
How To Repair Sealants on Your Log Home | Log Cabin Sealant
So, you did a stellar job of sealing cracks and checks in your log home. Hooray! Now, a couple of years later, you’re noticing that some of the caulk has cracked. After all that hard work? Ugh. So, what do you need to do to fix cracked caulk? Keep reading for all the details.
Why does caulk crack anyhow?
Cohesive failure
- Relieve the pressure by taking a razor blade to finish the job. (Sounds silly, but this is necessary for the repair to work properly.)
- Insert backer rod behind the caulk, if there isn’t some there already.
- Clean the surfaces to remove dust and other surface contaminants.
- Apply more sealant right over top. You can only do this if the product you’re using is compatible with whatever’s already in there. With Sashco’s products, this is no problem. If you used silicone, you’ll have to remove it all. Boo.(Moral of the story: don’t use silicone on log homes.)
Coheasive failure of chinking.
Adhesive failure
- Remove the sealant completely. You’ll have to cut it out entirely.
- Insert backer rod or another bond breaker behind the caulk or chinking, if one is not already there.
- Clean the joint, especially at the edges where the new product will be sticking. Make sure there are no loose wood fibers or peeling stains or paints. It may mean you need to break out the sand paper or Dremel® tool. (Power tools. Argh.)
- Apply more caulking or chinking over top. Smooth it out, just like before.
Adhesive failure of chinking.
- Remove what’s in there now.
- Sand down the edges of the joints to remove the stain/clear coat.
- Clean with a degreaser of some kind (Formula 409® and the like do a good job).
- OPTIONAL (and best): Stain just those areas with a compatible product.
- Insert backer rod or a bond breaker, if one isn’t already there.
- Apply more caulking and chinking, smoothing as before.