Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a 10 yr. old log home in the high desert. The exterior has not been re-stained since the house was built and it badly needs a redo. The cost of high quality stain, primer, etc. would run into thousands so we're considering painting the exterior instead. Anyone else done this transition? How was your experience?
I had a cedar sided house in WV and had to re-stain after 7 years. It didn't cost all that much and I used a quality stain (not the highest priced, but still highly rated.)
I can tell you this- if you are going to paint over oil based stain you're gonna have loads of fun scrubbing oil stain with TSP or similar first, then priming the logs then painting.
Oh and a good quality exterior paint ain't cheap. 2 summers ago I repainted my house. Thankfully the original factory paint was in great shape, so only had to clean it and then repaint over top. It cost me over $2,000 for top of the line Sherwyn Williams and I did it all myself. I can't imagine what the labor costs would be to strip, prime and repaint your log cabin..
Be careful. Once you cover the natural wood character of the structure you won't get it back. You get to repaint it after that, possibly even more frequently. Staying with the same type of stain means less prepwork. You may also lose property value if one of the aspects of a log home in that area is character. If the wood is badly and unevenly weathered, patched, repaired, or discolored maybe that's the best choice, but I'd probably get some local expert opinions before going this route. A 10 year old log home isn't that old.
Try to find someone who has painted similar surfaces (and see what they look like after aging). Cracking and peeling paint will look really bad. Stain is probably best because it will penetrate somewhat into the cracks.
And...does good quality paint cost a lot less than good quality stain?
We have Cedar double and single garage doors and all the columns and under the roof is cedar ceilings. We restain it every few years it doesn't cost that much at all. I would never paint the cedar its beautiful.
The current stain/sealer that is there will prohibit good adhesion for the paint- once it starts peeling you'll be kickin' yourself in the ass!
Stick with the stain/sealer- just be more pro-active about maintenance!
The original stain is water-based, a Sikkens product. I was planning to use Perma ***** Strip it to remove the stain down to the bare wood. To do the stain, it would cost around 10-15K easily just for the stain, primer, etc. I simply cannot afford it (and can't/don't want to get a bank loan). But I have to at least paint the house so it looks decent should it go on the market next year.
Try to find someone who has painted similar surfaces (and see what they look like after aging). Cracking and peeling paint will look really bad. Stain is probably best because it will penetrate somewhat into the cracks.
And...does good quality paint cost a lot less than good quality stain?
There is checking (cracks), yes. Will need to do backer rods in some places and filler. No one out here with previously stained wood exteriors painted over that I know of. But I might go on the local Facebook page to ask--excellent suggestion, rational1! Does a top quality paint cost less than top quality stain? Yup, by the thousands! I wanted to use Perma ***** stain products.
The original stain is water-based, a Sikkens product. I was planning to use Perma ***** Strip it to remove the stain down to the bare wood. To do the stain, it would cost around 10-15K easily just for the stain, primer, etc. I simply cannot afford it (and can't/don't want to get a bank loan). But I have to at least paint the house so it looks decent should it go on the market next year.
I'd talk to a local realtor about this. You're going to sell it anyway, they could advise. They know what buyers want in that market. You may need to compare the relative values of:
Repairing/pressure washing but losing value when you sell. Leave the decision to the new owners.
Painting the house but losing value when you sell. Buyers won't be able to undo the paint job.
Staining the house and getting a higher price when you sell. Repay yourself and/or the loan.
FWIW, count me one of those buyers who would choose a stained log home over a painted log home. To me paint says the house hasn't been maintained/preserved as well, or on the cheap.
Last edited by Parnassia; 05-12-2019 at 05:31 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
