I had just about completed this post and it booted me off my puter....i hate that...but anyhow,once you have either cut your own trees or purchased them, and they are delivered to your site, it is time to prepare them for the house....this means peeling them and there is no quick fix for it...we use a peeling spud and a drawknife...some are doing it with a very powerful pressure washer and a rotory nozzle but i'm not too keen on the idea and it marks the wood...
the logs should be cut in the winter and peeled by the first week of june. winter cut trees don't bruise, the new growth hasn't formed yet and it is easier on the environment skidding them out with less damage to the bush.... peeling the logs first week of june is optimum because the sap is running at this time. I will show some pictures of my handsome self on the business end of a drawknife below...
You can peel 2-4 logs per day and the house on my first post has 58 logs so plan on taking 3 weeks to peel...Don't peel the logs until you need them or you will have to put your sealer on them or else the mold will start forming...It only takes a few weeks for mold to start growing...also keep the logs off the ground if you can and this will slow the molding process a bit. For processing th logs we do the whole thing now,. it saves time and work later..We use a bark spud first and take off most of the bark, then we use a drwknife and take off the cambiumlayer(new growth).
After this is done we sand any knots or small pieces of limb off with a 4 1/2" angle grinder with 28 grit sandpaper. It does a great job quickly. Some use a 7 inch grinder, but use what you have. After this is done we give the logs a high pressure wash. You will need at least a 3000p.s.i washer any less won't cut it..
Once this is finally done i recommend you put the sealer of your choice on and there is a lot of good companies out there,. One note is that this area of technology has really advanced in the last ten years.They have good water based stuff now instead of oil based. It will allow the moisture out of the log but won't allow it in. It also has mildewcide, fungicide, and ultraviolet filters right in it....all you have to do is spray it on or brush it on.I pay $55 per log to have them peeled. It is good money for a guy who can peel 4 a day but it is the hardest work you're ever going to do.Remeber that an average house has about 58 logs total including all the roof stuff so there is some cost to hiring someone to peel the logs. I have heard of people having peeling parties....and before you get all excited, this is when you invite your friends over and they peel just your logs...in return you barbecue them some dinner and maybe a beverage of your choice.
One las thing, ..when buying a drawknfe, get a rather large one. The handles should be about 20" apart if you can find one like that because the handle hit the tree with a smaller one and it won't peel a big diameter tree...well, that's enough for now...happy peeling....pickster...tomorrow we will talk about catologuing the logs for size and placement...pictures of peeling below
