Log Home Bid

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Hello Guys and Gals,
Yesterday we provided a customer with an estimate on cleaning and re-sealing his log home. We are currently working up the bid and I was hoping I could get a little input from some of you. The home is not an actual log home, it is a d-log design. D-log meaning it has a 2 x 6 frame with a barrier between the elements. Therfore water seeping inside is not a concern. The home is 2 years "new" and has been sealed once with a clear preservative of some sort. No one knows what was used but it is a penetrating finish. It is a 1.5 story home with 2 outbuildings (log as well - dog kennel and garage, and a surrounding deck with a total of 9,313 sq ft of surface area to restore and seal. All cedar. It is expected that 90 gallons of sealer will be needed along with 93 gallons of cleaner and brightner both. A 3 man crew will be completing this project if accepted. This will be our 3rd log home we have bid on and I am curious where our bid would fall in a general comparison. I already have a number which I will post when I provide the customer with the estimate. Until then shoot me some figures if you would be so kind.

There are some roof lines and gables along with a 72' x 8' porch overhang (all cedar underside) that will add some difficulty to the job just so you have an idea. It is a 4000 plus square foot home... so yes it's a biggun'.

Thanks in advance,

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Greg Rentschler
GCR PowerClean
www.gcrpowerclean.com
NEW E-Mail address: GCR PowerClean@cs.com

Hey Greg,
Sounds like a monster home! I can tell you what we would charge but we break things down pretty good and we would need to know more details. But I can say this, we charge $1.15 per sq ft for all vertical work including wash/seal. We charge $1.00 per foot for flat surfaces and $2.00 for railings steps etc. That should give you an idea. Hope this helps. Email me if you want an exact quote.
Dennis

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Dennis A. Cormier and Gloria A. Wagner
North Georgia Spray Masters, Inc.
spraymasters@hotmail.com

Hi Greg,
First let me tell you that what you have there is a log sidded home, not a log home. There are log homes with D-log construction. These D-logs are milled from the heart of a log. There are several differant typs and shapes of D-logs. For the most part, they all look like D's. in differant shapes. There are two problems that you should be aware of before attemping to clean a log sidded home. First off, the deepest part of this sidding is only about 1 1/2 thick. This type of sidding has been known to warp after cleaning. Once it warps, there's nothing else to do but replace the warped sections. The second thing to watch out for is the fastening system used to install the sidding. Did the installers use bright or stainless fasteners, are the fasteners exposed. If the fasteners are bright and exposed, you may be faced with bleeding of the fasteners. This is dark lines appearing under each fastener caused by water, chemicals or just plain tannen stains. When I bid a log home, and That's all we do is log homes. I test my chemicals on several places around the home to see which one will pull off the existing finish. If we don't know what product is on the house, we always strip off the old. It's always better to start with a new substrate to work with if your not sure. If this is cedar, you may also get what is called felting. ( raised grain ) We always buff our homes down before applying the finish. Gives the home a much better appearance when it's done. We travel throughout the US doing log homes. This home with this sq. footage, would come in at not less than $22,000.00. It could be allot more depending on all the factors. The largest home we've done so far was 32,000 sq. ft. of living area. Hope this helps you some what. Have a great day.

Jim Bilyeu
Exterior Woodcare