Chinking is a latex sealant that resembles old fashion mortar and is used specifically to absorb movement when your logs lose moisture. The logs will shrink and cause the expansion of joints. When chinked properly, a tight seal is created to keep water and insects out. The most recent chinking has great adhesion and stretching properties, allowing it to expand and contract as your logs move.
Energy seal is similar to caulking and has a light sand texture used to blend in with the stain on the logs. Applying energy sealant makes your log wall completely weather-tight. Like chinking, energy sealant has excellent adhesion and stretch, as well as being long-lasting, UV stable and chemical resistant. Unlike chinking, this process can be meticulous and extremely time consuming; however it is a necessary action to address. The importance of chinking, caulking, or energy sealing is vital in that it prevents the dangers of moisture from entering seams of your structure, along with helping your structure be more energy efficient. This procedure is also the most eco–friendly action that you can choose for your structure.
In addition to loosing moisture, through the seasons getting hot and cold also causes expansion and contraction. The most important step when applying any product of this nature is to use a foam backer rod to eliminate a three point adhesion with the wood and instead create a two point adhesion. This will allow for the elasticity to perform the way it should and eliminate cracking or pushing out.
CAULKING CHECKS
It is important to seal up any upward facing checks that would be expected to hold water or for insects to make their home. New checks will appear each year due to the nature of the logs breathing.
