Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 02:44am | #1

   *
   I just did some work on a similar farmhouse with 1850's logs. They were fantastic, with dovetailed joinery. Despite my insistance and urging, the owners covered the log walls completely with sheetrock, a travesty in my opinion.

   Anyway, If you have a lot of fairly loose crud filling checks and holes, etc. you may be able to blast it off with a good pressure washer or with a fine airhose. Either of these may remove old paint to one degree or other. You could sandblast old chinking if it won't release by tapping, though that could be a job for a careful pro.

   By natural I assume you want them to look like logs, not milled and finished. This may help to get them cleaned up. Be aware that they will be incredibly hard, dependent on species, though even pine that old will be tough to nail.

   Sounds like a neat project, maybe you could use old style joinery techniques, fashion corners with axe and adze, try using old hand tools, my kind of fun!

   Good luck,

   MD

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 04:44am | #2

   *Mike,Sounds cool. A friend of mine in Austria got a 200 year old ceiling of 2by16 planks and 10by10 beams. He first cooked the whole thing in a drying kiln for about a week. I can't remember how hot, but it was hot enough to kill all the critters. Then He used a Plastic rotating brush. I wish I could say it in English, but I cannot. If you could get a brush for your drill, with long stiff thick plastic bristles, that should do the trick. He ran the brush along the grain to clean away any dust, paint, whatever. The really cool side effect was that it raised the grain, and left the wood looking old, instead of newly re finished. Then oil and install. Have fun with that

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 04:53am | #3

   *Mad Dog's right. A pressure should do the job. If it gouges, you could reduce pressure.