How to Care for Your Wooden Gates this Spring
Bespoke handmade wooden gates are an investment and looking after them correctly will ensure they continue to look good and last for many years whilst serving the purpose that you installed them for. Just a short amount of time spent looking after your gates and maintaining them every so often with wood care and wood treatment will help them survive or get ready for the harsh winters or hot summers to stop any unwanted deterioration.
Benefits of wooden gates
Quality bespoke wooden gates are timeless, they’ll never go out of style. First and foremost, they can blend in perfectly with any exterior space and landscape. If we take special care of it, carefully preserve it, and look after it, it can last for an incredibly long time. Wooden gates can be durable providing they are well protected, they can also be resistant to moisture and other external factors. In addition, wooden gates are beautiful and bring that sense of natural material and nature. Wooden gates are very strong and resistant to damage, most people think that wood is a weak and easy eroding material, however, wood is one of the most durable materials and your wooden gate will stand strong against the British weather.
Tips for caring for your gate
Staining and oiling the gate can have huge benefits, below we have added some tips to make it an easy task for you to do.Make sure you are happy with your chosen colour before you start – try it on a scrap piece of wood beforehand just to make sure it’s exactly what you are looking for. For spirit-based stains use a natural brush, you’ll need a high-quality brush, if you choose one that’s poor quality the bristles will frequently fall off as you’re using it and get stuck in the finish. Treat both sides of the gate without allowing each side to dry in-between coats – staining or oiling one side of a gate and leaving it to dry before doing the other side puts your gate at high risk of warping. This is due to the fact that you will be creating an unequal surface tension within the wood and also because the unpainted side will be trying to absorb the moisture, this will cause movement within the timber.Stain or oil the timber in the same direction as the grain – coat the end of the grain of the wood as well it is most susceptible to absorbing water.Paint the bottom of the gate, any wood left untouched will drink up the moisture. The treatments you use should still allow the wood to breathe.Watch for any drips or runs within the wooden gate, just get the brush and go down in the direction of the grain to get them out. After treating the first side spin it around and use a small piece of wood between it and the wall to avoid the treated side getting marked or damaged.We hope that this has helped you in caring for your wooden gates this spring, please feel free to contact us on 01844 342036 or head over to our website if you have any questions or queries.