More staining photos of the logs

Here are a few more photos of our newly stained log home. Sun was shining a little too bright in these but I think you get the picture. And I am just noticing that we have to take the stickers out of the loft windows. Work is just never completed on a log home....but I am very thankful!

The Cabin is stained & the fox needs a home!

In the end, it was all about time. Originally we had thought about staining the log home ourselves or doing shared labor with our builder to save money. But then Greg was traveling a lot for work and we felt under the gun with the weather exposure to the logs. Thus Randy (our builder) and his crew power washed, treated and stained the logs over a course of 5 days. Now we can breathe a sigh of relief - our logs are protected and it's starting to look more like a log home. Now we have our other projects - landscaping, decorating, finishing the basement, carpeting the loft, etc. and oh yes....where to place my husband's STUFFED FOX WITH A PHEASANT IN ITS' MOUTH!!




The sun was not cooperating with this photo. Hope to post better ones soon!












Here's the deck view. And the deck floor still needs to be finished..... (hint, hint Randy!)















Back of the cabin.











Do you have a home for him??

Staining the log home this week!

We're getting another step closer to completing work on our log home. The weather has finally cleared up and we are getting ready to stain our log home! (With 99% of the help coming from our builder Randy of course!)



We have chosen a red-tone brown color which you can see painted under the eaves on this picture here. Sashco who makes the stain said that this is a popular color with customers as well as the medium tone brown.









First the logs are power washed and then the Penetreat (borate solution) is applied. This helps repel the wood eating insects such as carpenter ants and termites. It has to dry for 48 hours and then the first layer of stain is applied. (It's important that it doesn't rain in between steps so the Penetreat doesn't wash off before the stain is applied.

Looking forward to sharing the before and after pictures with you all soon!

Log Cabin Hunt

My husband and I drove around hunting for other log cabins in the Gaylord area. Thank goodness neither occupant was home while I was snapping photos. I would've had to explain that I am a log home stalker. I love seeing other people's designs and trying to guess what inspired them. It gives me ideas as well. The stone looks complimentary at the entrance of the darker brown cabin. I am hoping to finish the exterior of our walkout basement with the faux stone this summer so we are not looking at ugly concrete blocks. I also like the wraparound deck and the bright sienna color of the other cabin. We are trying to decide on our exterior stain right now and I'm rethinking the dark golden color. Spring will be here soon and it will be time to stain.

Cabin Expectations

I was full of excitement as we made the 3 hour drive up north. (If my husband had let me drive, I swear I would've made it in 2 1/2 hours!) Every time we open the door to our cabin, I'm always happy to see the new thing that the crew has completed and how the cabin is coming together. This time didn't disappoint. The extra stain coats had finished being applied to the interior and the logs looked beautiful and golden. They also used the extra logs we had left over and built a half log interior wall in the basement. We hope to finish it in the near future. Other items completed included the hanging of the antler chandelier and the carpet being installed in the bedrooms. I think I went too light on the carpet and will now be annoyingly asking all guests to remove their shoes before they go in there. The hubby and I wimped out and bought a bed to sleep in the cabin this weekend. (Hopefully the Gaylord building inspector isn't reading this as we don't have our Certificate of Occupancy yet....). Since we have no curtains or blinds up, it was great to lay back at night and see all the stars through the windows.

(More cabin updates & pics tomorrow!)

Staining and cabin progress

Well....the hubby encountered a little problem while we were trying to stain the bedrooms. First the logs are first lightly sanded, second - the stain is applied and then you use the clear coat. When he was using the clear coat - it was bubbling and looking like glue in the cracks of the logs. (It's inevitable with logs that you get "checking" which is small to medium cracks in the log.)So we stopped and we're going to contact the stain company tomorrow. I don't know if it was from being too cold or being shook up as we drove the 3 hours up north.

On a positive note, the maple flooring was installed and looks beautiful. Also, the builder selected nice 6 panel doors that look perfect in the cabin. Even the electrician made a little progress (2 switch plates and my wall sconce being installed.) I'm hoping he makes an appearance on Monday to make significant progress. I am especially looking forward to seeing how our antler chandelier will look in our dining room once it's hung. I think it's a rule that if you own a log cabin that you must have an antler chandelier as well as a deer head.

Prepping the Log Interior

It looks like Greg and I will actually be putting in a little (emphasis on the word little) sweat equity into the log cabin. Before the hardwood flooring and carpeting can go in, the interior log walls need to be lightly sanded and then stained. At first my husband was insistent we could do all the sanding ourselves. Then I pointed out the logs in the 2-story loft area. No ladder we owned could reach those heights. Thus our builder and his scaffolding will assist. Our project next weekend will be to do the interior staining ourselves (with the exception of the front loft wall.) We are going to use the color "Applewood" from Sashco which is close to a natural finish and won't clash against the interior tongue and groove walls. When spring weather hits, then the exterior can be stained.