Maine Log Home Professional Association

Log Home Inspections

Please note: We suggest that you review the license and insurance of any professional you use and We further suggest that you call references or review the ratings and reviews from their previous customers.When using our site, understand that it is your responsibility to select the professional you are interested in working with. Any contract or agreement you have with a contractor is between you and the company you select and does not involved our program. By using our website, you agree that should you have a dispute with any company, you must address such dispute directly with the business that performed the work. You also agree to release Maine Log Home Professionals Association (and our officers, directors, affiliates, employees, and agents) from any damages or claims that may arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes.

Approved Log Home Inspectors Listed By County

Androscoggin-
Aroostook-
Cumberland-
Franklin-
Hancock-
Kennebec-
Knox-
Lincoln-
Oxford-
Penobscot-
Piscataquis-
Sagadahoc-
Somerset-
Waldo -
Washington-
York-

Most Home Inspectors will travel out of their county for Work

It is very important to have yearly inspections professionally performed and to keep an inspection log for your home. It is vitally important to keep a good maintenance log of your home listing all materials purchased for maintenance, any updates or improvements made to the home and all dates as well as who performed each service. These should all be kept in a loose bound binder often provided by the Builder.

1) Are there any logs contacting foliage, organic mulch, or the ground within 18 inches from the home? Look for any landscaping that may have grown up against the house or soil grade that has become too close to the sill (bottom) log.

2) Perform an adhesion test where you press a piece of log tape onto the log ensuring good adhesion and after pressing it on hard wait 3 minutes. Next we rip it off. If a lot of stain came off with the tape we recommend you should remove the finish before applying anything new. You should try this in a few different spots as some areas wear faster than others. This takes an experienced eye to know how much is too much best to call one of the professional inspectors listed below.

3) Look to see if there are any discolored areas. Does it seem to be underneath or above of the finish. If it's under the finish we recommend for you to remove the finish to get at it. If it is on top you can clean it off and seal over the old sealant which is the most common. Some issues are created from an improper PH balance

4) Now you take a water spray bottle and spray down areas of the wall to see if the sealant is properly repelling the water. If it beads up and rolls of or quickly drips off it is fine. If it soaks in then there is a problem with the sealant

5 ) With a rubber mallet, we tap of the wood listening to listen (with a stethoscope) to hear any hollow spots and use a moisture pin meter to check that the wood is within acceptable levels.

6 ) Inspect all Chinking for cracks or peeling away from the log

7) Inspect the interior with thermal imaging (IR Camera) to detect air and moisture issues.(Again refer to the listed Professionals)

8 ) Looking for signs of any insect holes, sawdust or insect debris. All log homes will have a few insect holes, but most, not all, insects are only interested in wood that has high moisture content. Many times you may find a hole where an insect who was in the tree and just wants to leave the now dead wood for greener pastures. Often this is the case with Pine Borers

9) Check for any soft, decayed areas and upward facing checks, under windows, and the lower few courses of logs Also, try to figure out where all the excess moisture is coming from if any is spotted

10) Look for any gaps that have developed due to settling and shrinkage drying. This is a greater concern on homes that are less than five years old, but regular soil settling and erosion can occur around a home of any age.
Now it is report time. Here we write up a report showing our findings and comparing the report to the previous year’s report. This should be added to you Home Maintenance log.

Your Log Home Yearly Inspection

(207) 861-1227