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STRUCTURAL INSPECTIONS & DEFECTS ADVANCED INSPECTION METHODS AIR BYPASS LEAKS AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION AIR SEALING STRATEGIES BEST CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES GUIDE BUCKLED FOUNDATIONS due to INSULATION? CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR CRAWL SPACES Crawl Space Dryout Procedures CRAWL SPACE GROUND COVERS DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION DECK COLLAPSE Case Study DECK FLASHING LEAKS, ROT Case Study DISASTER BUILDING INSPECTION & REPAIR SAFEY DEW POINT CALCULATION for WALLS DEW POINT TABLE - CONDENSATION POINT GUIDE EARTHQUAKE DAMAGED FOUNDATIONS ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS ENERGY AUDIT - How to Use a Free One ENERGY SAVINGS MAXIMIZE RETURNS ON ENERGY SAVINGS PRIORITIES ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT CASE STUDY ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT LEAK SEALING GUIDE ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT OPTIONS ENERGY USE MONITORING FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-priorities FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-mold FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP FOUNDATION BULGE or LEAN MEASUREMENTS FOUNDATION CRACKS & DAMAGE GUIDE FRAMING DAMAGE, INSPECTION, REPAIR FRAMING DETAILS for BETTER INSULATION FRAMING DETAILS for DOUBLE WALL HOUSES FRT PLYWOOD LOG HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY LOG HOME GUIDE Antique & Old Log Cabins Cracks, Checking or Splitting Beams & Log Homes Condensation &Moisture in Log Homes Energy Efficiency of Log Homes Leak Diagnosis & Cure for Log Houses Log Wall Height Changes R-Values of Log Homes Sealants, Caulks, & Coatings for Log Homes Shrinkage In Log Home Walls Slab Log Cabin Siding Spline & Gasket Designs for Log Buildings Spline Gaps & Gasket Omissions Types of Log Houses - Log Choices Vertical Log Walls on Cabins & Homes Wall Insulation Values in Log Homes LOG HOME WALL INSULATION VALUES ROT, FUNGUS, TERMITES ROT, TIMBER FRAME SHEATHING, Gypsum board SHEATHING Homasote & Other Board SHEATHING, OSB SHEATHING, Plywood SHEATHING, FOIL FACED - VENTS SINK HOLES SLAB CRACK EVALUATION SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS Splits in Structural Wood Beams STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS Straw Bale Construction STUCCO OVER FOAM INSULATION STUCCO PAINT FAILURES SUMP PUMPS GUIDE THERMAL EXPANSION of MATERIALS THERMAL MASS in BUILDINGS VENTILATION in BUILDINGS WATER ENTRY in BUILDINGS WIND TURBINES WINDOWS & DOORS WINTERIZE A BUILDING More Information  InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Privacy Policies Contact Us |
Here we discuss the cause, detection, and cure of leaks on solid-log homes such as at cracks, checks in logs, log wall corners, at log wall windows, doors, sills, and eaves. Errors in placement of log splines, gaskets, or caulk are discussed along with various remedies. This series of articles provides information on the inspection and diagnosis of damage to new and older log homes and includes description of log house and log siding insulation values and alternatives, and also a description of the characteristics of slab-sided log homes as well as all other types of log home construction. We include illustrations of log structures from several very different areas and climates in both the United States and Norway. Our page top photo shows a modern kit log home constructed in New York State. For modern kit and factory-sourced log structures we include details of common construction and building defects that cause water and air leaks and ultimately rot damage and we point to key problem areas that need to be inspected carefully when buying or maintaining a log home. © Copyright 2009 - 1991 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. Where to Look for Leak and Draft Problems at Log House Windows, Corners, & Log Splines
The windows in this new log home were installed with no spline/gasket seal between the ends of the wall logs and the window jambs. Our left photo shows our probing ruler penetrating almost 6" - the full width of the "D" profile logs (depending on where in the curved log face you're measuring) used in constructing this home - in other words, at the point where we've inserted our ruler there is absolutely no seal between the inside face of the window frame and outside of the wall jamb rough opening at the window jamb. We found this true also between the ends of the logs and the other face of the jamb rough opening. This poor window installation detail on the solid log home combined with wide and checks in the logs near the windows (see photos below) to send water into the window assembly (see stains along our ruler where we had removed the interior sill and trim) and also into the building interior (see stains at the log/window assembly butt joint in the lower right of the photo.
The photos above show the outside log wall at the same leaky wall. The checks in the upper half of some of the logs abutting the window jamb were as much as 2.75" deep (2" at the probe point in our photo above right). These leak points combined with the absence of a window spline and gasket or caulk barrier and permitted water to enter the window jamb structure. The "cure" for this problem was a custom-designed window head flashing and additional exterior sealing using a sealant recommended by the log manufacturer. It was also important to seal the upwards-facing log checks, as we discuss further below. Construction at the corners of a log home, and around openings for windows and doors must be tight and properly executed to avoid drafts, leaks, and condensation problems. During arbitration of a dispute between a log home owner and the builder we found that improperly-installed windows on the home were causing window condensation and wall leaks. At the builder's own log home, built a decade before, we found that these same details led to severe structural rot in logs under leaky windows. Windows and doors must be set, framed, and trimmed wit care to seal straight components (such as window frames) abutting rounded log surfaces (such as a log wall or log slab siding walls). Inspect where normal log shrinkage has opened minor cracks in logs (checking cracks are typically 1/8" or more in logs) and between logs. Checking between logs in a modern kit home log wall can determine if splines were installed where they should have been to prevent leaks and drafts between the logs in a wall.
From outside the building at its corners, look into the ends of the log corner to see if you can spot the type of spline or log interlocks that were designed by the manufacturer. If your probe extends into the log groove at a building corner for a distance greater than the outside overhanging portion of the log, the gaskets were not extended to the corner as they should have been. The incomplete caulking you see in the left photo is an inept attempt to seal drafts at the building corner. Share this Article
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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. LOG HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY
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02/25/2010 - 09/22/1991 - InspectApedia.com/structure/Log_Home_Guide.htm - © 2010 - 1988 Copyright Daniel Friedman All Rights Reserved - InspectAPedia® is a Registered U.S. Trademark
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