Maintenance Advantage of Laminated Logs.

WHY SHOULD I BUILD MY HOME WITH LAMINATED LOGS?

A laminated log is dry, you will not experience the shrinking, warping, cracking and settling that you will find with a solid log.

WHAT ABOUT KILN-DRIED LOGS? AREN'T THEY GOOD?

Although Kiln-Dried solid logs are better than other solid logs, there is one factor not discussed by most manufacturers. When you build with a solid log each log has a different wood density, and in most cases a different moisture content for each log. This results in a home with hundreds of logs with a mind of their own, each doing something different.

WHY DO LOGS CRACK?

The large cracks that are found in solid log homes are a result of moisture leaving the log. Any solid piece of wood (4"x4" or larger) will almost surely crack open. To some homebuyers this is O.K. however regardless of aesthetics these cracks create a maintenance problem to all.

WHY LAMINATION WORKS

Wood sawn into 2" thick boards can be dried without destroying the integrity of the wood. When the desired mositure content is met (10%-12%) we remove the boards from our Kiln, plane the surfaces smooth and uniform, apply waterproof glue, place the boards in a a pressure clamp, and allow the glue to cure. Now we have a cant that looks like all other log home cants (except the Lock-tite cant is dry and stable). We then pass the cant through a log profiler just like all other log home manufacturers. RESULT: No shrinkage, No warping, No cracking, and No settling.

FACTS:

Kiln-Dried logs trap moisture in the center of the log. This moisture will try to escape and evaporate from the log. This trapped moisture can only escape by drying from the outside to the center... As this natural drying process continues the outside surface of the log becomes extremely dry and shrinks while the moisture in the center of the log is still present. This will almost surely cause a large crack to appear in the outside surface of your log in an unpredictable manner. Air-Dried logs result in cracking, warping and shrinking over an extended period of time as the moisture leaves the log naturally. All tradtional logs evolve into some sort of extended maintenance problem over the life of the house. Why build a log home you know will require an intense maintenance program?

LAMINATED (ENGINEERED) LOGS HAVE TAKEN THE LOG HOME TO A HIGHER LEVEL

The purpose of lamination is not because we like to glue wood. Lamination is the only way to build a log home that is truly dry. The lamination process eliminates most of the common defects that are considered "normal" in a traditional log home. Maintenance on your laminated log home will be a fraction of the expected long-term maintenance of a traditional log home. The Laminated Log has the same moisture content in the center of the log as it does on the surface, the end result is a log that is stable with predictable checking.

Lock-Tite Log Systems 470 B. Leazer Road Salisbury N.C. 28147 http://locktitelogs.com