Floors Installed & Log Stain Prep
It's been two weeks since our last blog post, but we've decided to take a bit of a break since the cabin is 'snow ready' and water tight. The rush is over, so we're relaxing and taking each next step as it comes. On Monday, September 25th we traveled to Coventry Log Homes in Woodsville, NH to talk to our sales rep Jeremy about stain for the cabin. Before it gets too cold, we need to seal the outside of the logs. Always helpful, Jeremy helped us pick out the exterior stain as well as the interior walls.
A few days later, we started laying down more floor boards but had to stop because we ran out of nails. The next day, Bob finished laying the floor while I scrubbed the outside of the house. Before we stain the outside logs, we wanted to clean up any scuff marks and dirty areas that stood out. We used Behr deck cleaner, mixed it with water, sprayed it on, let it sit for 10-15 minutes, rubbed with a brush and then sprayed it off with clean water. Since we don't have running water, this proved to be a bit more work than it would normally be if you had a hose. We bought two hand pump garden sprayers to complete the process. It wasn't ideal and took a while, but it got the job done. Bob had the job of cleaning the front of the house since he has to get up pretty high towards the peak (and I ain't doin' that!). While he was scrubbing, I started on sanding the scuff marks off the inside walls to prepare the interior for stain as well. After a few hours, I was tired of it and decided to call it quits for the day.
Friday morning (9/29), Bob went up by himself and finished the sanding and cleaned up a few more spots on the outside logs that were missed the first time around. We took a family break for the weekend and headed to the Fryeburg fair before going up to stain the outside of the cabin. Bob, our son BJ, my mom and myself spent most of Monday (10/2) staining the outside of the cabin. It took all of us about 6 hours to complete. There's still some trim work that needs to be finished but that can be done anytime. For those interested, we used Outlast Q8 Log Oil in the color Light Gold. We also added a mildew booster and insect repellent to the oil before applying for extra protection.
