One of the first questions every homeowner asks is simply: what’s this going to cost? It’s a fair question, and an honest answer is that it depends — but here’s what actually drives the number, so you can plan realistically before you call for a quote.
What Drives the Cost
- The size of the home and total exterior wood surface area
- The current condition of the finish, chinking, and caulking
- Whether there’s active log rot, insect damage, or structural repair involved
- How much surface prep is needed — cleaning, media blasting, or stripping an old finish
- Accessibility of the exterior, including height, roofline, and landscaping
- The scope you choose: routine maintenance coat versus full strip-and-refinish versus complete restoration with repairs
Routine Maintenance vs. Full Restoration
A maintenance coat on a home that’s been kept up over the years is a relatively modest, predictable cost. A full restoration on a home that’s gone years without attention — with failed chinking, sun-damaged finish, and some rot to repair — costs significantly more, simply because there’s more work involved: complete cleaning and surface prep, chinking and caulking replacement, wood repairs, and a full refinish.
Why We Don’t Quote Sight Unseen
Two log homes the same size can need completely different amounts of work depending on how they’ve been maintained. That’s why we always start with an inspection rather than a phone estimate — it’s the only way to give you a number that actually reflects your home instead of a generic average.
How to Plan for It
The most cost-effective approach is staying ahead of problems: a routine maintenance coat every 3 to 5 years is far cheaper than letting a finish fail completely and dealing with rot, insect damage, or structural repairs on top of the refinish. If your home hasn’t had attention in a while, an inspection will tell you exactly where you stand and let you plan the work — and the budget — in stages if needed.
Get a Real Number
Call us at (386) 688-4996 or request a log home inspection and we’ll give you an honest, itemized picture of what your project actually involves.