Treat Your Tired Timber To Some TLC

The timber in your garden will have had a good battering during the recent extreme weather we have experienced. With storms Ciara and Dennis wreaking havoc on your fencing, gates and decking, they’ll almost certainly be in need of a little TLC. 

But with so many oils, varnishes and paints on the market promising to revive your tired timber, it can be difficult to know which ones are best for your garden. 

Here, you can see our tried and tested recommendations for the best timber treatments, so you’re ready to treat your timber as soon as we get a spell of dry weather. 

Doors

External doors require a specialist treatment that is designed to bring out the best of the timber and showcase the natural properties of a solid wood door. A beautiful, solid oak door for example, would require a clear treatment to allow the natural grain of the wood to shine through, while protecting it against the outdoor elements. 

The best option for external doors is a micro-porous product that allows the wood to breathe, while offering a high level of durability. Sikkens Cetol Filter 7 Plus is a highly durable, medium build, solvent-borne woodstain that provides a highly translucent, satin finish and offers outstanding protection from the damaging effects of sunlight.  

Sadolin Extra Durable Clearcoat is also a great option as it is a unique formulation which offers the performance characteristics of a woodstain with minimal pigment content. Extra Durable Clearcoat works with the wood by providing a flexible barrier that protects your wood from the damaging effects of rain, moisture and sun/UV light. Behaving like a protective skin, Extra Durable Clearcoat will expand and contract with your wood to help prevent blistering and flaking.

External joinery (window frames, facia boards and cladding)

It is imperative that all external joinery is protected against the elements as rain, wind and frost can cause window frames and facia boards to swell, distort and rot. 

There are a variety of products on the market that offer sufficient protection, but most of the time they rely on the correct preparation and application to get the most effective barrier.

Ronseal Super Flexible Primer and Undercoat comes with a 10-year guarantee when used with Ronseal Top Coat and can be used on raw or previously treated timber. It provides a durable base for top coats and helps paints adhere to the wood surface. It flexes with the wood to prevent cracking and acts as a barrier to wood resins. 

Fencing

Treating fencing can be a time-consuming task so it’s important to get it right first time. With the right product you should be able to get away with at least 5 years of protection. Unlike with external doors, when it comes to fencing, you want something easy to apply to a vast area, resilient against good and bad weather, and something that comes in a variety of colours.

Ronseal again offers a great solution that gives a high level of protection while being easy to use on both rough sawn and smooth planed sheds and fences. Ronseal Fence Life Plus+ protects against rain, snow and frost while maintaining its colour after just two coats on rough sawn and three coats on planed timber. It’s also really easy to apply as it can be painted on using a brush, but is loose enough to spray to save you time. It can also be applied to damp timber and is showerproof in just one hour- making it ideal for our Great British weather! 

Decking 

Decking not only has the extremes of weather to contend with, it also has to endure a heavy footfall, so it is critical that you treat the timber with a highly durable coating. You can get pre-treated decking, however if you want to revive your current timber or have purchased untreated timber decking, you will need to protect it from harsh weather. 

Osmo Decking Oil is a premium grade decking treatment that is formulated to protect, enhance and maintain softwood and hardwood decking boards by protecting it from moisture, cracking, splitting and warping. It can also be used as an effective weather proofing treatment for garden furniture, screens and other exterior wood including pressure impregnated Pine, Douglas Fir, Cedar, Oak or Bangkirai - also suitable for Teak, Eucalyptus and other dense exotic hardwoods as well as thermo treated wood. 

The clear formulation is not designed to offer UV resistance, so it will not prevent decked areas from turning grey or silver. If you would like to maintain a colour, you can choose a tinted treatment. 

We have a huge range of doors, external joinery, fencing and decking in store, as well as the prefect stains and treatments for each product. Check out our products on our website: www.atlantictimber.co.uk or visit our store.