Log Home Restoration in Savannah, GA

Log Homes in Savannah and Coastal Georgia

James Oglethorpe and the first Georgia colonists landed at Yamacraw Bluff on the Savannah River on February 12, 1733. The town's first houses were small and plain: one story, 16 by 24 feet, with a chimney at one end. Wooden towns burn easily, and fires in 1796 and 1820 each left about half the city in ruins. Pine made Savannah a major port: from the 1880s until the 1920s, it was the world's leading exporter of naval stores — pine timber, rosin and turpentine.

Outside the towns, colonial Georgia settlers built log houses, with a chimney at one end and floors of puncheons (split logs smoothed on one face). When a family needed more room, they built a second log pen with an open breezeway between the two, and this "dogtrot" house became a regional style. Wormsloe and Fort Frederica, the best-known colonial ruins on the coast, are built of tabby, not logs, but the log tradition carried on in the countryside, and today's log homes in Effingham, Bryan and the rest of the coastal counties are part of it.

What Savannah's Climate Does to a Log Home

• Summer rain. Savannah averages about 48 inches of rain a year, and June is the wettest month.
• Heat. About 80 days a year reach 90°F or more, and July highs average 92°F.
• More freezes than Florida. About 21 nights a year drop to freezing, so water left in checks and failed chinking freezes and widens the gaps.
• Hurricane Matthew (2016). The storm tide at Fort Pulaski reached 12.56 feet, the highest ever recorded there. Savannah's airport measured 11.51 inches of rain, Tybee Island had gusts of about 95 mph, and trees came down on homes across Chatham County.
• Idalia (2023). Winds reached 69 mph on Tybee Island, and trees fell across Chatham County.
• Termites. UGA Extension says subterranean termites are the most common termites in Georgia and need moisture from the soil. Formosan termites have been found at a number of sites in Georgia since the early 1990s but are still rare.

What That Means for Your Log Home

In coastal Georgia, your chinking and finish are the first line of defense against wind-driven rain and winter freezes. Once a year, wash the logs with soft brushes and a low-pressure rinse, never a pressure washer, to clear off pollen and mildew, and every third year, as appropriate, add a UV protective coat. Before hurricane season, look for gaps in the chinking and caulking. Keep the bottom logs dry and off the soil, since that's where termites get in. After a storm like Matthew, walk around the house and check for fallen limbs, impact damage and wet lower courses.

Related services: Chinking & Caulking · Log Home Inspections · Maintenance Plans

Climate figures: NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. Storm details: NWS Charleston. History: New Georgia Encyclopedia. Termites: UGA Extension.