How smooth do you like your chinking?

[Jfleming]

Hey all,

Some of you may remember a year ago I bought a log home, and I am slowly renovating. Anyways, the main reason for this post is chinking - well in my case, caulking the gaps that have appeared that the previous owner did not attend to.

How smooth do you like it?? I have tried really hard to get it fairly smooth, but it's a tough job! LOL! See below. Some of it is still wet, so it will dry darker than what you see.

ALSO - The guy who built the place decided to paint the outside (God knows why) so I am stripping it back too.

Some pics for you!

https://imgur.com/XyMpUiS

https://imgur.com/OR6xGk5

https://imgur.com/ViGS3rA

https://imgur.com/wraEPOh

[loghousenut]

Glad to see you back.

Of course, you already know that it doesn't matter how smooth we like OUR chinking. Every single one of our places turns out different.

My house is rustic. Lots of unsanded knots, and the Chinking looks like it was put on with real hand tools. Anybody who knows me thinks my house reminds them of Ron Smith (me). I've seen Chinking so smooth, you'd think it was applied using laser technology and I've seen some that had hand prints in it. It's all good.

In the end, I think you are the only one who will notice and you will like it no matter how it turns out. Everyone else will think it looks however it looks because that is how it is supposed to look.

It is a fine looking place. I'm glad you are losing the paint. Make it yours.

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[Jfleming]

Thanks man! Yep! I am certainly doing that! Big job, but I am enjoying the challenge.

Cheers
J

[loghousenut]

If you like doing it, just go at it. When it gets to be a chore, start looking for a way out. In the end, a log house is just a house.

When I read that last sentence, I want to argue with it. It is total truth, but I spent the last 10 years building the house I will die in. I know the connection.

Try to have fun with it.

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[mudflap]

I had a dream last night about chinking - I was out there smoothing it out with some buffing thingy attached to my grinder. It was so smooth! Obviously, I then woke up.

[danthepianoman]

Has anyone ever tried the toothpaste / then thick latex mortar mix after the initial chinking is done? And if so, do you need to use concrete bonding adhesive so it stays put? Can the thick latex finish coat be made without sand?

[loghousenut]

I had a dream last night about chinking - I was out there smoothing it out with some buffing thingy attached to my grinder. It was so smooth! Obviously, I then woke up.I saw an LHBA home up on Washington, years and years ago that had been chinked with spray foam. Then they went at it with a wire brush on an electric drill to smooth it out. Then they painted it.

Looked really nice but he said all those little electrostatic chunks of foam dust were the most devilish enemy he had ever come across.

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[mudflap]

that's just too much work.

Putting the insulation in the gaps is okay. But that's about it. I don't like nailing, don't like installing the lath for the "too big for nails" gaps. I really hate mixing up a batch of mortar - trying to get it right, cleaning up the mixer, then dragging that big heavy 5 gallon bucket up there to apply the stuff.

But I really like when it's all done and I do that one last wipe with the sponge and it looks clean and neat with sharp crisp lines. that's what makes it all worth it.

[loghousenut]

I loved nailing. Did most of it by hand with my favorite old wooden handled claw hammer. The key was grinding a dish into the action end of the hammer.

I had to use a palm nailer for some of the nasty spots, but I really got all "Zen" about the hammer.

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[rckclmbr428]

Has anyone ever tried the toothpaste / then thick latex mortar mix after the initial chinking is done? And if so, do you need to use concrete bonding adhesive so it stays put? Can the thick latex finish coat be made without sand?

I've never seen that turn out well, it looks good for a short while, then it starts flaking off, no matter how much you add. If your seriously obsessed about perfect chinking, mortar chunk everything you can, wait for the logs to stop shrinking, then use synthetic chinking over all of it. But by that time you'll be used to the mortar and not care anymore.

[mudflap]

I loved nailing. Did most of it by hand with my favorite old wooden handled claw hammer. The key was grinding a dish into the action end of the hammer.

I had to use a palm nailer for some of the nasty spots, but I really got all "Zen" about the hammer.

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:)

I just broke down and bought a palm nailer last weekend. Where has this been all my life? I love it! I had to buy it because there's only a 6" gap between the top of the boards and the rafter at that point. It's a very cool tool for small tight areas.

[Shark]

Palm nailer is on my list to add to the tool collection.
After watching a buddy with an electric stihl in convinced they are pretty handy (for smaller jobs). Also grabbing the 20V dewalt electric chainsaw for the times I don't need the 18" husqvarna on top of a ladder. Found bare tool (I already have a bunch of batteries) for$99

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[loghousenut]

:)

I just broke down and bought a palm nailer last weekend. Where has this been all my life? I love it! I had to buy it because there's only a 6" gap between the top of the boards and the rafter at that point. It's a very cool tool for small tight areas.There is a great $3 hack that will do wonders for chinking nails with a palm nailer.

1... At Harbor Freight, get the assortment of 1/4" drive ratchet extensions. The longest one is probably the one you will appreciate the most.

2... Cut off the male end. It is the end with the square penis sticking out that you would push into a socket.

3... Stick the newly cut shank up into the business end of the nailer. The other end fits over the nail. It is obvious once you do it.

4... You have already figured out that a two handed person is at a liability with this hack... Unless you tape the extension to the palm nailer with duck tape. That means you may want two palm nailers.



Trust me. If you have nooks and crannies that require this hack, you will love it. If there is any other way to set the nail, you will hate this hack.

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