Preserving Wood Home

[gogobar8]

House built 3 years ago. Still looking good. Anybody know what the wood is that was used and recommendations on keeping it looking good and secure please. Pics attached. Tnx

[rgs2001uk]

Seeing as the wood has been stained its kind of difficult to say.

We can assume its hardwood, your location may give an indication.

Your biggest problems will be, direct sunlight and termites.

Get some trees planted to offer some protection from the sun, should make the house cooler also.

Have the house sprayed once a year, inside and out with anti termite treatment.

Your eyes are your best weapon, when you see the colour starting to fade/bleach it needs treatment.

You can also touch the wood to see what it feels like, is it starting to blister.

Sadolin should be available.

Nice looking house, those tiles dont do it justice.

[gogobar8]

Seeing as the wood has been stained its kind of difficult to say.

We can assume its hardwood, your location may give an indication.

Your biggest problems will be, direct sunlight and termites.

Get some trees planted to offer some protection from the sun, should make the house cooler also.

Have the house sprayed once a year, inside and out with anti termite treatment.

Your eyes are your best weapon, when you see the colour starting to fade/bleach it needs treatment.

You can also touch the wood to see what it feels like, is it starting to blister.

Sadolin should be available.

Nice looking house, those tiles dont do it justice.

Thanks rgs2001uk.

Tgf had 'white ant' problem a while back which she got sorted.

Thai carpenter took great pleasure letting me smell the wood he was planing when it was being built.

I keep a bit of it here in London to remind me.

We plant trees.

Thank you very much.

ATB

ggb8

[gogobar8]

Seeing as the wood has been stained its kind of difficult to say.

We can assume its hardwood, your location may give an indication.

Your biggest problems will be, direct sunlight and termites.

Get some trees planted to offer some protection from the sun, should make the house cooler also.

Have the house sprayed once a year, inside and out with anti termite treatment.

Your eyes are your best weapon, when you see the colour starting to fade/bleach it needs treatment.

You can also touch the wood to see what it feels like, is it starting to blister.

Sadolin should be available.

Nice looking house, those tiles dont do it justice.

I think you're right about the tiles.

Not sure about the BIL's vigo with Hello Kitty number plates either.

Home made from wood protected by trees feels real good though.

I think we need some trees that grow fast. Any suggestions.

Tnx

ggb8

[klikster]

^^ Fan palms grow okay and make great shade trees.

[rgs2001uk]

^^^^^, agreed,

other options include mango and banana trees.

Dont know where you are located, but that isnt an Ayutthaya style house so we can assume you are up north.

Dont know the situation of your house or the climate.

I personally like weeping willow trees, also very good for soaking up water.

Another option would be Jacaranda trees, they look nice when in bloom.

I personally dont like fruit trees, they attract all sorts such as fruit flies etc.

You will need to be careful in your choice if you are parking cars or bikes under the trees.

There is a particular tree here (yellow colour sorry dont know its name) that secretes a sticky glue like substance.

If there are nurseries in your area you can by partly grown trees that are already 2, 3 or 4 meters in height.

Be careful where you plant them, dont want the roots interfering with any water pipes.

Edited March 6, 2012 by rgs2001uk

[bbradsby]

exterior wood is likely to be Mai Daeng or similar rot resistant material, not teak unless you paid massively for the material. Keep it cracks caulked & surfaces sealed, as other responder advises. And keep a hawk eye for any hungry six legged critters!

[gogobar8]

Cheers Guys.

Appreciated.

Phetchabun province rgs.

You are all welcome to pop in for a refreshment in the shade of some classy trees.

Cheers.

Respect.

[rgs2001uk]

exterior wood is likely to be Mai Daeng or similar rot resistant material, not teak unless you paid massively for the material. Keep it cracks caulked & surfaces sealed, as other responder advises. And keep a hawk eye for any hungry six legged critters!

Op has now mentioned Petchabun, I have an inkling this may well be mai sak.

Petchabun makes sense now, no a/c units in view, those enterance columns and the decorative facia boards on the roof.

If the wood is a yellow colour its more than likely its mai sak.

[gogobar8]

exterior wood is likely to be Mai Daeng or similar rot resistant material, not teak unless you paid massively for the material. Keep it cracks caulked & surfaces sealed, as other responder advises. And keep a hawk eye for any hungry six legged critters!

Op has now mentioned Petchabun, I have an inkling this may well be mai sak.

Petchabun makes sense now, no a/c units in view, those enterance columns and the decorative facia boards on the roof.

If the wood is a yellow colour its more than likely its mai sak.

Thanks rgs.

LG Air Con installed but you can't see it in the pic. Works a treat. Trees will help. ATB

[klikster]

Caveat: I'm no expert.

If the house is teak, especially old-growth, it may not need much preservation, but it will turn a dirty brown with time. I visited Chiang Rai extensively in the early 90's. A Thai buddy was building a house and looking for old teak shingles. He got in contact with 2 women who made a business buying old houses. They took down the teak shingles, poles and planks. After they had the wood re-planed (on-site) the wood looked terrific .

I have seen a number of teak houses that were preserved with a clear coating (epoxy?). If the coating is not overly thinned, it works great.

[gogobar8]

Caveat: I'm no expert.

If the house is teak, especially old-growth, it may not need much preservation, but it will turn a dirty brown with time. I visited Chiang Rai extensively in the early 90's. A Thai buddy was building a house and looking for old teak shingles. He got in contact with 2 women who made a business buying old houses. They took down the teak shingles, poles and planks. After they had the wood re-planed (on-site) the wood looked terrific .

I have seen a number of teak houses that were preserved with a clear coating (epoxy?). If the coating is not overly thinned, it works great.

Thanks Klikster.

I think much of it was made from reclaimed teak or, if not teak, something very similar. Mid brown hardwood.

Gf bought the wood and Thai carpenter and his wife and 7 chippies built it.

The wood was not new from what I saw on my visits.

No sign of any colour change after 3 years.

We'll plant trees to protect as suggested by rgs and put on protective coat as required.

BTW, carpenter Noi and his wife did a real good job and didn't rip us off. He was desperate to know that I was happy with his work.

For me that is class.

Tgf calls it a home not a house.

Thanks for replies guys. Home and tgf very important to me as you probably know.

ATB