Honest Abe recently updated the seals they are providing with new log home packages.
The company has always shipped high-quality seals to homeowners, but Josh Watson, operations manager for Honest Abe Log Homes explained the reasons new seals were selected.
“We were pleased with the product we’ve been providing, and it performed better than most other gasket products on the market,” Watson said. “What jump-started our search for a new product was the supply. It was getting harder to receive shipments in a timely manner, and there were concerns about meeting the significant demand that was coming our way.”
Watson said his team began looking for a high-quality gasket that was manufactured and shipped in a timely manner.
“We also had an idea of certain properties that we desired,” he said. “The gasket needed to have a quality known as ‘memory retention.’ Therefore, we knew it would most likely be a urethane product.”
In contrast to PVC products, urethane has the ability to retain its shape despite the constant expansion and contraction in log homes.
“With much research, we settled on a company called EMSEAL,” Watson said. “They seemed to check all the boxes: efficient manufacturing and shipping, a responsive service department; and a high-quality product.
Watson said Honest Abe’s clients benefit in several ways.
“It gives us a stronger supply chain which in turn allows us to service our customers more efficiently,” he observed, adding, “We find it to be a superior product, therefore, it will provide a better home.”
Watson also believes that the EMSEAL gasket is more efficient, explaining that the greatest difference is that the previous seal was closed-cell whereas the new ones that are open cell offer increased flexibility.
“With the closed-cell gasket, we had to size the gasket’s height to allow for the perfect amount of compression,” he said. “If the gasket was too tall, it could float the log due to its rigidity and make it difficult to seat the log properly. If it was too short, it did not allow the correct compression to obtain a good seal. We spent a lot of time ensuring that the previous gasket was sized correctly. We were also limited due to the manufacturer in how wide we could make the gasket.”
With the new gasket being open-cell/less rigid, it allows for more flexibility in height.
