Double the life of your timber
With the onset of summer it’s a guarantee we will all be spending more time outdoors. Whether relaxing on the deck with a cold one, or bowling your famous googly in a game of backyard cricket, now is definitely the season for evenings and weekends in our outside areas.
So how’s that fence looking? Would the deck look better and last longer with a coat of stain?
These are questions that only you can answer, but here’s my take on prepping your outdoors for a relaxing summer.
THE DECK
Let’s start with the deck. Two ways you can go; clean and leave natural, or clean and stain. Be it pine or hardwood, decking has natural oils that, over time and with weathering, pack their bags and leave for good. Without natural oils, exposed timber shrinks in the summer heat, and grows in the winter cold and rain. This yearly change causes the timber to harden, but can also cause it to decay – even when it’s treated. One answer is to protect the timber with stain. A good quality oil-based stain will penetrate the timber and leave a protective film on the surface. Water-based stain will help to preserve your deck, but once you’re started, it will need recoating every couple of years.
My recommendation – get out the roller and brushes.
THE FENCE
If, like 90% of NZ home owners, you have a timber fence, then my bet is that it’s 1.8m high and has 150x25 palings fixed to a post and rail frame.
The standard “keep-the-kids-and-dog-in” fence, with a board missing here and a nail sticking out there, ought to be the first thing on the list for repair and maintenance, and it’s the easiest job to cut your teeth on, and test those shiny new powertools. Maybe it’s time to give the old fence a birthday and ensure it lives to have many more.
The biggest problem with fences is the palings touching the ground, or even ending up buried in it. These palings are often only treated to H3 (the timber grade for above ground use), and as the minimum treatment for contact with soil is H4 (for below ground use), they will eventually rot away. A simple solution is to clear the ground or garden away. If this isn’t possible, then you can use a circular saw to cut the bottoms off the palings. If you need to stop your garden, or dog, migrating through to the neighbours, the cut off palings can be replaced with H4 treated timber laid horizontally.
The rails on your fence may have sagged over time, causing the tops of the palings to drop as well. Trying to prop the rails to lift the fence will be impossible as the rails won’t want to change shape. Instead, make a straight line to the top of the fence using a chalkline or a straight edge, and recut the palings.
STAINING
While you’re sitting there on that outdoor patio setting you put together last Christmas, just imagine how much better it would look if you gave it a waterblast and a coat of stain. And while you’re at it, might as well give the fence a bit of attention, too.
Remember, oil based stain takes a while to dry, so if you’ve got the family over for Christmas day, you’ll want to get onto it ASAP.
Then it’s time to sit down, relax and have a cold one.
Cheers and good health, Cocksy.
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This article is intended as a general discussion only. BNZ recommends the recipient get independent advice. The views expressed are the writer’s own and do not necessarily represent those of BNZ or its related entities.
