Log homes take the mountain sun harder than anything else we stain.

What the sun actually does to a log

Wood is made mostly of cellulose held together by lignin. Ultraviolet light breaks down lignin at the surface, which is why unprotected logs turn gray: the surface fibers have been loosened and are washing away a little at a time. The USDA Forest Products Laboratory, which has studied exterior wood finishes for decades, describes this weathered layer as a poor base for any finish. Stain applied over gray, loose fibers fails with them.

Altitude makes it worse. The U.S. EPA notes that UV levels rise about 6% per 1,000 meters (about 2% per 1,000 feet) of elevation, and towns like Breckenridge, Frisco and Dillon all sit above 9,000 feet. South and west walls take the most sun and almost always fail first; the bottom courses take snow splash and meltwater; logs under deep overhangs can look new after a decade.

Stain, not paint, and why pigment matters

Logs move. They shrink and swell with moisture, they check (crack along the grain) as they dry, and they need to release moisture outward. A thick paint film cannot follow that movement and traps moisture behind it, so most log homes are finished with penetrating stains or with finishes made specifically for logs.

• Clear and lightly tinted finishes look beautiful at first but have little to stop UV. In full mountain sun they weather fastest.
• Semi-transparent penetrating stains soak into the wood and carry enough pigment to block much of the sun while still showing grain. Forest Products Laboratory research has long favored pigmented penetrating stains for weathering exposure.
• Log-specific film-forming systems build a flexible coating, often with a separate clear topcoat. They can last well when the wood was properly prepared, but once they start to peel they have to be removed, not just recoated.

The trade-off is always the same: more pigment means more protection and less visible grain. We help you choose where that line sits for your house and your exposure.

Preparation is most of the job

On a log home the staining itself is the short part. Preparation decides whether the result lasts:

• Removing the old finish and the gray. Depending on what is on the logs, that may be media blasting (for example with crushed glass or corncob), sanding, or chemical strippers followed by a wash. The goal is clean, bright, sound wood.
• Careful washing. High pressure raises the grain and drives water deep into checks and joints. We use cleaners and controlled pressure, then let the logs dry.
• Checking moisture before staining. Stain manufacturers specify how dry the wood must be. We measure rather than guess, because stain over wet logs does not penetrate.
• Repairing soft or rotted wood before it is finished over, and telling you plainly where a log needs a carpenter rather than a stain.

Checks, chinking and caulking

Upward-facing checks wider than a hairline act like gutters: they catch rain and snowmelt and lead it into the log. Those are sealed with flexible log-home sealants made to stretch with the wood. Chinking and caulked joints between logs are inspected for gaps and adhesion loss, and repaired with compatible products and backer rod where needed. Air and water leaks at joints are a comfort problem as much as a finish problem, and they are cheapest to fix while the walls are already being prepared.

Keeping it from getting this bad again

The cheapest log home finish is the one you maintain before it fails. A simple routine:

• Walk the house each spring, starting with the south and west walls.
• Splash water on the logs. If it beads, the finish is working. If it soaks in and darkens the wood quickly, that wall is due.
• Recoat the worst elevations with a compatible maintenance coat before they gray, which avoids stripping later.
• Keep snow, firewood and soil from sitting against the bottom courses, and keep gutters and downspouts clear.

Scheduling around a short season

Every stain has minimum surface and air temperatures on its data sheet, and the wood has to be dry. At elevation, cold nights and afternoon storms shorten the working window, so mountain exterior work fills up early. If your logs are graying now, getting on the schedule over the winter is the easiest way to get a good summer slot. Meanwhile, decks are handled by our deck and fence crew and can be done in the same visit.

What moves the price

We do not publish a per-square-foot figure for log homes because condition varies so much. The factors that move a quote are:

• Wall area, height and access (ladders, lifts or scaffolding).
• Condition: a maintenance coat on sound finish versus stripping gray or peeling wood.
• The removal method the existing finish requires.
• Check sealing, chinking and caulking repairs.
• Product choice and number of coats.

Where we stain log and cedar homes

Summit County, including Breckenridge, Frisco, Dillon and Silverthorne; Clear Creek County, including Georgetown; and Conifer. See where we work for the full area.