Five insightful tips on how to preserve wooden décor in your house

Wood is natural, and it’s beautiful. However, this set of unique and wonderful traits also comes with a bunch of downsides that only appear after a while. Wood, if not taken care of, can become very needy in terms of maintenance and lazy or unobtrusive homeowners can run into a lot of trouble with regards to wooden décor. It can rot, it can break and lose colour. Here are five worthwhile tips that will help in preserving wooden decorations and accents in your house for longer!

Try to prevent excess moisture

The No.1 enemy of wood is probably moisture. In general, wood is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture. However, after the tree is cut down, the metabolism stops but the property of absorption remains. According to sources, an acceptable level of moisture in wood is anywhere between 6 and 15% (6-9% for the interior and <15% for the exterior).

However, in the long-run, excess water can severely deform, break and worsen the overall condition of every piece of wooden décor imaginable. You can try waterproofing, varnishing or even some other methods to protect it from a huge threat.

Increase airflow

Excess moisture (condensation, mostly) usually appears when there is not enough air flowing around. The dampness stays in place, lands on wood and it absorbs it.

By installing air conditioners, opening windows for 30 minutes per day or creating a draft for a short while is definitely considerate action. By doing so you automatically protect wood from very dangerous moisture.

Apply varnish and repaint

Varnish isn’t just for added glow. Of course, it does improve the aesthetic part of things, but different types of varnishes can also add such properties to wood like UV protection as well as waterproofing. Besides, re-applying the varnish is sometimes a necessary part of regular maintenance.

Paint application can also play a protective role. Wounds, scuffs, dents and other cracks in the surface of wood are an automatic pest and rot magnet. If you paint over them, the wood does not lose its aesthetic appeal while also getting much needed boost in terms of protection. Something like a fence might need repainting every 3-4 years.

Replace beatdown wood with something durable

If you already have wood accents that are somewhat worn out, replace them. Don’t bother with too much restoration because its of no use. With that being said, you can choose alternatives to regular timber products. Alternatives that are much more luxurious, but omit that same natural aura that everyone loves regular wood for.

What we can suggest is Shou Sugi Ban. This is wood which has been treated with fire, using a Japanese technology. The texture and the colour get enhanced while the wood also becomes water and fireproof as well as pest-proof. To find out more about Shou Sugi Ban, click here!

Pest-proofing

Speaking of which… Termites and lots of other organisms can live off of the nutritious elements that are dwelling below the surface of wood. This is a major problem for millions of people worldwide. We found a guide on wood protection from termites that you could find useful.