathable stain such as Defy can be used if desired but none is required if you want a natural color to the wood - usually turns to a gray without treatment.  If your stain doesn't have a UV inhibitor the wood is going to change color anyway.  Usually the pigment in the stain is for UV damage (mostly color change) prevention.  It could help stop some of the checking and cracking.

Similar wood types usually turn similar color without treatment.

Defy mentions probably every few to 5 years or so as it lightens, a touch up may be needed.  Some of the old untreated houses around here still have the same boards after a hundred years or so.  The more you do to it to take it away from natural, the more you will have to do to keep it that way.

[benevolance]

I dunno

I love log siding...Or the look of a log cabin...Wouldn't it feel like cheating to frame the house with 2x4's and then board on the log slab siding?

If you cut the logs off your own property and hired a portable mill the guy should be able to easily make you your log siding if he knows what he is doing...

In this sense it would be a better use of the lumber...you would get half a dozen pieces of lumber out of a log and a couple pieces of log siding to boot...And you could insulate with Pink or styro insulation wire it plumb it and then install the log siding to make it look like a log home only with all the amenities of a modern home

[Bouncer]

This company does noyhing but stuff for log cabins.
Kevin
http://www.permachink.com/

[desdawg]

I recently saw some log siding in a Home Depot store in Prescott, AZ. It was milled to 2X8 X 16' and was a T&G or a shiplap, I forget which. It was nice looking material but pretty pricey at about $24 apiece. I think I would want to seal it if it were me. Checking in a full round log might be cool but in a 2X8, maybe not. JMO.

[John_C]

It's fairly common here in N. Georgia.   It is one of the more expensive types of wood siding.  Like desdawg said it has rabbeted edges.

I would make sure it was properly dried and fasten it securely.  

I've seen a few buildings where the used log siding right from the mill.  Being so thick it can exert a lot of force if it is drying unevenly.  

They also make log corners...  approx 2 feet of D log with about a 2 foot log siding extension.  When used in alternate courses of log siding it looks almost exactly like a butt & pass D log wall.  The vertical line of joints where the log corner joins the log siding is the only visible difference from more than a few feet away.


Here is a pretty good page on installing one manufacturers log siding
http://www.weekesforest.com/LogCornerInstallation.htm

Good Luck.

[benevolance]

If that siding was a little more affordable I would give it two thumbs up

Still very well explained instructions on the web site I even understood

So most people can install this without any problems. Quick easy and painless...I bet it looks great too.

[John_C]

I've never worked with the stuff myself, but I've watched a few folks wrestlw with it.  It's heavy and sometimes takes considerable persuasion to get it in place.

Another locally popular alternative is channel rustic siding


It's is rough sawn on one side and looks like chink logs when installed that way.  The other side is smooth and has a groove down the middle which makes it look like narrow T&G.  It's one of the least expensive wood siding products and people seem to really like the rough sawn look.  I've used a fair amount of it in my house.  On my pump house I installed it vertically so it looks like RB&B siding. The carpenter bees really like the white pine version; they will chew through several layers of paint to get to it.  They aren't so fond of the western red cedar.  My master bath is panelled with it. I gave it several coats of Watco oil before I put it up.  19 years later water still beads up if splashed on it.

If you paint the "chinks" and stain the rest it looks about like this


It's a lot easier to work with, about 1/5  the cost.

[jraabe]

John C:

Great suggestion!

You could probably just use a clear oil finish over the whole thing for maintenance.

While this isn't a true log cabin look, it has much of the rustic flavor without a slavish imitation of what it is not.

This also allows you to build with standard framing, insulation, and air sealing and avoid all the very considerable problems of true log construction.

[williet]

Another locally popular alternative is channel rustic siding
It's a lot easier to work with, about 1/5  the cost.

Hey John,
Do you have a link or company name for this product? I like the looks of it as opposed to the log siding. The channels could even be perma chinked to add more to the effect.

[John_C]

John,
 I've been considering using a borate solution to treat the wood. You mix the dry borate with water and brush, roll or spay it on.  It's the 21st century alternative to CCA preservatives.  The drawback is that is will leach out if the wood gets wet.  On a house with ample overhangs the siding probably wouldn't get wet often enough for it to be a problem.  Once a year or so you would recoat the wood with this water borne clear preservative mix.  Other than that you could let it do a natural weathering to a silver gray color.  The borates would also inhibit the mold that turns the wood black.  Another benefit is that most if not all boring insects  ...termites, carpenter bees...hate the stuff.

Good idea?  Bad idea?

Williet,

I don't have one handy but all my local N. GA lumberyards have it.  Lowe's and Home Depot have samples on the wall and it can be ordered through them.  The biggest problem is that I've seen the same material called at least a half dozen different names  (Rustic siding,  Channel rustic siding, RB&B boards, and Drop siding among them ..  although drop siding described a way different product in another market) .  I'd print out one of those pictures and take it to a good local lumberyard.  If they shake their heads the wrong way, go to another yard.  I'd be surprised if there isn't a local mill producing this stuff in your area.  Try a couple places & let us know how you make out.

[bartholomew]

Weyerhaeuser sells channel siding in cedar under the CedarOne brand. I think you can order it prefinished. Otherwise the stuff produced by your local mill is probably identical.

[glenn-k]

I have some of the Borate, John C and if I recall correctly you could treat the wood with it then coat it with a breathable water  repellant coating such as Defy to keep it from getting away.  

Borate solutions must be applied to bare wood, (see Impel Rods for an exception to this), and once treated, the wood must be protected with a good quality finish/sealer so the borate solution will stay in the wood to do its job. Borates migrate toward moisture, (thus helping prevent decay in wood) and can leach out of your logs/timbers if the wood gets wet on the surface from rain or other causes. Generally, you'll be safe if you can apply stain/finish within a few days of treating the logs with borates, (as long as a downpour doesn't happen in the interim). The timeline to apply a coat of finish over the Borates can vary considerably with the temperature and humidity.

Info from  http://aloghomestore.com/borates.shtml

Note that I have purchased from these people and they were fine to deal with.  I am not affiliated with them.

Note that Defy repels about 98% of the water as I recall, is available in colors or near natural and is one of the few products of this type that doesn't promote fungal growth.  It breathes so can go over wood that is not completely dry.  It is also available from the above dealer.

[nateb8]

Thanks to everyone for the responses. So do you staing and coat the siding before installed or do you intsall the siding and then spray or brush the sealant on?

John C where do you get the paneling your talking about?

[glenn-k]

I think you could do either way - better coverage before -

If you use the borate be sure to put it on first - it won't go through or be protected by the sealant if you don't.

[John_C]

Locally Builder Choice (for sure) and Plymart (I believe) stock it and may be in your area.  The other places 515 Lumber, Appalachian Supply, and other won't do you much good unless you're within driving distance.   The local Lowe's and Home Depot stores can also get it on a couple days notice.

BTW  another option is flitch sawn siding AKA live edge, feather edge, featherboard..  Flitch sawn is the proper name for the boards resulting from a logs first pass through the saw, before the edges are squared.  It was popular in the NW corner of North Carolina for some years.  I always thought it looked very nice


You would get this from a local lumber mill. It ought to be the least expensive siding available as it requires less handling.  If you like the look check it out.

[John_C]

Glen,
I'll look for Defy when I go to lunch today.  I came up short looking for the Benite that PEG recommended.  Locally what I see these days is Thompsons,  some Olymic products and some Sikkens products which are very expensive.    

Since the raw linseed oil is a food for mold & fungus it's almost certainly going to turn black.  It probably require scrubbing with a bleach solution or sodium tri-phosphate to clean it up now & then.  

[jraabe]

Thank you once again, John C. - there have been several questions about this Flitch type of siding in the past and I have even tried to find good pictures. None as good as that one.

Also good to know the different names it can be called - this helps when calling the mills!  

[peg_688]

Glen,
I'll look for Defy when I go to lunch today.  I came up short looking for the Benite that PEG recommended.    

Here's a contact point from Daly's they should be able to direct you to there product.


http://www.dalyspaint.com/catalog_conditioners.html

Ace , Home depot , local paint and lumber yards all have it in my area. Marine supply's like West Marine also carry Benite .



 Defy ?? I've heard of Deft a clear spray / bush on interior wood finish ,Heres what google turned up , I've never used it .There site talks about epoxy / semi epoxy coatings .    

 
 Link : http://opwdecks.com/defyhardwood.htm


DEFY Stain for Cedar and Hardwoods is a high performance semi-transparent penetrating finish that helps prevent destructive effects of water, fungi, and UV radiation on exterior wood. With its unique synthetic resin, Defy Stain for Cedar and Hardwoods is able to penetrate deeply and block out the damaging effects of weather while allowing the natural beauty of the wood to shine through. Defy Stain for Cedar and Hardwoods has excellent penetration which helps eliminate surface buildup and peeling.

[Amanda_931]

Boiled linseed oil, thinned with mineral spirits, exposed to lots and lots of UV light turned black for me.

[glenn-k]

http://aloghomestore.com/finish.shtml#defy-original

I had my Defy shipped from the log home store.

We had a member mention that the Flitch siding was also called Adirondack siding.  We used it on the RV garage and various other places.

[John_C]

Your welcome John here is another


Thanks PEG  I went to Daly's web site.  They are kinda proud of the stuff $$.  I'll send them an email and see if there is a local distributor.

[John_C]

Glen,
That's a neat building.   What kind of car is it?    Does it run?

[glenn-k]

That building is the project I documented here under Building a Near Free RV Storage Garage.  It is based on John's Little House Plans modified by me to use available Post and beam materials.

The car is a 1926 Dodge sedan - all original -- needs a water pump shaft replaced but it does run.  I also have a 1919 Dodge roadster - the same year and model Pancho Villa was driving when he met his demise.  Both run but the 26 is in better condition.

But, a few years later, on Friday, July 20, 1923, Villa's luck ran out. Accompanied by his entourage of Dorades ("Golden Ones"), which was what he called his bodyguards, Pancho Villa frequently made trips to Parral (Map 2) for banking and other errands. This day, Villa had picked up a consignment of gold with which to pay his Canutillo ranch staff and was driving through the city in his black 1919 Dodge roadster when a group of seven riflemen fired 150 shots in just two minutes into his car. In the fusillade of shots, 16 bullets lodged in his body and four more in his head. Villa was reported to have killed one of the assassins before he died. Truly, Pancho Villa had lived by the gun and died by the gun.

[jraabe]

Glenn:

Nice update pic on the RV garage - nifty job you did. I like the detailing - handsome but not fussy  

Is the side porch screened? and is that a screen door on the end?