Best wood treatment for garden buildings

[IJWS15]

We have just bought a Gazebo which is pressure treated wood.

Instructions recommend treating before it is built. It will stand on flags.

Wife wants it staining purple - no accounting for taste!

What are the best products for protecting the gazebo and does anyone make a purple stain?

Ronseal and cuprinol appear not to.

 

[JohnD]

1) get a more sensible wife

2) IMO the waterbased shed and fence treatments are very good - easy and quick to apply and recoat, no need to sand down, can recoat easily.

If you have a foolish colour then next time you could recoat it with a very dark plain brown (no pale colour will hide it), but the strange colour will tend to show through until you get fed up with it and burn down the building in 10 or 20 years.

I like to use a preservative such as Cuprinol make (spirit based, not waxy, it just soaks into the wood and protects it against rot) before assembly, especially the parts near the ground which will tend to be damp. Timber should not be in contact with the earth or standing water. Leave the cut ends (top and bottom) soaking in a tub of preservative overnight.

 

[woodfinishes1877]

You could always try Woodshield from Smith & Rodger which is a microporous exterior finish. If you buy the clear version then you could add red and blue universal stainers to achieve purple.

It is white spirit based products that is deep penetrating and offers excellent protection. One thing to take into account is that the more universal stainer you add the more the wood grain will be obliterated.

Hope this helps.

woodfinishes1877

 

[Woodster66]

Cuprinol do a range of colours for garden wood treatment, you can even buy sample pots which you can mix in to a larger tin to make up a colour of your own so purple can be done

http://www.cuprinol.co.uk/products/garden_shades_overview.html

 

[IJWS15]

Found the Cuprinol - B&Q did not have a shade chart but found the web-site.

Looks like thier clear preserver followed by lavender!

 

[PERMANENTP]

Since the banning of creosote I have used old engine oil diluted with paraffin (otherwise it does not soak in) to preserve my fences. Most alternatives to creosote are called fence treatment and make no claim to extend the life of wood - at best they claim to be water repellent and add colour. Does anyone know whether old engine oil is any good or whether there is something at a reasonable price that extends life?

 

[marshman]

I'm like you Permanentp, old engine oil mixed now with red diesel and the new creosote substitute, use to mix paraffin with it but red is cheaper,
my old dog shed is still as good as the day I made it 30 years ago and my fence posts and panels have been stood 20 years
and they had there first recoat last year,
I paint the front picket fence every 2 years or so as this stops the gangs of kids leaning on it as the black rubs off.

 

[JohnD]

old engine oil is carciogenic and pollutes the ground and poisons groundwater. Hence it is not permitted to do what you have done.

 

[Thermo]

use decking oil on it. protects and nourishes the wood

 

[PERMANENTP]

i WAS AWARE THAT old engine oil was carcinogenic but that is for continuous contact with skin as far as I can remember. I appreciate that if I use it on fence posts it could leach into groundwater so I use it on fence panels which are not in contact with skin or the ground though some might get washed down in the rain.

Any such traces of oil would, I thought, get broken down in the soil. After all nature gets rid of oil slicks relatively quickly (a year or two?) so traces of oil over a large area should be accommodated by nature. Correct me if I am wrong anyone.

I thought I was doing the right thing in reusing which is better than recycling the oil at the tip.

One thing which I did not mention is the VOC's emitted by the paraffin which I agree is not good but I had the choice of burning it or using it to preserve wood and save forests. Boy, it is hard to decide which route to take and still do the right thing. I just hope I do the most right thing.

Incidentally, I make all my fences out of old pallets and I recycle the nails, and I build in gaps in the fence for hedghog routes and I save fuel by not driving to the tip to get rid of old engine oil, and the paraffin was salvaged from leftovers in drums in a derelict garage site ..........

 

[Kevstir]

PERMANENTP your doomed if you do and doomed if you dont, cant keep everyone happy .

 

[LooPrEvil]

I treated some of my fence panels this weekend using creosote diluted with about 20% old engine oil. But I did not have enough (creosote) to complete the job.

Can any of you chaps advise on what mix I can make with diesel / parafin / old oil. I want a very dark brown finish, almost black.

Do I also add the creosote substitute - if so how much?

Thanks

 

[JohnD]

old engine oil is carciogenic and pollutes the ground and poisons groundwater. Hence it is not permitted to do what you have done.