Chinking: an Art for Your Log Homes

In modern terminology, chinking is commonly referred as the method of covering the walls of log homes in order to protect the inner portion from undesirable environmental conditions. There are various materials that can be used to seal the spaces between the logs. Some are made ready for purchase, while some are from raw materials available for your own mixing. That is why it is better to understand some concept before doing this process.

Let us look into a brief history of chinking

Chinking comes from the old English term “chink” which is related to “crack”. To chink on something simply means to fill in a cracked space. It also aims to protect the walls against any damage that might be caused by extreme weather conditions.

During the past years, log chinking mixtures included materials such as dung, hair, earth, rice, and pine sap. There are also some mixtures that include cement mortar, polystyrene foam and acrylic materials.

The art of chinking

In these days, if chinking log homes is not needed for any weatherproofing purposes, it can still be done as an accent. Thus, it will bring a dramatic visual effect to your log homes. Indeed, there is more use to chink your homes other than protecting the logs.

As you can see, in most log homes or log cabins, precision style is combined with state of the art design. That is how DIY chinking enthusiasts and conventional builders appreciate and respect the importance of doing a good log chink.