3 Necessary Log Cabin Maintenance Tips For Your Outdoorsy Getaway

Owning a remote cabin somewhere in the back of beyond is a real dream for many people – far away from that city life with all the traffic and noise, the log cabin life is what you make it. You can make a log cabin cosy and luxurious so that there’s something relaxing to come back to at the end of a day’s foraging. Or you can keep it exactly as spartan as you wish, simply just a shelter to keep you warm and dry on days when the weather isn’t cooperating.

As simple as a log cabin can be, however, that doesn’t mean it isn’t going to need maintenance from time to time. However careful you might have been when building it, a cabin is not necessarily always going to be sturdy enough to hold out against the extremes of heat, cold, rain and snow for year after year, and if you want to keep coming back to this home away from home, you will need to make sure you have the ability to look after it.

Check the waterproofing

When a log cabin is built, it is designed to be as non-invasive in its environment as it can possibly be. So the exterior is often just going to be wood with a minimum of additives – but because this is dead wood, it will need to be treated and waterproofed. And from time to time, that waterproofing is going to need to be updated. As an experiment, spray some water on the external wood of your cabin. If it runs off, the wood will be fine for at least another year – but if it soaks in, you’re going to need to recoat the wood, and do it thoroughly around the whole cabin.

Prune trees around the cabin

A log cabin should not, in any case, be built too close to the tree line, as doing this will affect the way the trees grow and harm the natural habitat. However, a time may come when you notice branches and foliage have started to grow over your cabin. These can redirect water onto the cabin and increase the danger of pooling, which can soak through and leave you needing extensive roof and ceiling repair as well as potentially causing widespread damage in the interior.

Clean from top to bottom whenever you leave

It’s always nice to sit in a log cabin after a long day, enjoying good food and somewhere warm to sleep. You know that. We know that. Also, any of the wildlife in the area will know that – and if you leave any food debris behind, or any food at all that is not in a freezer, then local wildlife will sniff it out and be very persistent in their efforts to get to it. Cleaning your cabin at the end of a stay is non-negotiable. Take your garbage with you and dispose of it responsibly if you don’t want to come back next time to find a door torn from its hinges and a very curious bear hanging around.