Chinking Begins

The logs are finally stained and the chinking has begun . . . . . sort of.  I will stain the board and batten later.   For insulation I used backer rod.  It's a  little more expensive, but I think it will be worth it in the end.  If you go this route, use the soft rod rather than the more rigid backer rod.  The soft rod fits easily in uneven log gaps and will expand to fill the entire gap.  To strengthen the chinking, I slid some hardware cloth (galvanized half-inch square grid metal mesh) behind the nails before bending them up.  This will give the chinking a little backbone.