There are many reasons why the use of wooden joint sealants.

The most important is  improvements in thermal properties of buildings, protection of timber and logs from moisture, insects and various wood-destroying parasites.Sealing approach significantly extends the life of the house, save a lot of energy and avoid later problems with the contested timber.

There are some wooden structures, which need not necessarily to be sealed. Such are flat log houses, where the gaps are covered by a wooden bar. Also in such constructions you can find places with cracked beams and corners, where it is necessary to prevent weathering.

Before chinking is appropriate to check the weather forecast at least for the next few days.

To apply sealants need to be at least 5 ° C.

Factors affecting drying material are different, but most of all: the ambient temperature, humidity, wind and soak of surface. Applied sealant should be several hours protected from direct rain and sunshine. At least 7 days after applying sealant may not be exposed to temperatures below 0 ° C. Final properties of elasticmaterial comes in one app.one month. Sealant should be applied several hours to protect against large sunshine. This could cause too rapid evaporation of water in the weaker layers of sealant and leave small cracks or bubbles. If it anyway happen, pierce the bubbles and sealant crushes back into the joint

Backing rod help to dilatation of joints and proper function of sealant.

It is important, that the sealant is assigned only in 2 points.The middle space in joint which remained free is for the possibility of movement and expansion. This will allow flexible PE sealing cord, to which the sealant will not stick and can move freely around. Another advantage of using backing rod is also a saving of sealant material, which is compared with the cost of sealant more expensive.

This does not mean that we can only replace the sealant with only backing rod. There is always an exact amount of material needed  Always depends on the shape width and depth of the joint. Among the common errors are applied very thin layer of material on the cord, which after drying causes the so-called contour lines circumscribe and later cracking above backing rod. Backing rod is not used in places where the gap is less than 1 cm. There shall  be used only sealant foe example around windows, doors, into small cracks, etc. ..

It is always best to apply the sealant to the unpainted wood. But in practice it is usually not possible,

because most of the houses are already painted with something. Here are some advice and information to help you understand whether the surface is suitable or not.

If the wood is treated against pests such devices (bochemit, lignofix, pine salt and the like), the surface remains adherent and can be sealed.
Whether the logs are coated with oil or natural. TLC staining, which is characterized by deep soak into the wood, we can generally say that these substance does not mind. If you are going to just paint, so it is better chink before painting.
If already painted, it is appropriate to wait at least several months after coating. This means they have time to soak into the wood. Rest is completed with the weather and partly the surface of wood becomes again abrasive (sun, rain).
Inappropriate is to chink on a thick layer of wax , varnishes and similar materials which prevent contact with wood surface.
If you are unsure, it is always a good idea to test on some joints, and after about 3 weeks to try to tear of the material. This way you can see how well the surface of the wood is adhesive for sealant. Whether is easy to separate from the wood, the joints has to be cleaned up to the wood.
Do not apply to other putty , which does not hold in the joints. It should be cleaned prior to cementation.

Necessary breadth joints depends on the diameter of the logs of the cabin.

Another factor in determining the age of buildings is drying stage and fall down of the buildings. Generally speaking, the smaller diameters are used, the smaller joints are needed. In cabins where the logs are average, about 25-30 cm wide, we recommend at least 25 mm width joints . This is related to the depth of gap.Recommended depth of bonding joints is approximately one third of its joint width. Wider gap never mind and to improve rather dilatace.In the flat log cabins plays an important role in the design and wide joints are in demand here.

Before you start chink, you need to realize that buildings are usually constructed from raw wood

and the whole building will sit down for several years.
Already in the first question, we described that chinking should be after 2 or more years after construction.Even if sealant is flexible and can lasts about 63% stretch before interrupt, there are some cases, to largermovements.
These defects are becoming especially when chinking just after the construction of the house.Then it is necessary to take time and again chink over.

When building a new log cabins recommend to fill these joints flexible sealing cord, and after the first heatingseason to start chinking.

Other commonerrorsincludesealingbeamsvery weakor verythick layer.It's good toat least approximatelyfollow the rule, where (thickness)of the appliedmaterial= about1/3of width of the gap.

For verythin layeroccurs whendryingputtyto circumscribethe contour around backing rod. When verythick layer ofthe sealantdoes notstretchat all, andtheadhesion-pluckingfrom one side ofthe beamorlogs. When very thin layer, than it breaks in the middle of gap.

The lastcommon mistakeis thatthe sealantis applied to thenon-stick surface.These are mainlywaxinteriors, painted surfacesorsurfaces treated witha thick-layerglazing, which laterflakes out.The sealant isin these casesnot properly connected tothe timberand is only placed on the wax, lacquer,andthetensionandelongation ofmaterialcan not start. Than it unstick from the wood. Such surfacesneed tobe cleanedmechanically.One option is toscrapewax with steelbrush.

What color can I choose? Far, the choice from is 5 basic colors: white, light brown, spruce / pine, Dark brown. On request, we send free sampler.

Sealants can be recoated after drying and, if necessary, fine-tune the color to your home. You must firstconsider whether you want to highlight the gaps or better to hide. The log cabins from flat logs are oftentrying to contrast the white gap to dark timber. In the U.S. and Canada, it is common to use white colour. European customers often prefere to hide the gaps. It's always on the opinion of the customer. We  recommendyou to interiors rather lighter shades (wooden interiors are dark and light gap rather bring more light into the interior). Note: Only our opinion ..