Maintenance & care of timber products

Iroko

Iroko wood requires little or no maintenance. It can however be useful to remove persistent dirt from time to time, using water and a (soft) brush. We strongly advise against using a high-pressure cleaner, as this will roughen the woods smooth surface and irreparably damage the wood’s fibres. If you want to maintain the wood’s natural colour, you should treat it with teak oil or with another colourless wood protection product (oil). We recommend the products from Owatrol to maintain and enhance the natural finish of the timber. Depending on the climate, this should be done once or twice a year. If you leave Iroko wood untreated, it will get a silver-grey patina. If you do not like this patina, you can treat the wood with products to restore the original colour and then maintain it.

Bear in mind however that even with an oil treatment the colour of the wood will change under the influence of UV-light and moisture. To keep the surface nice and smooth, we advise you to slightly sand the wood every year and reapply any finish that you have used.

Western Red Cedar (WRC)

Extend the life of the coating and appearance of Western Red Cedar by following a regular maintenance and care program. Cedar enjoys a well-deserved reputation as a wood that takes and holds a range of finishes for extended periods. Nevertheless, the normal life of a finish will be shortened by degradation and discolouration. The causes of discolouration, though not in themselves a failure of the finish, often require remedial treatment. Dirt is the most benign cause of discolouration and not usually a problem. A periodic cleaning with a mild detergent solution will usually restore the surface finish. Mildew applies both to the fungus and to its staining effects on both the finish and the wood. Mildew is a common cause of discolouration of paint, solid-colour stains and natural finishes. Re-staining does not solve a mildew problem. When it is time to refinish, clean off the mildew with a commercial mildew-remover then refinish with a coating that contains an effective mildewcide.

Extractives bleed that discolour the finish is usually caused by moisture. To stop stains caused by extractives bleed, moisture problems must be eliminated. Mild staining is often washed away by rain over a period of weeks. In sheltered areas of the building where the stain persists, it may become darker with age and more difficult to remove. If washing with a mild detergent solution does not work, a commercial cleaner may help. Iron stains may appear in two forms: the reddish-brown discolouration caused by rust, and blue-black discolouration caused by the reaction of iron from nails and other metal objects with extractives from the Cedar. To prevent these stains, use only hot-dipped galvanized, aluminium or stainless-steel nails when fastening Cedar. Water stains often occur in combination with extractive bleed and mildew growth. These stains can be difficult to remove. Scrubbing the wood with an oxalic acid solution is sometimes effective.

Caution: Handle oxalic acid solution with care as it can be harmful.

Chalking is a property of the paint, not the Cedar. It occurs when a paint film weathers or deteriorates, releasing pigment particles that act like a fine powder on the paint surface. Chalking is a common cause of fading of tinted or coloured paints.

Cleaners & restorers for WRC

Uncoated, weathered Cedar can often be restored to its original colour by applying commercial products called cleaners, brighteners or restorers. Although intended primarily for restoring horizontal wood surfaces such as decks, they generally work almost as well on vertical surfaces. Some products are formulated with thickening agents to help the liquid cling better to vertical surfaces. Commercially available cleaners and restorers generally fall into three categories: paint strippers, bleaches, and oxalic acid-based formulas.

After application of these products the surface should be thoroughly washed and allowed to dry completely before finishing. These products contain hazardous ingredients and should be used with caution. The manufacturer’s instructions should be followed for optimum effectiveness and safety.

Pressure treated softwood

Our softwood material is pre-treated with the Tanalith-E (Class 3 & 4) system using a proven vacuum high pressure technology to offer long term protection against fungus & insect attack.

Class 3 is used on timber products above ground.
Class 4 is used on our timber posts and top capping.

The colour of the natural treated timber is a very light yellow/green colour which weathers over time to a smart silvery/grey appearance.

Thermally modified timber

We use thermally modified Scandinavian softwood as well as thermally treated Radiata pine.  Both are suitable for external applications above the ground, with improved durability and stability.   Thermally modified timber is particularly suitable for a painted finish. 

Important

Wood is a living matter and, in spite of the superior quality provided by Iroko, it constantly has to adapt to changes in temperature and humidity when used outdoors. Due to internal stress resulting from these constant adaptations the wood can warp. This warping can among other things lead to cracking. Changes in colour or wood structure may also appear. These characteristics are typical of the material and are both natural and unavoidable. We do manufacture the products and select the timber to limit this as much as possible.

Wood is hygroscopic, which means its moisture content will fluctuate based on the relative humidity of the surrounding air. As humidity increases, the moisture content increases, and the wood expands, and as the humidity decreases, moisture content decreases, and the wood shrinks. This relationship is referred to as Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC).

The moisture content of wood is tied directly to the relative humidity of the surrounding air. The higher the relative humidity, the higher the moisture content of the wood. If you’re installing wood that’s recently been transported, or installed on a job, it might take a little while for the material to reach its equilibrium moisture content (EMC) with the air; in other words, for the wood to adjust to the humidity level of the climate around the wood: it may take on more moisture or it may dry out.

Warmer temperatures will sped up the exchange of moisture within the wood. Moisture exchange will happen more rapidly at warmer temperatures, but there is no thermal movement of wood worth measuring.