Frequently asked questions
Yes. Part of the beauty of a log home is the slight imperfections (knots in the wood, slight color variations in the wood grain, etc.). These imperfections also create cracks, gaps and spaces between logs and around doors and windows. Therefore, try as you might, if you choose to have your home cob blasted, you will have dust enter hour home. See the Tips section to see ways to limit this.
No. Corn cob blast media has a Moh’s hardness of less than 4.5 which is softer than glass. Therefore, it is safe to use around windows without fear of scratching them.
There is no exact answer to this question. If a house is properly cared for and maintained and finish is applied as directed, blasting should not be needed for many, many years. Unfortunately, finishes do sometimes fail. Whether the finish itself is poorly manufactured or whether it is applied inappropriately or at the wrong time. Any of these factors can cause a finish to fail on a log home. Once a finish begins to fail, the only way to really fix the problem is to take the logs back down to bare wood and start over again.
Yes. While cob blasting is our specialty and primary blast media, we also blast with baking soda, crushed glass, and other blast media as necessary. If a particular application requires a different type of blast media, there are several other options available.
Cob Blasting is recommended when it becomes evident that your current finish is failing. Signs of failing finish include pealing finish, bare wood, graying wood, washed out appearance, dark colors beneath the finish, or if the different sides of the house are different colors from one another. Also, blasting is recommended if you wish to alter the color or type of stain from what you currently have. If stains/finishes are properly applied and your home is cleaned and maintenance coats are applied as per manufacturer recommendations, blasting should not be necessary for many, many years.
Maintenance coats should be applied at the first signs of weathering. Walls that are subject to a lot of U.V. rays or heavy wind/rain may need coating more frequently. Likewise areas that see little weather (like under covered porches) may not need re-coating for longer periods of time. This is why our annual cleaning and inspections are vital, so that we can determine what areas are in need of maintenance coats.
If you know what finish is already on your home and it is still in good shape, it may be able to be cleaned and re-coated. However, applying one type of finish over another, or applying over an already failing finish most often leads to premature failure of the product.
