FAQ
Wood Treatments
Once completed will I have to treat the wood on my cabin?
Your cabin, if left untreated will naturally turn grey, this is the effect of the ultra violet rays that will break down a woods finish, the more pigment a wood has the better it will resist UVA rays. A darker wood will maintain its colour for longer. You can apply linseed oil, which is the traditional method. Here at Canada Wood we use a treatment that is specially formulated to resist fungus and mould, it is also designed to penetrate deeply, providing water repellancy. This treatment also gives you the option of choosing the colour you wish your cabin to maintain, as you may prefere the natural greying, or may wish to stain the wood completely, there are various coulours to choose from.
Scandinavian Full-scribe
Full-scribe log joinery techniques are among the oldest forms of log building methods and have proved to make a solid, long lived building. After felling and cutting to the required length, logs are prepared by hand by first strip back the bark. The building then begins by laying the logs on top of one another, a tight seal is maintained between logs by hand scribing the profile of each lower log onto the log above, cutting a profile and groove that locks the logs into position.
Low Carbon
Wood has a negative carbon intensity because while a tree is growing, carbon is sequestered and stored, meaning that CO2 is taken from the atmosphere, rather than being emitted into it during production of the material. It should be noted that emissions reductions resulting from the use of timber in construction will only be achieved if the timber is taken from a sustainably managed source.
Source: Forestry Commission Scotland Greenhouse Gas Emissions Comparison
Thermal Mass
Thermal mass refers to the log walls capacity to absorb, store and slowly release heat over time. Logs have thermal mass because of their cellular structure, bulk and thickness. This thermal mass provides significant energy saving benefits because it releases heat back into the house when temperatures drop.
Because of this Thermal mass, fully scribed log homes in most situations are 20-30% more energy efficient in terms of heating and cooling than other builds. They will stay cool in the summer and warm throughout the winter.
Settling
What is meant by the term “settling”, and how will this affect my build?
Settling describes the loss of log wall height over time. Normally 90% of this settling will occur in the first two years, and will be completely finished by the end of year five after completion of the build.
We allow for this using a technique called over-scribing, which will ensure the log walls remain weather tight and allow for shrinkage and the compression of the building.
