Prolonging the life of a garden shed

Hi all,
Hope this is in the right section...

I have recently invested in a 12x8 garden shed, and it cost a considerable amount of money, so no doubt that I want it to last as long as possible...

I have applied 2 coats of a creosote substitute, (creacote) , This is the first time I have used an oil based product for wood treatment in my garden as I am usually heavelly opposed to it.. my reasons for using it was due to the fact that i treated another garden shed last year with a water based one and the wood has since warped and the tongue and groove has parted and is letting in water, so thus im thinking that the oil based one will nourish the wood to some extent... but in my hast to get it treated I have since discovered that creosote can have a brittling effect on wood..

so what im asking is , can anyone recommend a way of now adding nourishment back into the wood, possibly from the inside of the shed?

thanks
Gavin

 

Now that we cannot get proper creosote, the only protection for timber will be Cuprinol (solvent based). If you want to add nourishment to timber the only possible answer is Linseed oil, I would suggest thinning with turps. substitute at about 50/50 otherwise it will be too sticky. Brush it on, do not spray as spraying contaminates the air and wastes the material. Apply to the outside.

 

You could give it a coat of linseed oil if you're concerned. But I think you're worrying unduly.

I've always believed the real "killer" for sheds is damp penetration from the ground up. The trouble with sheds is that it's easy to forget they require "planned maintenance" as do many things we take for granted.

My shed has six inches of clearance between the base and the ground.
I made it using a 3"x2" frame and roofing ply. It gets a coat of Dulux Woodsheen every few years and is still sound, I built it originally to house our daughter's rabbits when she was eight.
She'll be forty-two this month.

 

thanks for the replys,

I think I will give the linseed a go, I know I might be worrying over nothing, but I really dont want this shed to go the way the other one went.

I did hear that linseed oil has a tendancy to spontaneous combust, but think thats just an old wives tale

[edit]

just read up on this, turns out that its rags soaked in it can catch fire very easly... just hope my shed dosent lol

 

Well if this is true, I don't hold much hope for our garden bench ..... think I'll just sit on the grass from now on!! lol

 

Hi Muddyfox and welcome to the forum.

I would totally agree with Doghouse. I believe rot is not cause by wood that gets wet and then dries out again. It is caused by wood that gets wet and stays wet. So I believe that the most important thing is to keep the wooden base clear of the damp ground somehow. The other part that is liable to rot is the bottom part of any window, where the rain runs down the glass and collects at the bottom, but can't drain away. Or indeed any part of the wooden structure where water collects.

Its the same principle as rust in a car. The exposed roof and sides don't rot - its the door sills and wheel arches that do. So I would concentrate my effort most on the weak spots.

 

It is the constant wet and dry that rots the wood, When a post rots off and you dig out the stump which was constantly wet in the ground, it will not be rotten. It's only the part which is subject to wet and dry conditions that rots away.

 

thanks again for all the replies...
my shed is well of the ground , I have it built upon a 4x3 pretreated frame and inturn on breeze blocks , so its nearly a foot from ground level... im mainly woried about the wood drying out and the wood shrinking, crackin or warping and letting water in .. the sun is in my side garden from midday to early evening so the shed gets toasted by the rays alot.
might be as simple as leaving a bucket of water in the shed so it can evaporate in the heat of the summer and keep the timber from drying out..

 

The quality of timber these days is pretty awful. When you think of Victorian window frames made of pitch pine can be over a hundred years old and still in good condition, yet a modern softwood window frame can go in ten years.

I think the secret of longevity with wooden buildings is keeping the water out.
I'm an addict of Dulux Woodsheen, it comes in several colour options. It isn't cheap at £37 for 2.5 ltrs but it forms a permanent plastic seal over the wood making it impervious and it doesn't blister in hot sun. My two soft wood and roofing ply buildings are 23yrs and this one 34 years old. OK the re-cycled window frames are now looking a bit tatty and could do with a bit of tidying up, but it's just a shed.



On smooth wood it gives a very good finish and you can give it another coat a couple of years later as long as it's clean and free of grease without having to sand it down.



I've used it on our pergolas and this "featherboard" fence and softwood door. It doesn't go as far on rough wood, but it still is effective.

 

I've used all kinds of treatments over the past 30 years and was never satisfied with the long term results...ie colour fade and flaking,now I use 'Evo/Thompsons Water Seal'. Seems to do the trick for me and the timber looks better as it mellows in shade.

 

I think we need to remember that true rot is just that, fungal attack.

If you can make conditions unsuitable for fungal growth you wont get rot.

Having said that, drying out and cracking is something different, and has been said most timber these days is not the slow grown stuff of years gone by.
Its usually very absorbant, so reacts badly when dried right out in hot sun.
I also have been told that ultra violet light can have a bad effect and good preservatives contain a UV block a bit like sun screen.lol

Good old linseed, I doubt its beatable for filling the spongy nature of todays softwood outside, but I dont think its compatable with other finishes.

 

Doghouse. I think rotting is all to do with moisture and oxygen. As Pete says if the conditions are unsuitable for fungal growth you won't get rot. If wood gets wet and dries out again quickly - its not damp enough for rot. If a piece of wood has lain submerged for 300 years in water where there is no oxygen - it won't rot. But if wood is wet for long periods and has plenty of oxygen, you will get rot.

Incidently, these are also the conditions for the germination of seeds. Seeds need both oxygen and moisture for germination. Moisture without oxygen would be no good.

But also as Peter says, drying out and cracking is something else. I am sure it is the UV that does the damage, just as it damages the skin. curtains, car paint etc. Almost everything that we buy apart from food, has UV stabilisers in it - certaily all our clothes do. Paint does, as do most plastics especially those used in double glazing units. So a good coat of paint or your Dulux Woodsheen will help that aspect.

 

the dulux wood-sheen looks great on your fences, I just wish I would have taken my time and looked around before using the creosote, and I don't think that there will be many products out there that will cover it successfully, I will probably have to just let it weather for awhile before I try another product...

 

Im also a creosote lover lol the best way to stop the wood going brittle is to add old engine oil to it.
I have a 12` x 10` shed and the 2 sides you cant see have had 2 coats of old engine oil as has the under side of the floor.
Im looking to put some ply down on the floor as its a bit harder waring so will also oil the inside of the floor before laying the ply.