Wildy Natural and Wildy Unique

 Hollow Log Installation Instructions 

NOTES: Please check for any damage caused by the shipping company and take appropriate steps to file a claim, if needed. *Please call Digsafe and check for any underground utilities before digging anywhere.

 Materials needed Shovel, measuring tape. 

Instructions

 1. Remove hollow log from packaging material. 

2. Your log was shipped in the orientation we think is best, you can choose a different orientation if you desire. 

 3. If you did not order your hollow log with a flat bottom dig a shallow (3-4” deep) trench the length of the hollow log. This trench will help prevent the hollow log from rolling. 

4. Place the hollow log in the desired location and shift to ensure no rocking of the log occurs.

 5. Minor adjustments like rotating the log or making a trench deeper may be required to stabilize the hollow log. 

6. This element can be used as part of an obstacle course or as a single play item.

 7.  We recommend a kid-friendly preservative (Lovetts P-Wood), but as is the case with all wood facing the elements, it needs to be cared for, so check it periodically for rough spots, splinters, etc, and sand them out, and treat it with kid-friendly wood preservative (we have it available if you can’t find it) once or twice a year to keep the wood from deteriorating. Cleaning and sealing any outdoor wood is not much different than doing the same thing for a wood deck. 

8. Enjoy your Hollow Log! 

 Hollow Log Installation Instructions *Note: If you fail to maintain outdoor wood it will eventually rot and crack to pieces. Chemically (includes: Lovitt’s Wood Preserver) treated wood is able to resist rot for decades. But water that soaks into all these wood species will cause them to crack. If completely natural is your choice, we recommend spraying either Linseed oil or similar. Pump sprayers can be purchased at most home improvement retailers http://www.lowes.com/pd/Smith-2-Gallon-Plastic-Tank-Sprayer/4193785. The cracks start out as tiny checking cracks. Water entering the wood causes it to expand. As it dries, it contracts. This movement creates the tiny cracks. If water gets into the cracks, it soaks deeper into the wood causing even greater expansion and contraction forces that cause the cracks to get deeper and wider.  

A NOTE about sap:

All trees have sap. It’s the liquid that circulates inside the tree to distribute water and nutrients. It’s how they feed themselves. It’s the “blood” of a tree.

Some sap is sticky, such as pine sap, but large diameter pine trees are the best for making our Hollow Logs, so you’re going to see and maybe feel some pitch.

But sap will eventually dry up or crystallize. One solution for dealing with sticky sap is to cover it with corn starch or other organic powder, which will immediately make those areas less sticky. Reapply as necessary. If kids get sap on their hands, put a little corn starch on them, too!

To remove sap? Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) is the chemical ingredient that breaks down and removes the resin.

Hand sanitizers contain it, so use it to remove tree sap from almost anything, including the paint on your car. Just be sure you try it on a small, unnoticeable area of the surface before you go to town on whatever it is you're cleaning.

For clothing or fabric, gently scrape off as much as you can, then rub the spots with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol until it lifts off, and wash as usual.

Maintenance: You may notice occasional mold growing on the surfaces of the log. This is completely normal. A mixture of 1:1 bleach and water will wipe it away!

Recommended wood preservatives:

• Lovetts P-Wood
• Thompson Water Seal for Logs
•  Spar Urethane Coating