Hooboy--

This subject was recently discussed in another thread, and when I posted there, I think I was thinking of your question, as well, but didn't remember that they were separate.

Just wanted to say briefly, in case you didn't happen on the other thread, that we have used mortar chinking in our house, and so far we're very very happy with it. It was inexpensive, easy (though time-consuming) to apply, it's attractive, and the house is quite tight.

But you, of course, are concerned about long-term performance, and that's a logical and legitimate concern, of course.

My husband and I have "experience" with only two "older" log homes at all, but both are mortar chinking, and in both the mortar chinking seems to have performed VERY well.

One house is SKip's, where I've mentioned before, I "tested" the chink zone insulation (because I was worried about drafts, especially when I looked closely and saw some good-sized gaps caused by log shrinkage over time.) I stuck my little finger up to the first joint in one larger gap in Skip's chinking, and although it was a low-30s blustery day outside, there wasn't a bit of a draft.

The other house is a 1930's log cabin we own, and I think the mortar that's in there now is the same as was in there in the 30's or 40's. I can't speak to drafts, specifically, because of additions to the exterior of the cabin. But , even here ON the San Andreas Fault, the mortar chinking (obviously poorly-applied as it was) is in very good condition, with small cracks, but no places it's missing. I think it's very much "sound" after all this time.

For what it's worth... Sara :D

Absolutely, Reb, good point.

But around here, it's been comforting to realize that apparently neither Skip nor the original owner of our little log cabin ever did... and there's still no functional problem with the chinking.

I think that the second application would be more of an aesthetic consideration than a functional one?

Sara :D

What kind of bugs, Reb?

I imagine that a determined bug could get into ANY house, log or stick-built, synthetic chinking or mortar.

For termites and that sort of bug, you hope that the raised foundation and limited vegetative matter near the house will help.

For other bugs (or any other "critter"), I'm thinking it's probably not that big an issue. But, personally, I'd think that if you ended up with a gap that was big enough that you knew that they were coming in, you'd consider re-chinking that spot and see if that helped. :wink:

We've not seen that as a problem in either this house or the old cabin, specifically. But anything's possible.

I will say, however, that if anyone has a real spider phobia, both I and a friend who was a housekeeper in the area (where there are a number of milled log houses) have noticed that spiders DO like log walls. :lol:

Sara

Mitch--

There's stain spilled on the chinking in our old log cabin, and it just looks brownish-red like the logs, and a little... satiny, I guess. I can't imagine that it would look particularly attractive on all the chinking, since both the chink zones in there and in our new house have 2" plus chink zone widths. They're pretty wide areas to have so-so looking chinking, if you know what I mean.

But you could try it in an area you'll cover later with kitchen cabinets or something to see if your wife likes it better than the plain chinking.

Seems like coloring the mortar would be a more attractive option. They sure have every color under the sun available in cement colorant.

I just have to wonder if there would be any problem keeping the color consistent through all the batches of mortar it takes to chink a whole house?

Best--
Sara :D

Mbolin--

that makes sense. Mixing color into cement, I have heard, can be problematic. Can't recall if they talked about coloring the grout in our class or not (way back in 2000, so some of the details are sketchy :wink:).

And yes, our understanding of the "touch up" chinking application was that it was almost a "slurry", and you basically "paint" it on. But right now, my husband and I are thinking like Skip/Steve about when we might go back and do that project. :lol:

Sara

Thanks for the input Sara and mbolin. I will probably go with color in the mortar on the final coat. I guess that would probably be the easiest and look the best.

Thanks again.
--- Mitch

Hey Mitch. I'm trying to come up with a way to have the chinking color match the logs, so there is not the "zebra pattern" that comes with cement chinking. How did your approach work out?

Thanks

I am interested in a log home for sale with mortar chinking already in place. I don't like the color etc.. of the chinking. Can I chink over the mortar with synthetic chink? (the mortar chink is not in good condition at all) Also, can you possibly replace mortar chinking on the home?

Do you recommend to go over the current mortor chinking with new chinking either mortar or synthetic, or replace it all?