We are looking at a log home to buy which was built in 1992. On the interior we see water staining on the walls around butt joints between logs. We also notice a fair amount of rusting of the metal baseboard heaters. Why would so much moisture be getting in? How concerned should we be about the integrity of the logs? How do we go about fixing the staining on the interior? Thank you for your help!
You should first take a hammer and walk around the exterior of the house and tap on the logs. When you come to one that is rotten you will notice a difference in sound from the rest of the logs that are good. Butt joints, the bottom corners of windows and doors and where water has been splashing on decks from the roof are all high suspect areas. It sounds like the entire exterior should be caulked or chinked to stop the water leaking to the interior causing the water marks. The best way to get rid of the water marks is to sand them out, although they may be so deep that it will hard to get them out of the wood completely. You will have to experiment.