Log House Blues
A Log House isn’t all fun & games:
The need of UV protection & Carpenter Bees are biggest problems with a Log Home:
You have to treat it with some type of oil to protect it from the weather, and mostly from the UV Rays of the Sun.
The first time was when it was just built, and the General Contractor got a Professional outfit to stain it, mixed with a coat of Woodguard. There was also 8 ounces of “Bee Gone” mixed in per 5 gallons of Woodguard.
You have to put it on heavy, and then when your brush is relatively Dry, you have to go over it to remove the excess that didn’t soak in, to keep it from running down & leaving streaks. The North side doesn’t take as much, because it doesn’t get hammered by the Sun as badly as the other three sides. My house takes between 5 and 6 gallons of Woodguard to give it all it can take.
The whole thing has to be done on average every 4 years, and last month was the 6th time it has been done in 20 years. It was supposed to be done in Early July, but the Painters were way behind due to all the Rain in SouthEast PA. Then 3 guys got started, and pressure washed the whole thing, and started painting the next day.
They painted for 2 days, and the rains came again. They said they’d be back Monday, but it rained that whole week, as usual, so they didn’t get back until the following Monday.
Well anyway, it got done, and all of the chalked off light spots are gone. It’s too dark right now, but it will turn lighter over the next month or two when it dries completely. I don’t mind it this Dark, but Mrs Bear wishes it would be lighter.
The first couple times I did most of it myself, but I only did the bottom 14’, and left the 3 highest peaks to the guys with the equipment. The front & back peaks are the worst, because they are 20’ & 22’ off the ground, and they have a 4’ overhang at the peak. The last few times I had it painted by others. I’ve got enough trouble with my balance while standing on the ground, so I don’t even think about doing ladders any more.
So below is a “Before” Picture, and a bunch of after Pics to show you the difference.
BTW: I still get between 50 & 100 Carpenter Bees in my Traps every year, even when using “Bee Gone”, so I’d hate to see what it would be like if I didn’t use any Bee Gone.
Thanks for looking.
Bear
Before: Here you can see how the UV Rays of the Sun dry out the surface & cause the color to "Chalk Off":
Fresh Coat of Woodguard. Right wall is still wet & shiny:
Front after new #6th Coat:
Excuse this Pic---Sun got to it. East End of House:
Back of House after New Coat:
Back of House from different angle:
Garage End of House:
View taken from the Road:
Right fork of Driveway goes down to Bear Junior's Tower Shop & Wood Shop, and to his house:
Front of House, after new Coat of Woodguard:
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