Red-Tarred Mountain Cabin at the Top of Sälen

At the very top of Sälfjällstangen is a charming red cabin overlooking Sälen’s Högfjällshotell and the majestic slopes. During the summer, the building is subjected to the baking sun, whereas in winter, icy winds take their toll on the distemper painted exterior. But now, thanks to Red Tar, the owners are looking forward to no longer having to repaint the cabin every summer.

“The high altitude means the cabin is heavily exposed to the elements both during summer and winter. We have had to dedicate a portion of our summers to repainting the building, which I built myself in 1990. The building is semi-detached with a snowmobile garage, and we’re co-owners with our friends. We are all from the west coast and we enjoy coming here a few times a year,” says Iwan Borge.

Snowmobile garage tested first
When Iwan planned to build a bungalow for friends Eva and Björn, they discovered there was a paint which could be used on distemper painted buildings. Prefab house manufacturer Larssonhus had Red Tar samples and Iwan was eager to test the paint on the new bungalow. The snowmobile garage, which was also treated with distemper paint, was used for the trial run.

“We immediately fell in love with the beautiful red hue and its impregnating properties. It was also important that the paint was as close in colour as possible to the distemper paint – which we noticed straight away. When the time came to choose a paint for the bungalow, Red Tar was the obvious choice. In fact, we were so pleased that, during winter of 2016, we had the rest of the buildings painted as well.”