How To Look After, Treat or Paint Your 1st Choice Log Cabin
There are many types of preservatives available for log cabins and garden cabins which range from fully pressurised tanalised treatments and water-based treatment.
In the past one of the favourite treatments was creosote, supplemented with old engine oil to make it go further. Although this did a great job protecting the timber from the harsh weather from time to time, it had to be reapplied. Its distinctive, quite strong smell, tended to linger for quite a while. If you wanted to work in the cabin made this not ideal if you had treated the inside of your garden building.
Improved safety rules were introduced in 2003, thankfully, as it had proved dangerous to use. Since 30th June 2004, it is against the law to even to store it or keep it in any form so if you have any in your log building you should dispose of it responsibly. Crecote, a new substitute, has been introduced for people who wish to get a similar effect.
You can use a water-based preservative and paint this on your garden cabins, and you will find the modern day treatments which Sadolin supply are some of the best available and designed for a very long life.
Solvent or spirit-based preservatives is another method of applying treatment onto timber. The solution again is a carrier for the chemicals and works as well as the water based. The treatment or solvent helps greatly and gives better protection to the timber. It is possible for this treatment to be sprayed on (but if done so protective equipment should be worn) such as face masks and protective goggles but painting your log cabin by hand is best.
Both oil and water based will do a great job for you. The oil or water holds the chemicals and bond the chemicals into the wood. This as it soaks into the timber gives it a certain amount of ‘give’ helping with the natural movement of your building. Whatever treatment you use to paint your cabin, we thoroughly recommend that your cabin is treated as soon as practical after being assembled. As cabins usually are supplied untreated, so that customers have the option to use a treatment and colour which will suit them and their environment, it very important to protect the wood from the elements. This will hold your cabin in good stead for many years to come.
Before starting treatment, ensure that the timber is dry and is clean. Ideally avoid working in bright sunlight, potentially wet weather or in extremes of temperate. If your cabin does get wet, in my view, it best to wait until it is totally dry before applying the treatment. This will allow the preservative to soak thoroughly into the wood. And leaving the cabin for a few weeks won’t be an issue in the long run.
Ensure that you read the instructions and ensure you follow them for the best results. Their experts know what they are doing so take advantage of that.
In most cases a brush is the best option as you can see where the treatment is going, you can work the brush into those ‘nooks and crannies’. You could spray the cabin, but you would have to cover all the surrounding area to ensure treatment doesn’t go over the garden. The amount of time protecting around your building outweighs the time-saving.
Start at the bottom of the cabin and work up along the length of the logs. This allows you to see any drips, and as the lower logs have treatment on them, you can brush the drips out. Being methodical like this is the best option, and you can spread the work over a few days if you choose. Pay special attention to the ends of the logs, which are more vulnerable. Some people paint the wood beforehand, but that can be more trouble than it’s worth.
You will find over time that the logs may move, this is normal, so be ready for any untreated wood which shows up. As the dampness in the air increases the gaps will disappear. This is something to get used to.
It is possible to get log cabins with a pressure treatment already applied, and this may be an option. However, this type of treatment is only treatment against rot and will need treating on the outside with a waterproof treatment to ensure the timber stays dry.
Without adding painting the waterproof treatment on the outside means that you may get wet patches on the inside of the building, which is not what you want.
You can also find with pressure-treated buildings because it’s a very damp type of treatment is that the logs will swell slightly and log may dry as a different rate. So always bear that in mind. With an oil, spirit or solvent-based treatment, you can be sure that the treatment will be applied evenly and provide full protection against the weather and rot.
However, whatever treatment you have it is important to keep an eye on it to ensure that you retreat when necessary.
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