Treat Douglas wood

If you have Douglas wood in your garden, you will recognize that the orange color of this wood gives a good atmosphere in the garden. The question is: how do you ensure it lasts as long as possible and stays the warm orange color? If douglas wood is not treated, the average lifespan is 15 years. But by giving it the right treatment, douglas wood will last much longer and your deck, pergola or garden house will remain neat. You can do Douglas wood in different ways. Oils, stains and paints are most common. Once this is done, there are also several options for properly maintaining the Douglas wood. We would like to explain all options.

What is Douglas wood?

Douglas wood is a softwood species that comes from North West Europe. Many Douglas fir forests are located in Sweden. This is also where much of the Douglas wood comes from. Due to the somewhat colder temperatures, this fir grows slightly slower than average, which gives the wood a somewhat denser structure. Douglas wood owes its durable reputation to this dense structure. Not only the quality of the wood type in your backyard is sustainable. The production of douglas is also relatively good for the earth. Douglas fir grows fairly quickly, creating new forests in a relatively short time. It is expected that the number of Douglas fir forests will double in the coming years, so that production without deforestation is no problem. Click here to visit our website about timber merchants nz.

Get started treating with Douglas fir wood

Treating Douglas wood is not a complicated job. First of all, make sure the wood is clean. It is best to paint with a wide flat brush. Sanding the wood is not necessary. Clean and grease-free is all that is required before you start painting. Usually a paint or two is needed to really protect the Douglas wood. Make sure that the layer you have applied is dry before you apply another layer. This wood is very suitable for the garden in the Netherlands. It is fine against the humid conditions in our climate. Especially if you treat the wood well you can enjoy it for a long time. At least 20 years!

Douglas overkapping

Cleaning Douglas fir wood

Before treating the douglas wood, it is advisable to clean the wood first. Depending on the condition of the wood, choose a cleaning agent. For example, is the wood affected by algae or green deposits? Then there are scale or algae removers available for this, so that the wood looks like new again. Has the wood already been treated with, for example, a lacquer or paint? Then it is wise to use a deep cleaner. This allows the paint or oil to be removed. A scrub brush and / or groove brush is supplied with this cleaning agent. Due to weather influences, douglas wood ages and therefore loses the beautiful orange glow when it is freshly sawn. By treating Douglas wood well, you can prevent this graying process.

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Different ways of treating Douglas wood

There are three options for treating Douglas wood. This is the treatment with oil, stain or paint.

Douglas wood oils

Oil is a method of treatment that ensures that the wood retains its original color. In addition, it protects against UV radiation and prevents green deposits or algae from getting on the wood. Special oil for Douglas wood is available in specialist shops. If you are going to oil douglas wood, it must first be cleaned. In addition, it gives a better result if you first sand the wood with sandpaper that has a grain between 100 and 160. Then you can apply the oil to the wood with a brush.

Stain Douglas wood

Stain protects the wood slightly better than oil. This ensures that the douglas wood also retains its color, and you can give it a slightly different shade. Also for stain, it is good to make sure that you purchase stain that is suitable for treating this wood. There is special stain for douglas wood, but all outdoor stains are suitable for this. In addition to protection against sunlight and damage to green deposits and algae, it also protects against moisture, mold and slows down wood rot. View the staining options for Douglas wood

Douglas wood paints

It may also be the case that you want to give the Douglas wood a completely different opaque color. Then painting with an opaque color is the only solution. Even if you are going to do this, special paint is available for this. It is important to choose suitable paint for Douglas wood. With normal paint it can happen that it starts to flake quickly. When painting, be careful not to do this in full sun. It is important that the paint or stain can dry evenly. Paint adheres better to raw douglas wood.

Keep Douglas wood dry

In the base douglas wood is resistant to humid conditions. However, the service life will be considerably shorter if there are long, humid conditions. Think, for example, of a wooded area. If this is the case, it is wise to impregnate the wood.

Now you know everything to treat douglas wood for the garden. Are you going to use the wood to make a deck, fence, pergola, veranda or roof? Read our tips for these jobs!

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What is Douglas wood? and do you Treat Douglas wood