Today, we’re proud to introduce you to the Log Doctor, Rudy Mendiola, Chief of Staff at The Log Doctor in Silverthorne, CO, he and his crew of 20 work all over the Colorado mountains restoring and caring for log homes. We had a phone chat to learn more about his business.
Weโre proud to introduce you to Mark Nelson, founder of Nelson Log Restoration in Cody, Wyoming.
Mark has been working in the construction industry since he was six years old. ย Mark has a love and affinity for anything involving a chainsaw โ especially log structures. (Can you relate?) Mark shares stories of trial and error and a few painful lessons learned. After decades of industry experience, youโre sure to gain a nugget or two from Markโs experience at Nelson Log Restoration.
This month weโre pleased to introduce you to Larry Hogshead, owner of Dovetail Log Home Services in Nashville, Tennessee.
This newsletter is for you. This section is about you! Every month we feature a contractor, business, or success story. Cheers to learning from others in this unique business.
‘Experience is a master teacher, even when it is not your own’ – Gina Greenlee. That’s why we introduce you to new log contractors every month so we can all learn from each other.
Meet Herb Meeker withMeeker Builders. We asked him a few questions (and, let’s be honest, shot the breeze while we were at it).
How did you get started in log home finishing and restoration?
I was a log home builder before I got into finishing and restoring. I was doing traditional custom home building and got frustrated with customers putting mauve and pink flooring in. It just wasnโt me.
A friend invited me to be a dealer for Real Log Homesยฎ. That was in 1984. Log homes were big in California at the time. Then, in 1991, we were at a dealer meeting in Colorado. Rich from Permachinkยฎ was there trying to get builders to do restoration as a sideline to their building businesses. There was just such a need for people to do restoration. (We also visited the Sashco plant on that same visit.) Rich and I visited three log homes that needed help. I knew then that log home restoration was calling my name. I came to Zero Failures in the mid-90’s and the rest, as they say, is history.
What do you like most about log home restoration? What do you like least?
I like solving peopleโs problems with their log homes. It’s fun and interesting to identify what is going on, then making the repair recommendations, and finally doing the project. Seeing something through from beginning to end is satisfying. Through the years, there have been the struggles to find good employees. It can be hard to find good workers, but I have a great crew right now, so I’m grateful.
Tell us about your favorite project
I’ve had a lot of favorites. Last year, we worked on the oldest log home weโve worked on. (Photo of the finished project above.) It was built in 1883 and used to be the Barton Store out of Redlands, CA. It wasn’t huge โ only 23’x17′ โ but we had to redo the foundation, replace the bottom two logs all around, then blast, restain, and rechink everything. We used Sashco’s Captureยฎ in Weathered Wood and Log Jamยฎ in Mortar White. The Boy Scouts are pretty happy. It looks great.
What’s your advice to someone just starting out?
Start from the ground up and know what youโre doing. You canโt train someone else to do it if you donโt learn it all first. Plus, take advantage of the resources out there (Zero Failures being one of them, the Sashco people, too). Donโt be afraid or too prideful to ask.
How has your family been involved in your business?
My wife is still 50% owner of the corporation. I have four sons and they all worked for me throughout college. Theyโve now all struck out on their own. Two have their own businesses, another is a manager, and another is a paramedic and fireman. I have three grandsons, eight granddaughters, and another grandkid on the way. I’m definitely having to learn about girls after having four sons.
Thanks, Herb, for sharing with us. We’re grateful for your partnership over the years and humbled to count you a part of the extended Sashco family.
Find out how one log home lover ended up a log home expert after taking a journey from novice to lady boss.
This month, weโre talking with ย Alexa Calio of Roche Jaune Chinking and Log Home Restoration. Sheโs based in Bozeman, MT, but does work all over the country.ย We’re proud to feature Alexa as one of Sashco’s Contractors Who Care.
How did you get started in chinking and log home finishing?
I built a log home โ we cut down the trees, poured the foundation, peeled the logs, notched the logs, chinked them with a hand gun(3,000 linear feet!) โ and I swore I would never touch chinking again. Next thing I knew, a friend called and asked for help with their cabin. She introduced me to a contractor and word got out. That was 21 years ago. The rest, they say, is history.
What do you like most about log home chinking & restoration? What do you like least about it?
Most: The pride of being able to walk away and know that my customer is bubbling over with happiness. Iโm always in a beautiful place. I love the people I work with and for, the camaraderie on the job site with other subs, the homeowners, the designers. Itโs very satisfying. I love my job.
Least: Being on ladders or, even worse, being on my knees. Oh โ and tenting.
Whatโs a favorite job youโve done?
Man โ thereโve been so many cool ones. One that immediately comes to mind is Switchback Ranch at the back of the Beartooth Mountains. We had to load everything on four wheelers โ 20 pails of chinking, our chink pump, all our tools โ everything. Then we had to 4-wheel up switchbacks so tight that the four wheelers wanted to tip over. Thatโs pretty memorable.
What is your advice to someone starting out?
You have to learn your trade and be proficient at it and understand how the products work before going out and promising that you can do it. One thing Iโve learned, the instructions on the pail are there for your benefit. The manufacturer isnโt trying to make things more difficult. Everyone wants their product to work. Theyโre telling you the best practices. Listen!(Sashco over here and weโre nodding our heads up and down. Sheโs right!)
Tell us about your family and how theyโre involved with your business.
Be sure to check out Alexa and crew on their Facebook page. Weโre humbled to call Alexa a great contractor partner.
I have two little boys โ 11 and 15 โ and they love to come and help me. Theyโll install backer rod for me, put pails in the machine, and Iโm starting to teach them how to trowel. Then they get their construction toys out and start collecting nails and screws off the job site.
Log homes are special because every log has its own unique grain pattern, knots, and history. Chances are, you know and love each one of them like the back of your hand. Logs are special, theyโre not the same as 2x4s. They need special care. Why? Three reasons:
Living the Dream: How I Turned My Childhood Fantasy into a Beautiful Lake Log Home.
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Ever since I was a young girl, I dreamed of having a place on a lake. I had fallen in love with water skiing at the age of nine when I got up on my first attempt. Before we โjumped in with two feetโ and took the plunge to buy a place, we tested the waters by buying a condominium to see if we would really make use of a vacation home. After three short years in that condo, we had our answer! My childhood dream became a reality in 2007 when our family built our custom lake house.
An adventure sparked by a childhood memories led to the purchase of a historic miner’s cabin.
The best years of my life have been in the mountains of southern California. A world away in just a couple of hours. Leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the city, youโre among the trees, animals, blue sky, and fresh air. I got this love of the outdoors from my dad. He had an old cabin right by Lake Arrowhead on the edge of the national forest.
As a teenager, my dad would let us go exploring for hours on end, bringing back the prize snake to scare mom. For my dadโs birthday (it was the last one before he passed), we took him back up to the lake. My dad was in heaven. I pictured myself in a log cabin with a Chesapeake Bay retriever, listening to country music and reading a good book.
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1940 Minerโs Cabin
I cashed in every last cent of my savings and bought an 800 square foot rundown 1940 minerโs cabin which sat on a perfectly located lakefront lot. I loved that cabin for 9 years but squeezing 4 daughters and my wife into that little place wasnโt going to last long. So build we did. Throughout the building process, it gets a little crazy with all the decisions and details that crop up.
Surprisingly, choosing a stain brand and color seemed to be one of the hardest decisions. We did loads of research, really valuing the opinion of those whose business was staining log cabins. It seems we kept hearing, โSashco is the bestโ but now we couldnโt decide between Transformation Stainยฎ and Captureยฎ and Cascadeยฎ.
The person I hired to do the staining was really pushing us hard to use Transformation Stainยฎ. He told us that he loved the way it looked and lasted. Others told us the virtues of Captureยฎ and Cascadeยฎ. I โthrew a dartโ and went against the subโs preference.
A trip to the southwest and the beauty of the Rocky Mountains were the catalysts for our log home “love affair.” We knew we would not be happy until we had one! Having a construction background, I decided to build our dream log home. That was thirty-three years ago, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Love for Log Homes
Log homes are such unique structures that working on them brings us a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction. Nothing is more gratifying than the praise and thanks received from satisfied customers. ย Walking into a log home is like receiving a big warm hug from someone you love and we feel privileged to work on them, as well as live in the one we built.
There are extreme elements, and then there is Alaska. Nowhere do high-performance products face such harsh conditions as in Alaska. Discover why Manfred Nolywaika, owner of Northwood Enterprises in Fairbanks, calls Sashco products “Alaska-tough.”
In the Beginning
Shortly after my wife and I married in 1989, we attended a log building school in Canada (kind of a different honeymoon). Six weeks later, in the dead of winter with all our possessions in the back of a pickup truck, we arrived in Alaska and established a business constructing custom handcrafted log furniture. Towards the end of the eight year life of that business, I was installing a log handrail for a customer. He asked me if I could refinish two walls of his log house. That was 1997 and my first experience refinishing logs. It was also the birth of our log home refinishing and chinking business.
The Family Business
Here I am, 17 years later. The whole family has been involved with the family business in one way or another. Running a family-operated business has allowed me to earn a living while spending time with my family, a privilege few enjoy. In fact, my oldest son, Hans, works full time with me. Hans, like his older sister before him, started out in log restoration as a little guy, pulling plastic and tape from windows, vacuuming decks, cleaning windows, etc. Since most of our work season occurs during the summer months, our kids have helped me on the job since they were very young. (Olivia actually started out in a pack on my wifeโs back during our log furniture days, and has since moved on to other things.) Hans started working with me full time when he was fifteen, finally strong enough to operate a disc grinder safely. Now barely twenty, he is fully capable of handling by himself any restoration project we might take on. At a time when good help is hard to find, itโs great to have a co-worker like Hans who has the same standard of quality as I do.
Our two oldest have been a tremendous asset to the business and we are blessed with two more, Josef and Noah, who are up and coming. I am especially thankful there are aspects of this work that our son Josef, who has Downs Syndrome, can do.
Donโt compromise at the end of a long and arduous journey by using an inferior stain not designed for logs. Capture and Cascade deliver performance worthy of the journey that got you here.
Moves with your logs and timbers
Won't hide the wood grain
Easy clear coat maintenance with Cascade(R) exterior clear coat
Backer Materials that Seal Things Right the First Time Backer Rod, Grip Strip, and Log Gap Cap all help you create the ideal joint desing for a long-lasting, durable seal
Logs are in constant dynamic motion. That's why there's Log Builderยฎ, the sealant made for log structures. Stretches up to 500% of original size, while still maintaining tenacious adhesion to the wood.
When other chinking pulls away, Log Jam holds its seal With Log Jam chinking, you can keep the cozy feel and rustic look of a log home without compromising comfort and performance.
Easy to Use - Hard to See Keep out weather, bugs, and moisture without seeing it. Conceal disappears into the woodwork so you don't know the wood starts and the caulk begins.
It's Music to the Eyes Symphony works in harmony with the unique character of your logs and wood to reflect an atmosphere or cozy warmth and elegance while creating and scuff-resistant and durable surface that's easy to dust.
Right Color. Right Quantity. Right Now. Never run out of stain at the jobsite again. Stock exactly what you need in your truck or trailer at the jobsite.
Easy to mix
The same color, durability, and application you've come to expect from Capture Log Stain and Transformation Log & Timber
Maintenance Made Easy Now that Captureยฎ Log Stain is applied, itโs time for Cascadeยฎ Clear Topcoat to bring out the depth and character of your unique woodgrain while protecting it against moisture, mildew, and algae. Predictable and affordable routine maintenance with Cascade throughout the years means your home stays protected and beautiful. Easy!
Keep the Color the Color Colorfast delivers the ideal canvas for stain application and leaves behind the strong foundation necessary for long-lasting color. Itโs color confidence for your log home.
Rot, weather, insects, fungi all pose a serious threat to your logs. Protect your investmentโtreat your logs first to make them last. Tim-borยฎ helps protect your home from the costly damage caused by rot and insect infestation.
Bugs don't stand a chance
Easy to mix and apply
Prevents decay fungi
Costs 5 times less than glycol-based borate products
Remove Wood Felting and Raised Grain Remove wood fuzz (called felting) after power washing or media blasting, and knock down excessive raised grain with Sashco's finish sanding tools
Clean and brighten bare logs and wood, remove surface dirt, pollen, and kill mold for maintenance, and keep your logs looking fresh with CPR Log Cleaner and Brightener
