

A finish layer preserved it and kept it adhered to the home. Traditional chinking was made of clay, mud, sand, and other common resources, with an inner layer sealed by a mortar-based "daubing" on the outside. This substance came to be known as chinking.

They used a blend of available materials to do so, packing the space between logs with substances flexible enough to allow the wood to breathe, yet strong enough to give protection. The space created by the gap in the logs was called the chink, and it let in drafty air and small pests.Įarly log home builders realized quickly that they needed something to fill in the chink and keep out the elements. Instead, the logs that make up log homes touch only on the notching points, with space of around an inch or two between the logs to allow for breathing.
CHINKING GUNS LOG CABIN SERIES
Therefore, a series of logs locked together with no extra space would pull itself apart as the seasons changed. This would actually cause a problem in the long run because wood expands and contracts based on changing temperatures. TraditionsĬontrary to some common misperceptions, log homes are not built with logs that fit together perfectly. Here's a concise history of the chinking tradition, and some discussion of the best ways to find chinking solutions that work for you.

One of those is chinking, the insulating substance placed between the logs. Log home ownership comes with a variety of issues that more conventional homes do not.
