Treating Old Wood Beams

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.

Treating old wood beams.

Before using reclaimed wood for your next project there are steps that you should take to ensure the wood you are using has been completely rid of bugs. Old barn wood can retain the smell of a farm for decades. There are even a few shops cropping up that take the tree trunks from. Place a few pieces of the salvaged wood in a plastic bag for 48 hours.

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. 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. New wood beams used in a restoration project stripping wood beams. It s also gives this old growth wood new life rather than just bulldozing these old structures and burning the wood.

We started with a spray pump product called woodworm destroyer. Open the bag and smell the wood. Craigslist is a great place to look for reclaimed material. Wood is an extraordinary building material that can last hundreds of years especially old growth wood when given a little care.

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. I ve also made friends with a local shop that specializes in tearing down barns and selling the wood.