Trout Creek Log Home Restoration: A Sun-Damaged Home for Its New Owner

We were called in to media blast and stain a log home in Trout Creek, Montana that had a lot of wear from sun and the elements. The customer had just bought the place and a full log home restoration process was the best option to get the issues fixed right. Once all the UV damage was fixed and the logs were restored to their original beauty, we put three coats of Sansin Autumn Gold on all the blasted wood.

The Home

Trout Creek is a small community in Sanders County, in northwest Montana, close to the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. The home is two storeys of full round logs on a forested lot, with a covered wraparound porch, log railings, a dormer, a tall wall of gable windows, and a walkout lower level in river rock and board siding.

Here is another example of a home we finished in Montana. If you want to check it out, go here. We take on log home restoration in Montana wherever the job is.

What UV Damage Does to a Log Home

UV damage starts at the surface. Sunlight breaks down lignin, the natural glue that holds wood cells together. The top layer of fibres loosens, bare wood goes grey, and the finish sitting on that layer starts to let go.

Brushing a fresh coat of stain over that does not fix it. The damaged layer has to come off first so the new finish goes onto sound wood. That is what we did here.

Blasting the UV Damage Off

Blasting is a big, dusty job, so everything that stays gets protected first. In the photos taken once the stain was on you can still see the prep: windows covered in plastic and taped, the foundation line sealed off, the plumbing and electrical on the outside wall wrapped, and tarps across the ground.

Then the logs were media blasted. We blast with crushed glass made from recycled wine bottles. It is 100% silica-free, no chemical strippers are involved, and the spent media is inert and settles into the soil. It also opens the pores of the wood, so the stain soaks in instead of sitting on top.

Three Coats of Sansin Autumn Gold

Once all the UV damage was off, we put three coats of Sansin Autumn Gold on all the blasted wood. It is one of Sansin’s exterior natural colours, and on freshly blasted logs it reads as a light, warm gold with the grain and character marks showing through.

The before and after photos are taken from the same angles. The logs went from a dark, weathered brown to clean, bright wood, and the posts and log railings on the front and back porches came up with them.

Just Bought a Log Home With a Tired Finish?

This one is common. People buy a log home and the finish comes with it. Here is another example of a home we finished after the same kind of UV damage, in the Comox Valley in Canada. If you want to check it out, go here. That one was refinished in Autumn Gold as well.

If your logs have gone grey or dark, or the finish is flaking, the fix is the one we used in Trout Creek. Take the damage off, then rebuild the finish on sound wood. We have been restoring log homes since 2000, and the crew that blasts your home is the crew that stains it.

Call 1-855-297-3337, or get a free quote. In most cases good photos of your home are enough for us to give you an estimate. If you would rather talk it through first, get in touch.