Log buildings were first introduced to this country in the middle of the 17th century by Swedish settlers.  From the Swedes, this building method spread to the other waves of European settlers that would come from all over Europe.  From simple, somewhat impermanent log cabins built by settlers as they cleared forest westward to much more architecturally elaborate log houses clad in various siding materials, log buildings were popular through much of the settled land in this country until the mid 19th century.  Logs were used to build schools, churches, and various types of commercial structures as well as houses.  These historic log buildings were built with a structure and technique quite different than most other buildings at the time and, thus, can develop deterioration problems specific to this type of construction.  Besides for the deterioration of the logs themselves, the part that needs the most regular attention on old log buildings is the chinking and daubing.  The chinking is the filler material often composed of wood or stone that was used to fill in the space between the logs, and the daubing is the finish material that went over the chinking often consisting of a mixture of clay and lime. 

At the Heritage Park log house, Durable Restoration was able to complete the restoration of the chinking and daubing, as well as replacement of all the rotted timbers on this circa 1815 house in a way that made the building look original after completion of the work.  For this project, our foreman, Rick Ladina, was awarded his fifth Builder’s Exchange Craftsmanship award.