Filling the Gaps

The 3-day Labor Day weekend gave us a good start on the cabin.  We cleared the site, made a path through the woods that the lawn tractor could maneuver (used to tow the logs in with), and got a couple of courses of logs in place.  During the week while I was at work, Nels put up another course or so of logs - learning to use the chain saw on his own to add to our Lincoln Log design.

Some of the logs had large gaps between them as they went up, partly due to having a bit of a bow to them, and partly due to us being total rookies at this.  Supposedly this is not a big issue.

If you've ever read about log home building, there's a whole industry built around it.  And mostly it's about building a log home that's the same as a regular house except the walls are made with logs.  In that case there's lots of do's and don'ts about fitting the logs together, and about using synthetic log chinking - primarily "Perma-Chink".

Well, there's also a whole bunch of people that like to do log cabins the old fashioned way, aided only minimally by modern materials.  And they make their own chinking material which is (no surprise) MUCH cheaper.

Here's an excerpt from and link to a do-it-yourselfer version of chinking which we plan on testing today.

Chinking a log home is actually an easy thing to do. Think of it like icing a cake.

As you may have read in one of my earlier posts, I am not a fan of pre-made synthetic chinking or synthetic chinking of any kind. I make my own chinking with a simple mix of portland cement, sand and lime.

Before adding water I tend to mix all the ingredients together in my trough – you don’t have to as its just a quirky thing I do.

The consistency that I’m trying to achieve is like that of thick peanut butter. I want to be able to mix just enough water to it so that when I form a ball of the mix with my hands — it holds.

For the recipe, I measure by the shovel: one (1) part portland cement, three (3) parts masonry sand, and one half (1/2) part masonry lime.

I use basic tools — nothing special – a 3″ rectangular trowel and a mortar board – just a flat piece of board on which to place the mortar. I place an amount that is comfortable to me on the mortar board – hold it up to the gap between the logs at the chinking line and using the trowel push/press the mortar into the space. I make sure that I get in and around the nails that I placed in an earlier step and using a smooth swipe or two I give the freshly chinked spot a smooth finish making sure that it is sealed both to the top and bottom log.

I use a fair amount of chinking. Ideally my chink lines are about 2 inches wide although this of course depends on the curvature of the logs above and below. Sometimes lines are wider sometimes thinner – the variation is determined by the shape of the logs. I dont mind the variation – after all it does add character and highlights the natural shape of the log.

Remember, in my earlier posts I had described the loose insertion of insulation and then placing of the nails. Since the nails hold the chinking in place and strengthen the bond make sure that you get the mix back behind the nails so that they can do their part and dont forget to cover the nail heads.

If you are chinking an entire structure I recommend that you start at the back of the house or in a less-seen area until you get the hang of it. — Don’t start at the front door where your chinking work will be highly scrutinized.

Does it matter if your chink line is convex, concave, vertically straight or not in relation to the log? — No not really as that is more of a personal preference – whichever you choose – just be consistent.

If I am touching-up, skim coating older chinking or filling gaps in chinking then I use enough water to make it the same consistency of toothpaste or thereabouts. I have even used a pastry bag or masonry bag to apply it to gaps or cracks.

Once the mixture cures it will turn a light gray. I clean the mortar off the log with a wire brush.

If I have repaired an area or replaced a section of chinking then my fresh chinking will no doubt look different than the area of chinking that still exists. In this case, since I would rather that every thing look uniform, I will make the same mix as I used to chink but this time I will add enough water to achieve a consistency similar to that of house paint and using a brush simply paint it on. But I do not do this step until all the areas I have chinked are thoroughly cured.

[link to original article HERE]