Log Home Restoration in Walton County, FL

Log Homes in Walton County

Walton County was created in 1824, a few years after Neil McLendon's party came down from North Carolina in the spring of 1820. Settlers from the Carolinas followed and made homes in what became Euchee Valley, named for the Euchee people already living there. The county's next big change came in 1881. While surveying a route for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, W.D. Chipley and his partners laid out the town of DeFuniak Springs, and in February 1885 the Florida Chautauqua Assembly held its first season beside Lake DeFuniak.

Down on the bay, timber ran the economy. At Point Washington, lumberman William Henry Wesley ran sawmills, and huge rafts of logs were floated down the Choctawhatchee River to them, with the lumber shipped out to Pensacola and beyond. His family's house, finished around 1897, still stands as the centerpiece of Eden Gardens State Park. Log homes from DeFuniak Springs and Paxton down to Freeport and Santa Rosa Beach are part of that same wood tradition.

What Walton County's Climate Does to a Log Home

• Heavy rain. DeFuniak Springs averages about 65 inches of rain a year, among the highest totals in Florida.
• A soaking summer. June through August are the wettest months, with July averaging 7.50 inches, and there are about 21 days a year with an inch or more of rain.
• Long hot stretch. About 85 days a year reach 90°F or hotter, which dries and shrinks logs and wears on finishes.
• Real frost inland. About 26 nights a year drop to freezing, so logs go through wet, freeze and dry cycles all winter.
• Hurricane exposure. When Hurricane Opal came ashore in October 1995, the National Hurricane Center estimated its strongest winds, about 115 mph, in a narrow band along the coast near the east end of Choctawhatchee Bay.
• Termites on the coast. Native subterranean termites live throughout Florida, and in 2016 UF/IFAS swarm traps also caught invasive Formosan termites at Blue Mountain Beach and Choctaw Beach.

What That Means for Your Log Home

With this much rain, the main job is keeping water moving off the logs and away from the base of the house. Wash your logs once a year with soft brushes and a low-pressure rinse, never a pressure washer, which tears up the wood fibers and drives water into checks and joints. Every third year, as appropriate, add a UV protective coat. Keep the bottom logs dry and off the soil: pull back mulch, keep sprinklers aimed away from the walls, and make sure gutters and grading carry water off. After any tropical storm, walk around the house and look for soaked or damaged lower logs, open chinking and wind-driven leaks. We repair termite damage and can apply a Borate preventive treatment.

Related services: Maintenance Plans · Log Rot Repair · Termite & Insect Damage Repair

Climate figures: NOAA 1991–2020 normals, DeFuniak Springs station. Storm details: National Hurricane Center. History: Walton County, Florida Chautauqua Assembly, Florida State Parks. Termites: UF/IFAS Okaloosa County Extension.