r/loghomes

We relocated this 1879 log cabin from its place of origin, Annis, Idaho, to my 3rd great grandfather’s farm near Nauvoo, IL. We spent a year cleaning it out, disassembling and labeling the logs, and transporting it 1300 miles to Illinois. The process of rebuilding and restoring it took five years by a gifted craftsman who did most of the work himself. It was originally built by Joseph Fisher, and was the birthplace of Vardis Fisher, renowned author who wrote the novel “Mountain Man”, which was the basis for the Robert Redford film, “Jeremiah Johnson”. It is about 1600 square feet, two bedrooms, two baths, with a large loft sleeping area. It will sleep 14 people.

For some backstory, my fiance and I had no idea the house was log when it was bought, it was sided over and had been for 40 years. We’re really flying by the seat of our pants and winging it in a lot of ways, but trying to do things right (and we have until the winter returns in October to get it finished)

We’ve been sanding and prepping to re-stain. I’ve seen some log wash products and wondering how effective they are and if worth the expense? And some conflicting information on what order to stain and re-chink in.

Any advice is welcome! We’re in NE Oregon if that helps, too.

This log home was built in 1986. We just looked at it today. Everything seemed mostly ok with it. A few concerns though.

The chinking seemed to be in tact, I'm sure it will need to be touched up though.

There is some powder post damage on some of the lower logs, nothing major but possibly worth noting.

None of the windows close on the second floor, but all other windows and doors function fine.

The crawlspace was clean, only some water damage at the laundry room.

The main beam running through the house holding up the second floor was a little out of level.

There is a spot on the side of the house where a stove stack used to be, but the owner patched it as pictured.

The attic and covered porches had signs of water intrusion I believe at the fasteners. Additionally, one of the top logs has some signs of water damage inside. The owners had it for only 2 years so no stain or coating was applied in that time, but it is due on at least one exposed side. All in all, we like the house, but I'm a regular carpenter and not 100% familiar with this construction of home.

So basically my questions are: is the post beetle damage concerning?

Are the non functional windows a major concern?

Is the damage in the attic more concerning than in a traditional home?

Please help me with my decision paralysis. I don’t know what the right move is here. This is my house, it has Cabot oil stain on it. It’s not my style and I want to have a more modern black house. Some things I’ve learned are not to sand this wood as it is rough sawn cedar and you really have to stick with the same product if you’re applying over the top of it. I don’t want the look of paint I like a semi-transparent more natural look with woodgrain showing through. I could…

1. Apply the semi transparent Cabot oil stain over the top of this in the black color. That’s what this watch is and it was just put on so it should become more matte. I was quoted 15k to wash the house and apply this.
2. Strip the house with a chemical wash let it dry and apply a new product (either oil or water base). Was quoted 30k plus from one Contractor and 20k from another.

My house doesn’t get much direct sunlight it’s a pretty forested area. I’m really torn on what would be best. House is 2000 square feet greater Seattle area.