Airtightness improvement solutions for log wall joints

Abstract

The air leakage rate of handcrafted log wall and window joint and handcrafted log wall corners using Scandinavian saddle notch or dovetail notch were measured in the laboratory in an airtight measuring chamber. In the first test setup, the joint between the log wall and a window frame was sealed using various commonly practiced methods. Commonly used sealing methods were applied on both corner notches and the joint between logs to evaluate the effectiveness of these sealing methods.The best natural sealing material was peat moss that reduced air leakage of Scandinavian saddle notch by 77% and that of the dovetail notch by 84%. The best modern sealing material was special joint sealant that reduced air leakage of Scandinavian saddle notch by 87% and that of the dovetail notch by 70%. After improving the dovetail notch with PU foam, the air leakage reduced to 94% compared to the original unsealed version.