Treatment and Maintenance of buildings
General maintenance
We recommend inspecting your building a minimum of once a year, ideally twice, once in the Spring and once in the Autumn.
Wipe down the exterior of your building with mild soapy water and a soft sponge, removing surface pollution, dirt, insects, leaves and other debris from your building. This can be done at the same time as cleaning the glass.
Inspect the exterior boards and joinery, looking for signs of surface damage or splitting, coating breakdown or discolouration of the timber surface beneath the coating, which indicates water ingress.
Each Spring, exterior cladding and joinery should be inspected, and any minor areas of coating damage or minor flaking should be spot repaired.
All areas to be re-coated for minor repairs should be lightly abraded with a fine grade abrasive paper, washed down with a mild soap solution and rinsed with clean water to remove dust, insects and other contaminants, which can form a base for algae and fungi growth. Using a good quality, long haired, synthetic brush, apply one or two coats of your chosen finish.
At least once a year, hinges and handles should be checked and treated with a light oil. In coastal areas, this may need to be done on a more regular basis.
Dust or grime should be removed from all-weather seals, door and window openings.
Guttering and downpipes should be regularly checked, where applicable and cleared of any leaves or debris.
Good household maintenance helps to extend repainting/retreating intervals. Preventative rather than reactive maintenance will ensure the timber is always protected, extend its service life and maintain the decorative appearance of the building.
Resin and knot staining
Resin exudation
Resin bleeding is a natural occurrence in many timber species and its presence is normally not apparent when the joinery is initially manufactured, coated and fitted. With resinous timber exudation is most likely to occur on south facing elevations and on dark surfaces when the heat of the sun liquifies and mobilises the resin, drawing it to the surface.
Although it may be unsightly, it is better not to remove fresh sticky resin. In practice, this can be very difficult, and the presence of sticky resin indicates that the exudation is still continuing.
When resin has exuded through a permeable coating, the best remedial treatment is to allow the resin to weather until it dries and oxidise, forming a white crystalline powder. The dried resin can then be removed with a stiff nylon or natural bristle brush and any remaining residues washed off with a cloth.
The remedial work for resin exudation is often best left until the first maintenance period, by which time the resin has normally fully crystallised. After removal as described above, the overall application of one maintenance coat of finish restores the general appearance of the timber and maintains its protection.
Knot discolouration
Knot discolouration is caused by the migration of water-soluble tannins. Whilst it will not impair the service life of the joinery it can be unsightly.
Tannin migration is influenced by many factors, and it is important to identify the probable cause of staining before starting any remedial work. If the underlying cause is still present (such as active preservative treatment), it is necessary to allow it to fully dry and stabilise before attempting remedial treatment.
Clean down and wash the area to be repaired to remove all surface dirt and allow to dry thoroughly.
Moisten a soft cloth with methylated spirit and then wipe gently across the stained area until the stain has been removed. Continued exposure of the coating to Methylated Spirit can soften the coating so care must be taken when carrying out this procedure.
In some cases, faint discolouration may still remain, and a localised application of the factory applied topcoat maybe required using a good quality synthetic brush.
Protecting your roof
Cedar slats and shingles will suffer to varying degrees from erosion and environmental changes from sun, wind, debris and precipitation. Even wood that does not decay is still subject to weathering. Shingles are often left to weather naturally and depending on exposure and climatic conditions, the wood will turn silver, dark grey or dark brown. Weathering can be reduced by applying various preservatives, please see the following for some guidance on this. We would also recommend cleaning any algae and/or debris from the slats/shingles on a regular basis. This can be done using a mild soap solution and brush then must be left to dry, prior to applying any treatment.
The preservative we recommend you use in your cedar slatted/shingle roof is called Barrettine and is a spirit-based preserver and the colour we advise is Summer Tan. Barrettine’s telephone number is 0117 960 0060 to ascertain a local stockist.