What is the difference between chinking and caulking?
“Chinking” in the log home industry has come to mean an elastic sealing material that looks like the old-fashioned Portland cement-based mortar in color and/or texture, used to seal the joints between logs. Chink lines can be fairly narrow or pretty wide. Backer rod or bond-breaking tape should always be used in back of the chink line in order to provide 2-point adhesion and allow the chinking to expand and contract to the maximum possible degree. Log Jam and Chinker’s Edge are both excellent chinking products. “Caulking” is a similar material to “chinking”, but usually has no texture or a very light texture. Caulking also generally has more elasticity than chinking products. Because of this, caulking works better in smaller joints (i.e. ¼” to 2″ wide). Caulking can be used to fill the horizontal cracks (called checks), create a continuous caulking line between the log rows, or as a stacker during construction.
