Log Home Blasting

Log home blasting with corn cob blasting grit is the best technique to maintain and preserve the interior and exterior wood of your log home. By cob blasting (cleaning) the surface of the logs, you will not only remove dirt and debris, you will restore the original appearance to your log home.

Why Blast a Log Home?

It does seem like a silly idea; who cleaned their log home in the Pioneer era - right? Do you see any of those log homes still in existence? Now, this doesn't mean that if they had this capability and a corn cob blaster, there would be thousands of log homes still standing. But it does mean that proper care and maintenance is crucial to the longevity of your house, be it a log home or not.

If you allow dust, dirt and debris to collect on the logs, this could create a moist area that causes decay and rot, leading to degradation of your log home. This can happen inside the home as well as outside. By log home blasting the exterior of your log home at least once a year, you'll clean and maintain your logs for years to come. For the interior, you will want to use the corn cob blaster about every two or three years.

How Do You Blast a Log Home?

You will need a few items to properly clean your Log Home -

1. Portable Pressure Blaster
2. Corn Cob Blasting Media
3. Gloves, goggles, protective clothing
4. Cover or remove furniture and other items that will trap the used media

A high quality portable sand blaster, with at least a 35 - 50 minute blasting time is ideal for saving time and labor. The Kramer PPB Model KF110DM is perfect for log home blasting applications.

Corn cob blast media is the most effective blast media for cleaning log homes without damaging the wood surface. It is virtually dust free, is biodegradable and highly cost effective. Corn cob media comes in 5 different grit sizes from extra fine to extra course. The grit size and amount needed for log home blasting will depend upon several factors:

1. Condition of wood logs to be cleaned
2. Surface area to be blasted - size and interior vs. exterior application
3. Degree of cleaning required

For safety reasons, handle the log home blasting equipment as you would the wand at a car wash. Do not point the nozzle at people, animals or plants and be sure to wear your goggles to protect your eyes.

Do not fixate on one particular area for very long as you could "eat" through the log. Use long back and forth strokes in a repetitious manner. Start from the top log and work down one log at a time. If you encounter a problem area (stains, rot, mold), use very quick, short strokes over and over the area until the damage is removed. When blasting the interior of your log home, use very long strokes only one or two times per log.

Once you are finished blasting your log home, inspect the entire area to make sure all the dust, dirt and debris was removed. By blasting your log home, once a year outside and every 2- 3 years inside, you will maintain the beauty and strength of the logs and remind yourself just how gorgeous a log home really is.