Treating Old Wood Beams

Open the bag and smell the wood.

Treating old wood beams.

Just like any material when exposed to the elements it can slowly degrade. Most of the beams in our house are probably around 180 years old. If you smell the odor of animals or other offensive scents use the wood for outside projects only. To restore the rustic authentic look it is always advised to strip back and remove paint and other old finishes from wood beams where possible.

Place a few pieces of the salvaged wood in a plastic bag for 48 hours. I can find old barn wood wood from urban demolitions like gym flooring and even the scraps from local shops. Craigslist is a great place to look for reclaimed material. New wood beams used in a restoration project stripping wood beams.

Old barn wood can retain the smell of a farm for decades. It s only been in the last month that we ve noticed signs of woodworm appearing around some of the beams so we ve had to starting treating beams for woodworm. We started with a spray pump product called woodworm destroyer. Wood is an extraordinary building material that can last hundreds of years especially old growth wood when given a little care.

But you can bring old wood back to life by using boiled linseed oil and prepare it for a few more decades of service life. It s also gives this old growth wood new life rather than just bulldozing these old structures and burning the wood. There are even a few shops cropping up that take the tree trunks from.