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Maintaining heat-treated sidings : A unique finish that is very maintenance intensive and requires a particular expertise

Many factors influence the need for professionals when it comes to heat-treated wood (torrified).

TORRIFIED WOOD

When it comes to heat-treated wood, for all your restoration, maintenance and staining projects on heat-treated wood, you should definitely do business with people that are experts.  Indeed, the washing, sanding , restoration, maintenance and stain-application techniques are different when it comes to heat-treated wood. It requires a particular expertise to maintain and protect it adequately.

Over the years we’ve observed many maintenance and restoration projects on heat-treated wood, and more than a few had to be completely re-done simply because they were performed by inexperienced entrepreneurs. PROBOIS has more experience than any other business when it comes to maintenance of heat-treated wood and offers its services to accomadate the rising demand in these types of projects.

Heat-treated wood, although fickle, resists very well to the passage of time when it is well maintained.  Indeed, we recommend a preventative inspection so that the wood can conserve its original look.

Since heat-treated wood is almost always stained directly in the factory, only a few steps are necessary to ready the wood for its maintenance. However, we always recommend a yearly wash using a pressure washing machine to remove any unwanted dirt accumulation.

First, a wash using a presure washing machine with the help of a mild soap is performed.

  • This help to remove any mold or dirt dans may be found within the wood.
  • The wash is performed with a rotating nozzle to make sure the grain of the wood is never damaged.

Sometimes, the state of the wood make it so that we have to completely strip it of its stain. When this is the case we strip it using a stain stripper specialy made for this task. Also, when faced with stripping large stripping projects we sometimes opt to use a process called ”sodablasting”. Rest assured this process is eco-friendly.

The step is the neutralization step. This helps balance the ph of the wood between 7 and 8. Also, the neutralization process can remove any residual soap or shampoo that may have remained on the wood.i

  • Neutralizers have a ratio of 1 part neutralizer 10 part clear water.
  • The applying of the product is done with a sprayer and a pressure washing machine

After cleaning the heat-treated wood and neutralizing it, we leave it to dry a few days between one to three days depending on the weather. For example, a beautiful sunny day in July is enough to dry the wood back to its original humidity. On the other hand, three days might be necessary during the colder days of october.

  • The level of humidity of the heat-treated wood is normally between zero and three degrees celsius.
  • The humidity level of heat-treated wood is mesured using a hygrometer.
  • If maintenance products are applied at humidity levels that are higher than recommended norms, they may have difficulty adhering to the surfaces. The stain may eventually start to flake.

Once the heat-treated wood is dry, we sand all the surfaces to open the pores of the wood. Often forgotten, this step is one of the most important and it will help the products that are applied to adhere to the surface of the wood.

 

  • The sanding is performed with grit 80 sanding paper
  • The sanding, in this case, is only done to scratch the surface of the wood and not to remove the protective coat.

 

The final step is when we apply the products. It is important to make sure that a good product is being applied on this fickle wood. Oftentimes, we prefer to simply re-apply the original product to prevent any futur issues. This way, we prevent any compatibility problem and keep the exact same color of origin.

In Quebec, three different staining products specialized in heat-treated wood seem to be more prevalent. Throughout the years, the painters at PROBOIS have become experts at applying these products. These products can be applied with paint sprayers, lambswool or brushes depending on the project.

When the wood has never been stained before, any technique works perfectly well, however, we prefer applying the products with lambswool. Indeed, we’ve noticed that contrary to the other methods, lambswool helps the product penetrate the wood better and has an impeccable finish. This way we can guaranty the durability and beauty of the finished project.

Maintenance : When it comes to maintenance, we also prefer to use lambswool. It gives a perfect finish because it doesn’t leave any brush marks or difference in tones.

We offer our services to restore, stain, paint or maintain your heat-treated sidings. Whether your project is big or small, you can count on our expertise.

ndeed, you can find many different types of wood that are heat-treated. The better known ones are pine and poplar.

Pine is generally maintenained with paint sprayers and pain brush. It is possible that other tools are used depending on the state of the wood. Less porous than poplar, pine requires only one coat of stain, two on surfaces facing south.

Heat-treated poplar on the other hand, will more often than not require two to three coats of stain becuase the wood is so porous that the stain penetrates more easily.

There are many different products made for heat-treated wood on the market, most have distinct ways of applying. Whether it’s Woodplus, Carver, Mica, Pareo, Sikkens, MF, etc… Different brands often come with different methods of application.

Tout often we see treated-wood badly handled and that required a complete restoration. That is to say, a complete stripping and a new stain applied.

If the condition of the wood makes it so that it can be easily restored then we apply the original product to revive the wood back to its original state. However, if many planks are completely deprived of a stain then a complete stripping of the wood must be entertained. Indeed, if we simply re-apply the same product on wood in such a state then the results will be less then expected.