How to protect and maintain your log cabin

How to protect and maintain your log cabin

If you want to enjoy your log cabin for as long as possible, it’s vital to spend time protecting and maintaining it.

Part of the charm of log cabins is their rustic feel. That wonderful and unmistakable look and smell of natural wood. However, anything constructed out of wood, will, if not properly maintained, eventually rot.

That’s why it’s so important to ensure that your log cabin is looked after.

Protecting the timber

Log cabin in a field
Image credit to Heather Sunderland

It’s essential to fully treat your cabin as soon as it’s built. We recommend Seasonite new wood protection to help to control the excessive moisture transfer in new wood and to keep your log cabin safe in its first year before then applying your chosen finish once it has settled.

Many people instinctively shy away from wood finishes, through fear that they may spoil the beautiful ruggedness of the natural wood.

If this is you, the great news is that there are products out there, such as Textrol, that will provide you with the natural finish you’re after.

Available in seven colours, Textrol penetrates and protects the wood from moisture and UV damage. Developed to enhance the natural beauty of the wood, Textrol is able to be applied ‘wet-on-wet’. This means you don’t need to wait for coats to dry during application. It saturates the wood and protects it from within.

Even better, the maintenance is easy, with local touch-ups and no back-breaking sanding required.

If you want a coloured finish, Shed & Fence Paint is the way to go. Available in 35 shades, this stuff is guaranteed on vertical surfaces of bare wood for 15 years. Once you’ve painted it on, you shouldn’t need to worry about having to do it all again in another couple of years. Something you may need to with some of the products available on the high street.

As well as enabling you to customise the colour of your cabin, Shed & Fence Paint provides protection against UV damage and moisture issues and has easy maintenance.

It also contains Owatrol’s Emulsa-Bond, giving it excellent adherence without the need for lengthy preparation and priming.

Check for leaks

Log cabin close up
Image credit to Timo Newton-Syms

Regularly inspect your log cabin for rain damage and leaks. This way, you can ensure that you spot the problem and organise to have it fixed before it does any major damage.

Leaks are most common around window and door joints, so make sure that you check these regularly to confirm that no water is coming in.

Keep an eye on the humidity

Dampness is one of the worst things for log cabins. Ensure that your log cabin has adequate ventilation and remove any mildew on a regular basis.

If you are finding a lot of mildew, it may be worth getting a professional to take a look to see if there are any issues with your cabin’s ventilation.

Keep your cabin secure

Wood cabin surrounded by trees
Image credit to Wilson Hui

Install adequate locks and ensure that they are all functioning correctly.

Although log cabins are all about the wood, don’t neglect to maintain the hinges and metalware, otherwise you could end up with a whole lot of rust. Transyl Oil not only protects, cleans and lubricates, it also releases tight or stuck mechanisms that have seized through rust and oxidation. You could even consider protecting metal parts with a coat or two of Owatrol Oil to prevent corrosion.


We hope you found this post on how to protect and maintain your log cabin interesting! If you have any other advice or top tips, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. We love hearing from you!

You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest at @OwatrolUK or find us under the hashtag #OwatrolUK

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Owatrol Team
About Owatrol Team

Our team are ready and willing to support you with your requirements whether it is protecting your newly laid deck or renovating a luxury yacht, whatever the application Owatrol has the solution you are looking for.

6 thoughts on “How to protect and maintain your log cabin

  1. Large sections of my old Welsh farmhouse consist of recycled oak frames (constructed of what have probably been old ships timbers) with brick infill and large double glazed units again with old oak surrounds.
    The oak has had some deks oil treatment and has weathered to various shades of grey. I
    would like to provide better safeguards against the weather and rot and somehow ‘refresh’ the oak and wonder if Owatrol Textrol for weathered wood would be appropriate — I am not looking for a massive change in the appearance or colour of the oak frames but they have the appearance of looking hungry and uncared for. Your help and advice would be much appreciated.

    1. Hi Mr Wynn Rowlands,

      Thank you for your query regarding the use of Textrol on your Welsh Farmhouse.

      Textrol can be safely used on weathered Oak, however, because the wood has had a previous oil applied to it, this would need to be removed before applying the Textrol – this is because Textrol will not be able to penetrate into the wood properly and so will not be able to achieve the best finish and protection possible.

      We recommend using Predeck to strip away the previous finish, followed by our wood neutraliser Net-Trol, before finally finishing the wood with Textrol.

      You can find out more information about these products here:

      Prepdeck

      Net-Trol

      Textrol

      I hope this reply was helpful.

      Please feel free to contact us again should you require further assistance.

      All the best,
      The Owatrol Team

  2. I would like to use the original Owatrol Oil on its’s own to seal and provide a natural finish to our floorboards in our home to bring out the rustic colour and finish of the wood and leave a tough flexible finish in it’s place. Thank you.

    1. Hi Antonia,

      Thank you for your query.
      I have passed your email address on to our head office and someone should be in contact with you shortly to discuss this.

      All the best,
      The Owatrol Team

  3. Hi,
    i have 25 sqm of decking 2 years old, last year I painted it with a water based paint, which did not do the job.
    my Q’s are;
    – which of your paints would be best suited
    – what do I need to do to prep the surface before applying your paint
    – how much of your paint do I need for 25 sqm?

    1. Hi Anton,

      We would recommend using Decking Paint;
      https://www.owatroldirect.co.uk/woodcare/decking-paint/

      Before application you would need to remove the previous coating.

      To remove the paint you would need to use a product such as DSP 800;

      DSP 800 Multi-Purpose Stripper

      After the stripper has been used, you will then need to neutralise the wood with Net-Trol;
      https://www.owatroldirect.co.uk/product/net-trol/ – this is to stop the active ingredient in the stripper from continuing to work.

      For 25 square metres you would need approximately 4 litres, however, there is a ‘how much do I need’ calculator on the Decking Paint page where you can enter the width and height of the deck which may help assist you in gaining a more accurate calculation.

      I hope this was helpful – please feel free to contact us again should you have any further questions.

      All the best,
      The Owatrol Team

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