Maintaining Your Log Home
Compatibility
Compatibility is important! All of the finishing products used on a log home must be compatible with each other. Compatibility means that the wood preservatives, coatings (stain or clear coat) and sealants (caulk and chinking) work well with each other without causing performance issues. The most common performance issue encountered is when the stain or clear coat used is not compatible with the chinking and/or caulking used. Some stains and clear coats contain paraffins (like motor oil), waxes, silicones, etc. that make it impossible for most chinking or caulking products to adhere to them. Since the chinking and caulking can’t adhere to the incompatible stain or clear coat, the home is left unsealed and exposed to moisture, wind and insect infiltration.
All of Sashco’s products are formulated to be 100% compatible with each other. When applied according to Sashco’s directions, Sashco’s chinking and caulking products have very strong adhesion to our stains – and typically, it’s so strong that, if extreme movement occurs between logs and failure of the chinking or caulking is inevitable, the product actually tears (cohesive failure – the easiest type of failure to fix) before pulling away from the stain and logs.
Since a log home relies heavily on caulking and chinking to make it air-tight, you can understand why it is imperative that the products chosen to finish the home be compatible with one another. By ensuring product compatibility, you help ensure the best possible results.