I am about to start re-chinking and generally repairing an old tobacco barn. It was originally chinked with rough-cut boards and sealed with red mud. Most of the red mud is gone outside. In some small sections the filler boards are gone.

What is the best modern chinking mixture? I am looking for long-term durability, not historic reconstruction.

Also, do I need to replace the wood filler boards, or just fill with chinking?

I will probably just temporarly fix the rock / red mud foundation by sticking the rock back in and re-chinking with mud. I am not sure I want to deal with jacking the barn up right now.

Thanks for your help!

-- Will in NC (carolina_homesteader@yahoo.com), November 20, 2001

Answers

Is this a log barn with a stone foundation????

-- Steve in Ohio (stevenb@ohiohills.com), November 20, 2001.

mortar and dirt/mud

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), November 20, 2001.

Steve: Yes. It is log with a stone foundation. What kind of logs - I am not sure, but it is not chestnut, or oak... The bark looks like sourwood, dogwood, or some kind of gum. But the logs are straight unlike a dogwood tree ;)

Mortar?: Just regular quickcrete? Nothing special to make sure it bonds / stays in between the logs?

-- Will in NC (carolina_homesteader@yahoo.com), November 20, 2001.

The last house we lived in was a 1806 log,sitting on the original stone,what we used for chinking was a 3 part mix of portland cement,lime and sand.I just can't remember the exact recipe. I also used hardware cloth between the logs for the chinking to adhere to,using roofing nails to hold the hardware cloth to the logs. A product called Perm-a-chink (spelling?) looks like it might be an option as well,this stuff is suppose to expand and contract with the wood.

-- Steve in Ohio (stevenb@ohiohills.com), November 20, 2001.

Perma chink is one of the best products but very expensive. The newer hewn log homes are chinked with a morter mixture of some sort. I on the other hand chinked my house with Papercrete. It's the only one I've seen so I can't say how long it will last, but I feel very confident. And the price is right. OAK

-- OAK (strugglingoak@aol.com), November 20, 2001.