Building a Log Home, chapter 11

In this picture you can sort of see the white stuff that they laid across the tops of each log. Can you guess what it is? North Arrow Log Homes is in the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where there are more than a few farms. What better natural insulator could they use than wool? Straight off the backs of those perky, bouncy sheep.

As each log was scribed to fit the one below it there would naturally be some pits and craters and hollow spots. The wool was crushed flat where the logs fit snugly, but stayed fluffy and filled the indentations where air might infiltrate. The tricky part was not letting it get wet or the mold would grow. Mold and mildew was a problem several times during the summer weeks of construction before the roof was put up. It was my husband’s and my job to scrub down the logs and apply a mildew killing spray if the black or green stuff showed up. Plenty of sunshine helped, too, and once the roof was on we had the logs sprayed outside with a honey colored stain followed by a clear coat. Inside we used a clear coat only so the natural look of the wood grains isn’t hidden.