How to Apply Log Home Chinking Material

Published on | Log Home Chinking |Leroy Walker

Chinking a log home requires patience and an artistic touch. It is typically done by professional chinking contractors but can be accomplished by homeowners. Follow the guidelines below for a successful job.

  • Ensure that your wood is clean and dry before starting your chinking job. The moisture content of your wood should be below 20%. Rain should not be in the forecast for at least 7 days. Also, make sure that your stain and chinking are compatible.
  • Install some form of backing material before applying the chinking material. This will allow the chinking material to expand and contract like a rubber band and save you money in chinking material costs.
  • Use a bulk loading gun for chinking joints that are an average of 1'' or greater and quart size tubes for smaller joints.
  • The chinking material should be applied between 40-90 degrees. Do not apply the chinking material in direct sunlight. This could lead to blisters in the chinking material which are not fun to repair.
  • Start by gunning a 3' section of chinking material onto the wood substrate, smooth it out with a putty knife, trowel or foam brush. Do not gun to much chinking material to start with because it will skin over rather quickly and become difficult to tool.
  • If the chinking material does skin over, lightly mist it with water. This will help in spreading the material.
  • Make sure to get good adhesion to the top and bottom of the chinking joint. This can be accomplished by using the right amount of pressure with your tooling instrument.
  • Make sure to get the correct depth of material when applying the chinking. A good rule of thumb is a 1/2''.
  • Use a foam brush or rag to clean up the chinking material as you are applying it. It will become a major project to wait and clean it up at the end of the day.
  • Have fun with your chinking project. The more chinking material that you apply the better you will become at chinking.

For more information about chinking material, chinking application tools or chinking contractor referrals contact Mountain Home Building Products toll free at 800-490-3695 or send an email to cs@mountainhomebuildingproducts.com.