Best log cabin treatment

External wood treatments

Your beautiful log cabin has been built in your garden, but now what do you do and how do you care for your cabin, to keep your investment at it’s best for many years to come.

Firstly  your cabin needs to be treated as soon as you can. The timber on your cabin is bare, which means it is open to all the elements. Think of each piece of timber of being made up of loads to straws, so when it rains, or there is moisture in the air, those straws will take in the water. Therefore you want to fill up the tops of all those straws, so no water can get in. The only way to do that, is by using a good quality product, which will give enough depth of treatment. Each brand has their own recommendations on how many coats need to be applied to achieve it’s optimum performance, if it says apply 2 coats, then that is what you need to do. The paint manufacturer’s know how many coats of their products will give the correct depth to protect the timber, this is generally between 80-120 microns. The better quality products will be able to achieve this depth in 2 or 3 coats, cheaper products will take many more coats.

When buying a product, look for one which is suitable for log cabins, shed quality paints are not suitable. A log cabin and a shed are made of a different construction, so behave differently.

When treating your cabin, start by applying a wood preserver, this will protect the timber from rot/fungi and wood destroying insects, again following the manufacturer’s instructions on the required amount of coats. Once this is completed, apply a weather proofing product, this will protect the timber from rain, moisture and UV from the sun.

Please note that clear weather proofing products are generally not suitable, as they do not offer the required UV protection, which can lead to greying of the timber.

Treating the cabin as soon as you can after the cabin has been built will minimise the amount of moisture the cabin can absorb and should prevent issues such as – doors swelling up, becoming difficult to open and close, corner joints leaking and gaps appearing showing bare timber on the logs.

To validate your structural warranty, your cabin should be treated within 28 days of build, following the manufacturers instructions. With the warranty card and images of the cabin returned to Logspan.

If you have any queries please contact the office on 01389 734572 or [email protected]