Make Log Home Chinking
Chinking is the mortar-like material between the horizontal joints of log homes. Chinking enhances a log home's appearance and creates a weatherproof structure, preventing air, moisture and insects from infiltrating into the home. Chinking also adds insulation. Basic homemade chinking is cost effective and offers the stability and durability of commercial chinking materials.
Instructions
1. Fill open cracks and crevices in the logs by stuffing them with torn strips of rags, forest moss, small stones or small pieces of wood. You can use lengths of rope, pieces of insulation or industrial foam. You use anything that will fill up the volume of a split or crack in a log. Choose materials to fit the gaps. Push the filler material into the gap with a screwdriver or putty knife. You will cover the filler material with chinking, so don't worry about appearances.
2. Prepare a chinking mixture of two parts fine grained sand, one part Portland cement and 1/2 part masonry lime. Combine ingredients in a five-gallon plastic bucket or tub. Add enough moisture to make a heavy paste that will form a ball when squeezed. (Use heavy rubberized garden gloves and knead the chinking.) An alternate chinking recipe calls for two parts clay, one part sifted wood ashes and 1/2 part salt moistened with water. Chipped straw, moss or sawdust are sometimes added to do-it-yourself chinking recipes. Experiment until you achieve a satisfactory chinking blend of materials readily available in your locale.
3. Log chinking is also design element of your home, often contrasting with the color of the logs. To color chinking material, use concrete color stains available from home building supply stores. Follow package direction to achieve the desired density of color. (Keep a record of how much stain you added to duplicate the color.)
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