Log Home Endurance
Just hearing the words “log home” might take you back to pioneer days – picturing wood stoves, root cellars, housewives cooking while their husbands are out hunting dinner – but today’s log homes are a far cry from the more primitive, old-fashioned log cabins of yesteryear. In fact, evidence is mounting that log homes are actually more durable than their contemporary, wood-and-drywall crafted counterparts – log homes are actually more likely to survive natural disasters, given the rock-solid building techniques used during construction, and several design quirks. Let’s take a look at 5 of the ways that log homes are better able to stand up to natural disasters, and usually last longer than traditionally constructed homes.
The Walls of Log Homes Are Stronger Than Traditionally Constructed Homes
Think of the wall of a traditionally made home – it’s nothing but supporting beams, insulation, and a thin layer of drywall on the inside, with shingles or other siding on the outside to protect the whole structure from the elements. These walls are mostly hollow, and while they’re plenty strong in normal conditions, they become much weaker when wind or other conditions cause shearing or horizontal pressure. Contrast this to a wall made of logs. The logs used in modern homes are of exceptional quality – they’re dense, strong, and totally solid, and these massive walls are what provide a lot of the strength that log homes are known for. In fact, there was a recorded incident where a log home was ripped off of its foundation by flooding – only to be discovered floating intact on the floodwaters, a great example of log home strength.
Log Walls Are Fire Resistant
Natural calamities like hurricanes can cause flooding and fire, due to the effects the wind and water have on power systems and other dangerous utilities, and tornado-carrying supercells have with them, the ever-present threat of lightning strikes. Wildfires can also be an issue to take into consideration if you live in the west – but no matter the cause, log homes can stand up to fires – better than a traditional home. This is because the large size and density of the logs used in a log home preclude their use as a fuel source during house fires – they’re generally too heavy and dense to catch fire at house-fire temperatures. This is in contrast to other materials like drywall, which have autoignition temperatures as low as 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
No Roof? No Problem!
The structural integrity of a traditionally-built home is totally dependent on the entire structure remaining standing – usually, the walls are not strong enough to stand on their own. Because of this, if the roof fails or is blown off by high winds – very typical in tornadoes and hurricanes – the entire structure fails catastrophically, leading to a loss of home, or a loss of life. Roof loss is the most common manner in which a home fails during heavy winds, whether from a tornado or a hurricane. This is not a problem with a well-built log home. Log homes have very sturdy walls, and the heavy-duty logs used in construction are capable of standing on their own, even without a roof. Log homes can lose windows, doors, and roofs with little risk of the superstructure collapsing, and further reinforcement of these at-risk areas is possible due to the heavy-duty construction techniques used while building log homes, such as hurricane straps to secure a roof to the durable and strong walls of your home.
Log Homes Allow for Easy Flood Recovery
When you think about the multilayered construction of traditional homes, it becomes clear that recovering from a flood can be nigh-impossible – insulation, wall cavities, and sheetrock can become soaked and trap moisture, causing problems even long after the water has been evacuated. Log homes avoid these issues – log walls are solid, and present no tiny gaps where water can sit and continue to cause problems within the structure. While log homes are not any better at preventing flooding, it is much easier to recover and resume normalcy, due to the lack of permanent damage or moisture lock-in. Log home maintenance after a flood is quick and easy, with none of the problems associated with traditional homes.
Log Homes Resist Earthquakes
Much for the same reasons that they’re better at holding up to wind and flooding, log homes are much better at holding up to earthquakes. Each individual wall can hold up its own weight, as well as the weight of the roof, so it’s unlikely for the walls of a log home to fail except during immensely powerful earthquakes. There are reports that a log home 1000 yards from the epicenter of a 5.7 Richter scale earthquake – that suffered no damage.
While log homes are by no means indestructible, they offer many advantages in their construction that traditional homes don’t, and they’re much better at holding up to the elements, and safer in many natural disaster situations. Combined with their rustic appeal, it’s no wonder these homes are growing in popularity.
The 5 Ways Log Homes Stand up to Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and the Tests of Time.
Published on January 25, 2017 | Log Homes | Coleman Kelleghan
Log Home Durability
A home constructed of solid logs can offer excellent durability against a wide range of natural forces: rain, snow, sun, insects, and even tornadoes and earthquakes. This article describes how excellent durability can be achieved and maintained in a log home in the face of all of these threats.
Log Selection
Log home durability starts with the selection of the logs themselves. The supplier of your logs should use the TPI (Timber Product Inspection) grading system, in which each log is individually graded to assure that only the finest logs are used in your home.
Log species can also be a consideration. Pine species offer an excellent combination of strength and durability. In particular, southern yellow pine has the highest specific gravity of common structural wood species, providing superior fastener-holding power and load-bearing capacity. These qualities made southern yellow pine the species of choice for roller coasters when they used to be made out of wood.
Kiln Drying of Logs
Kiln drying of the logs removes moisture, providing the log with enhanced stability that further contributes to the durability of your log home. Logs that are not kiln-dried tend to exhibit greater degrees of shrinking, settling, warping, and checking, all of which can detract from durability.
Kiln drying of the logs also acts to “sterilize” the logs by killing any pests, bacteria, or fungi that may be present.
Precision Milling of Logs
An important factor in log home durability is the optimal fit and matching of the logs used in the home. This optimal fit can be best achieved when the logs are precision cut and notched in the controlled environment of a mill specializing in log homes. This precision milling also saves considerable construction time and minimizes errors that can occur on the job site.
Borate-Treatment of Logs
The durability of your log home will be enhanced if your logs are treated at the mill with a borate solution. Borate is a natural, environmentally safe mineral salt that increases your logs’ ability to resist attack by termites, carpenter ants, wood-boring beetles, dry rot, and fungal decay. Be sure to insist upon a borate treatment of your logs in order to provide a solid base of protection against these threats.
Proper Log Stacking
Proper stacking and fastening of the logs during the construction of your log home will be a major factor in achieving greater durability. The company that supplies your logs should also provide engineered fasteners to ensure that the logs will be tightly bound to one another with a high degree of stability. The tightness of the log joints can be further enhanced through the use of specially designed gaskets and the use of high-quality caulk. This type of 3-prong system (fasteners, gasket, caulk) will ensure that the logs (and the interior of the home) are well-protected from moisture and insect infiltration.
Staining and Sealing of Logs
Once your log home is constructed, the application of a high-quality stain to the exterior of the home will provide protection against moisture, insects, rot, and the ultraviolet rays of the sun. It is generally best to work with a log supplier who can also provide a stain product that is suitable for use with your logs.
Generally, stains that are darker offer the most protection against the sun. There are also lighter, more transparent stains for those log homeowners who prefer this look. These lighter stains may require a bit more frequent application in order to maintain their protective qualities.
The frequency of stain application will vary depending upon whether the exterior walls of the home have direct exposure to the elements, or if they receive protection from porches, overhangs, and eaves.
A high-quality stain will both protect your log home and enhance its beauty for years to come.
Protecting Logs Against Insects
As described above, the first step in protecting your log home against insects is to use logs that have been borate-treated at the mill. This will provide an excellent base of protection against a number of insect species.
It is highly recommended that the same termite protection treatments that are used for conventional homes in the area also be used for your log home. These regular treatments are often very cost-effective and offer excellent protection for your log home.
In many areas of the country, carpenter bees are attracted to conventional houses as well as log homes. Carpenter bees “drill” small, almost perfectly round holes, usually in vertical wood surfaces. The best log home suppliers will provide a carpenter bee preventive treatment such as “Bee Gone”. These preventive treatments can be applied alone or mixed and applied with the log stain. Spot treatment for carpenter bees can also be done with a wide range of common insecticides.
Logs and Fire Resistance
Log homes made of solid logs are generally considered to have very good fire resistance in comparison to other wood structures. This is the result of a number of factors, including 1. a higher degree of structural integrity and support offered by the solid log walls, 2. a lower ratio of wood surface area to mass exposed to oxygen, 3. no concealed cavities in a solid log wall through which a fire may travel.
Log Homes and Wind Resistance: Hurricanes and Tornadoes
The superior structural integrity of a quality log home can provide protection against high winds, including those that can be experienced in hurricanes or in the vicinity of a tornado. There are numerous examples of log homes being the only structures remaining in a neighborhood that has been subjected to one of these violent storms.
Log Homes and Earthquakes
The superior structural qualities of log homes also serve to provide enhanced protection in the event of an earthquake. In addition, the flexible nature of the logs tends to outperform other types of construction, particularly brick, block, and masonry homes that are much more brittle and susceptible to seismic stress. Log home performance in earthquake conditions has been demonstrated both anecdotally and under laboratory conditions.
May 28th, 2014 | Log Cabin Living Blog