Hello all, hoping you are all well and working!

Will the log construction folks give me some technical specs for
chinking please? Preferably using products that are widely available and
not too difficult to use?

We have a late 1800's or early 1900's log building on a south-facing
mountain, which is uninhabited, and unheated. It has had concrete mortar
chinking as long as any of the elders can remember. It has been pointed
many times in the past, but keeps chipping out, even without anyone
picking at it.

We are in a humid environment, with many freeze-thaw cycles through the
winter here in southeastern KY. I think the shrinking and swelling of
the logs must contribute to the problem, as well as the fact that the
mortar used for chinking in the past seems to have been either plain
gray cement, or some sort of sand mix. It is patchworked and a LOT of it
has fallen out or is loose and going to fall out any minute now.

So, what product should we go back with, and how to prep the logs? This
is all new to me and I would greatly appreciate any advice or referrals
to reading materials. I will be purchasing materials and supervising a
crew of volunteers to do the work in the coming weeks.

THANKS

deb "log cabin girl" bledsoe
Livingston, KY
www.a-spi.org

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