Log home restoration near Medicine Hat: questions to ask before you book

Stripping a log home is a job you only want done once. Done badly, it leaves the logs corrugated and fuzzy, and that cannot be undone. Whoever you hire — us or anyone else — these are the questions worth asking first.

1. What media, and at what pressure?

Wood has soft spring growth between harder grain lines. Aggressive media or high pressure erodes the soft bands faster and leaves a ridged surface that takes stain unevenly. Our default is recycled crushed glass at low pressure, with walnut shell for carved or ornate work. More in choosing media for wood.

2. Wet or dry?

We blast log walls dry, so no water is driven into the timber and there is nothing to wait on before sealing.

3. Do you test first?

There should be a test patch somewhere inconspicuous on every house before anyone commits to a wall. Logs vary, finishes vary, and the right pressure is found on the house, not assumed.

4. What gets masked and protected?

Windows, doors, decks, mechanicals and plantings. Ask how it is done and who cleans up spent media.

5. Who is doing the stain, and when?

Bare logs are open and in our sun begin greying again within weeks. The finish should be lined up before the blast starts. See choosing a stain after blasting.

6. What about chinking and rot?

Stripping shows the true state of the wood. Ask what happens if soft spots or failed chinking turn up, and how the sequence works if they do.

The strip is the smaller half of a log home project. The finish is what decides how long it lasts.

The question of travel matters here too. Elkwater and the Cypress Hills are about forty minutes from Medicine Hat for us; specialists coming from Calgary or Edmonton bill for the trip. On a cabin or acreage log home anywhere in Cypress County, that difference shows up in the quote.