Log & timber home restoration · New England
Your log home should be the place you love coming home to. We clean, repair and refinish log homes across New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island, so the wood looks warm again and stays protected for years.
Free inspection · Written plan for every wall · No pressure
Recent job · Lakes Region, NH
Welcome
Maybe your logs have gone gray. Maybe there’s mildew creeping up the shady side, or it’s just been a while since the last coat. Whatever brought you here, you’re in the right place.
We start by walking the house with you. We explain what we see in plain language and leave you a written plan, wall by wall. Then you decide what to do now and what can wait.
We’d rather tell you a wall only needs a wash than sell you work you don’t need.
Log Health Check
Tick what you see on the outside of your home. You’ll get an urgency level and the steps your home likely needs, in the order they should happen.
Nothing flagged
No symptoms checked. A yearly Checkup is still the cheapest way to keep it that way.
0 of 10 signs checked
How we work
Each step sets up the next. Stain over a failed finish peels. Seal over rot hides it. Getting the order right is most of what makes a restoration last.
Moisture readings, probe tests and photos, wall by wall.
You can’t price or plan a restoration from the driveway. The inspection tells us what’s cosmetic, what’s structural and what can wait.
Readings logged per wallRemove failed finish, gray fibers and mildew down to sound wood.
New stain over old, failing stain fails with it. Getting to clean, bare wood is what lets everything after this step last.
Dry to < 19% moistureFix rot, replace failed logs and treat bare wood with borate.
Bare wood is the one chance to see and treat everything. Rot and insect damage left under a fresh finish keep spreading out of sight.
Probe-tested to sound woodChink and caulk joints, corners, checks and penetrations.
Air and water get in through the gaps first. Sealing before staining means the finish goes over a tight, weatherproof shell.
Checks > 1/4" sealedBreathable stain plus a topcoat, built to the right thickness.
The finish is the log’s skin. It has to block UV and shed water while still letting moisture out of the wood.
2-coat minimum on bare woodYearly checkups and maintenance coats before damage starts.
A maintained finish costs a fraction of a full restoration. Sun-facing walls wear first, so catching them early keeps the rest of the house from following.
Topcoat every 3–5 yrs on sun wallsBefore & after
Drag the divider, or use your arrow keys, to compare. Every project page shows what we found and what we did on each wall.
Services
Each service belongs to a step in the process, so you can see where it fits and why it comes when it does.
Strips failed stain, paint and gray UV damage off logs with a crushed media, without the gouging and fuzzing that harsh methods leave behind.
Learn more Step 02 · StripLow-pressure washing with log-safe cleaners, followed by sanding, for homes with lighter finish wear or where blasting isn’t the right fit.
Learn more Step 03 · RepairFinds soft wood, cuts it back to sound log and rebuilds it with consolidants, fillers or wood patches shaped to match.
Learn more Step 03 · RepairReplaces logs or log sections too far gone to repair, matching species, profile and texture so the wall reads as one.
Learn more Step 04 · SealSeals the joints between logs, the checks in them, and every corner and opening, with flexible products that move as logs move.
Learn more Step 03 · RepairA borate preservative applied to bare logs to guard against rot fungi and wood-boring insects, including carpenter bees, beetles and ants.
Learn more Step 05 · ProtectBreathable, log-specific stain and topcoat systems, color-tested on your logs and applied to the right film thickness.
Learn more Step 01 · InspectFree first inspections with a written, wall-by-wall scope, plus yearly checkups and maintenance coats that keep restoration costs down.
Learn moreCare plans
A maintenance coat on time costs a fraction of a full strip. Pick the level of care that fits your home. Every plan is priced after inspection.
A yearly walk-around and written condition report, so small problems stay small.
Best for Homes restored in the last few years, or anyone who wants a baseline.
Priced after inspection
Clean, touch up and recoat the walls that need it before the finish fails.
Best for Homes with a sound finish that’s starting to fade on the south and west sides.
Priced after inspection
The complete six-step process, from stripping to bare wood through a new finish system.
Best for Gray, peeling or water-soaking logs, or homes with rot or insect damage.
Priced after inspection
Featured projects
Location, scope, finish and what was done on every wall.
A log home, outdoor shower and porch ceiling cleaned and finished in a bright golden stain.
A sun-bleached, gray log home washed back to bright wood and restained in a warm golden finish.
Black mildew and a worn-out finish cleaned off a single-story log home, new window trim, and a rich brown restain.
Reviews
From homeowners across all of New England.
Nick and his team did an excellent job restoring and refinishing my cabin. Communication was on point. The job was finished on schedule and on budget and I couldn't be more pleased with the way it turned out. I'll definitely use Cardi Log Home Restoration for any future exterior work.
Fantastic job Nick on the remediation of my home (washing, caulking, staining). As a result of your work, I was able to reduce the CFM50 (measurement of air tightness used in an Energy Audit) by more than half and subsequently received a $2500 rebate from NHSaves. Moreover, it was a pleasure doing business with you! Thanks for your dedication and expertise!
Service area
Coastal salt, mountain snow, lakeside humidity. Each state is hard on logs in its own way, and we plan every job around local conditions.
It depends on the wall area, the condition of the existing finish, how much repair the logs need, access (height, slopes, landscaping) and the finish system. That’s why we don’t price from photos. After a free inspection you get a written scope broken down wall by wall, so you can see where the cost comes from and choose what to do now and what can wait.
Late spring through early fall. Stripping and staining need dry weather, logs that read under 19% moisture, and temperatures within the finish manufacturer’s range, usually about 40–90°F with no rain or heavy dew. Inspections happen year-round, and booking one over the winter is the best way to get a spot early in the season.
A maintenance wash and topcoat can take a few days. A full restoration, with stripping, repairs, borate, sealing and staining, typically takes one to three weeks for an average home, depending on size, repair work and weather. Drying time between stripping and finishing is built into the schedule.
Inspect yearly. Sun-facing south and west walls typically need a maintenance topcoat every 3–5 years. Shaded walls often go longer. Caulk and chinking should be checked every year, since logs move with the seasons. Keeping up with maintenance means you should rarely, if ever, need another full strip.
Book an inspection
That’s what the inspection is for. It’s free, it’s in writing, and it breaks the house down wall by wall, so you can decide what to do now and what can wait.
