The Importance of Timber Maintenance

The tragic waste of materials and money is not the fault of cedar as a cladding, but rather the lack of maintenance needed to keep cedar at its best.

Heat and sunlight form a double threat to cedar. Together they expand the timber and dry the natural oils out. This compromises the cedar and can lead to cupping. Migrating oils like Drydens wood oil, Wood-X and C.D. 50 migrate approximately 5-10mm into the wood keeping the timber protected. This protection lasts as long as these oils are maintained on the surface and not allowed to dry out.

Penetrating oil stains such as Resene water borne products act as a kind of paint. These stains are used to colour the timber and penetrate approximately 1-2mm, drying on the surface of your cladding. Some of these stains have a pigment tint that is also designed to refract UV light, providing more protection against sunlight and therefore more time between coats.

Therefore, by using the right treatment with an appropriate re-coating regime, cedar and other timbers can retain their natural beauty and form. Without this level of frequent care, wood cladding will eventually dry out, leading to cupping. Once this happens, the cladding will likely need to be replaced.

Understanding the nature of the timber and of the materials which best protect it is what good maintenance and care is all about. This is exactly why we have developed Jacks Point Cedar Care Maintenance Plan which is now functioning across the region.

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