Fact or Fiction: Linseed oil is food for mold; therefore, you should never use a stain with linseed oil in it.

Answer: It may surprise you! Our resident stain expert Jim Barnes plays some Fact or Fiction to give you the lowdown on the pros and cons of linseed oil to help you decide.

Fact or Fiction: Linseed oil contributes to mildew growth.

Answer: Sort of fact…and sort of fiction.

In properly formulated oil-based stains, like Sashco’s Transformation Log & Timber Stain, mildew and algae growth is no worse than on any other modern stain. These formulas contain mildewcides and algaecides to prevent or significantly reduce these problems. That said, it’s true that linseed oil can be a food source for these molds. The mildew growth can be severe when not coupled with these mildewcides. When homeowners buy straight linseed oil from hardware stores, dilute it with some mineral spirits and Japan drier, and make their own “stain” mildew growth is not uncommon. This practice is still common enough that most contractors have or will come across this scenario. Unfortunately, homeowners who DIY stain this way don’t have access to the modern mildewcides and algaecides that most manufacturers who use linseed oil include in their formulas.

Fact or Fiction: Linseed oil is just another oil and isn’t anything special.

Answer: Fiction.

Linseed oil is rare among drying oils because it remains soft and flexible for a long time after drying. Most drying oils get hard and brittle. In moderate quantities, it is used to soften alkyds and other oils commonly used in semi-transparent stains. The final formulation remains flexible enough to move with the wood as it expands and contracts with moisture and temperature variations. The stain doesn’t crack under normal wood movement and can keep water out for years when properly formulated. There are many oil-based stains on the market precisely because oil stains provide unparalleled beauty, penetration, ease of use, and the ability to reliably re-stain woods. Often, water-based stains can’t match all of these benefits. Linseed oil plays a critical role in this.

When we come across opinion pieces that declare anything as the root of all evil, it is good to follow the money: what are the writers trying to sell? It is easy to point to the worst-case DIY linseed stain and cry out, “The sky is falling!” The reality is it’s somewhere closer to Earth.

SO…

Is linseed oil a problem in some stains? Yes, absolutely.

When we see severely blackened mildew on a home, does that mean its stain contained linseed? Nope. It might, but plenty of cheaply formulated stains and coatings, both oil and water-based, don’t protect well against mildew and algae. Algae by itself can appear black, especially when dirty, and many stains don’t protect against algae at all. (Sashco is unique here. We’re the only company in the log home market that includes algaecide in all of its stains.) Any sun-exposed area that looks like mildew should be suspected of being algae.

Do we have to take extra care when re-staining a home with severe mildew? Yes. We want to kill the mildew spores, preferably with oxygen bleach (or regular bleach and LOTS of rinsing). Using a high-quality stain with mildewcides and algaecides is essential for keeping mildew at bay in the future.

Is media blasting good enough to remove severe mildew? When the blasting is sufficient to remove all the visible discoloration, it can be. That level of blasting isn’t always desirable, so it is sometimes preferable to pre-treat the mildewed surfaces with an oxygen bleach before blasting. Will leftover linseed oil in the wood cause future mildew? If the stain is properly formulated with mildewcides and algaecides, there shouldn’t be any problems if the wood has been prepared (blasted) down to the “freshly sanded” color.

So to sum up:

Linseed oil is fine when properly formulated with mildewcides and algaecides.
Any stain will support mold and algae growth when cheaply formulated without mildewcides and algaecides.
Routine maintenance is key to keeping mold and algae at bay.

Every month we feature a contractor, business, or success story. Learning from others in the biz is the best kind of learning. This month, we’re featuring Tony Christensen with Kbartee Renovations.

Spring is upon us, which usually means business picks up. Tony with Kbartee Renovations has been in full swing through the winter, too. We’re grateful for the time he spent with us, sharing more about his business here in Sashco’s home state of Colorado.

How did you get started in Log home finishing?

I graduated college with a degree I wasn’t going to do anything with and was looking for work. Scott Stropko (Sashco’s Western Territory Manager) was a good family friend and he asked if I liked working outside. I said yes. He hooked me up with Jim Davis out of Wyoming and I started four days later. I worked with Jim for 3½ years and decided that I didn’t want to travel as much anymore, so another business partner and I broke off on our own. I worked with my business partner here in Colorado for 11½ years. Then, about 18 months ago, I decided to split off on my own. Life. is. great! Every day I pinch myself to make sure it’s real. I have an incredible job and I get to work in some incredible places. When I decided to be sole proprietor, it was a little scary. I never thought I’d be this busy. It’s mind blowing. I’m so grateful. There wasn’t a day during COVID that I didn’t work.

What is your favorite part of this work?

Restoration. I like working on older homes. I like it when homeowners haven’t liked their home for a while, but didn’t know they could get it the way they wanted. I simply apply expertise and elbow grease. I love taking a home, transforming it, and seeing how happy the homeowner is at the end. We’re restoring their dream. Their smiles make it all worth it.

What is your least favorite part?

Weather: It’s hard to work around the weather. But then, I had more working days in January and February of this year than I have in March and April because of spring snows. It’s also difficult to manage expectations for people who don’t know that we’re booked so far ahead. They call in June wanting their home done by end of the summer.

What is your advice to a newbie?

I wish Sashco offered the Zero Failures Business Focus class when I started out 13 years ago. I’d be so much further ahead. I would tell people that your word and your reputation are everything in this industry. You better have an incredibly good work ethic and be able to work with lots of different personalities. Be willing to learn. Soak up everything. It’s paramount to do good work and maintain high-quality relationships in this industry. If you get a bad rep with homeowners, that’s also a bad rep with distributors and others in the industry. When you screw up (not if, because it will happen), be willing to fix things and learn from it. Don’t just cut and run. You learn who you don’t want to be before you learn who you do want to be.

What does the future look like?

I’ve had opportunities recently to merge with another company or purchase another company, but I really like where I am now. I like having the smaller crew. It’s part of the appeal with homeowners, too. I’m the owner, I will be on the jobsite 85-90% of the time, they’re dealing with me from A to Z. I’ve gotten really good at selling that. There are people who I know want to grow. That was me at first. I have two guys working for me and they’ve caught on really fast. Eventually, I know I will need to ease back and let those guys take some things over. In 5 to 10 years, maybe they’ll want to buy me out and I can go buy my cattle ranch.

Speaking of cattle ranching, what is the meaning of Kbartee?

Kbartee is a brand my wife’s grandmother sewed into her wedding dress. It’s a K, a Bar, and a T. As a gift for our first wedding anniversary, my wife registered it. I wanted something different for a company name and this just fit. It will be the brand for our cattle ranch someday.

Thanks again, Tony, for the time. Hit Tony up to talk shop!

Tony Christensen
kbarteerenovations.com
Follow Kbartee on Instagram

Roof leaks? No thanks. This month, we have a fun story courtesy of one of our resident paid geeks (aka Senior Chemist) Jim Barnes about an unconventional roof leak fix, along with a shameless plug for our Through the Roof!® roof and gutter sealant, just in time for fall and winter storms to hit.

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You just applied the perfect caulking bead. So, then what’s up with the caulk shrinkage?

It was even with the surface. You even outlined the joint with painter’s tape to make sure it looked clean when done. Now, a couple days later, the caulk bead has gone concave. It’s the incredible shrinking caulk! What happened?

Have no fear: shrinking caulk is actually a good thing.

Shrinking Caulk = Better Performance

Fact is, shrinking caulk is a sign of good elasticity. In order to achieve that elasticity, fewer fillers are used. Those fillers are great for creating a nice, even caulk line with the surface, but too many fillers create a thick, hard sealant with no stretch. It will quickly crack, creating rework for you. (Ugh!)

Caulk that is properly applied, as this picture shows, stretches better and lasts longer.

But why do I need elasticity?

Because homes move. Your bathtub moves every time you get in and out of it. Your window shifts with the wind, and your door frame shrinks every time you turn on the heat. All of this movement stresses the sealants used in those areas. A nice, non-shrinking caulking product will look great when first applied, but at the first sign of movement, it will crack or lose adhesion. And we’re pretty sure that repairing cracked caulk isn’t what you enjoy doing with your weekends. So avoid cracked caulk by using high-performance, ultra-elastic sealants. All of Sashco’s products are formulated with obscene amounts of elasticity to last longer.

Homes move. Caulk needs to stretch. Sashco’s Big Stretch really does stretch this much.

But I don’t like how shrinking caulk looks, so what can I do?

Simply apply more caulk a day or two later. You’ll achieve the even caulking bead look you want without sacrificing performance. (Make sure you don’t apply it too thickly or it won’t stretch properly. See Caulking 101 for more details.)

Most importantly, have peace of mind knowing that a slightly concave caulk joint means your hard work is going to last longer. You have more important things to do than repair failed caulking anyway, right?

Log Home Design that Reduces Maintenance

“When it comes to log home design and maintenance principles, I have developed a few rules by which I live…Understanding this will help you sleep well at night.” What are these peace-proven principles? Our very own log home expert and Southeast Territory Rep extraordinaire, Paul Peebles shares his experience.

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Termite trouble, rot, and water damage. Call us crazy, but we’re betting this troublesome trio probably wasn’t part of the vision when you imagined your dream log home. Good news! Protecting your log home dream is possible. Check out this month’s “Here to help!” article for tips on how to save money, protect your home, and prevent big-time headaches!

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