Pimp my garage

[technodup]

Not as interesting as the title but my newish to me house has an old timber garage which I'd like to tart up a bit. It seems basically pretty sound but tired. The wood is dry and cracked and there are some gaps between planks due to shrinkage which let water in. What's the best product to try to bring it back to life a bit and give it some weather protection? It's had some blackish treatment in the past (creosote?) but all gone now.

I have another brick garage so I'll not be spending a fortune or rebuilding anything, but I want to give it a coat of something before winter. But what? And what should I fill the gaps with?[url]

[Rampant Golf]

Depends on budget. To do it cheap, use that old pallet to block some of the holes from inside the garage and then coat the whole thing in old engine oil. The smell goes after a few days.

[xx99xx]

Paint it (coloured paint) and fill any big holes. The roof is likely to be the first point of failure so make sure that is sound. Then ignore the structure until it needs painting again.

[Ry.Clarke]

I do not think I have ever seen a timber garage like that. How interesting.

Same st you use on fence panels and decking, it’s the same wood after all.

[Belle427]

I use this on my shed every other year, seems to repel water very well.
https://www.barrettinepro.co.uk/25/266/nourish-and...

[swanny71]

Belle427 said:

I use this on my shed every other year, seems to repel water very well.
https://www.barrettinepro.co.uk/25/266/nourish-and...

I’ve used this on my timber garage for 10+ years, it’s excellent stuff.

Be aware that ‘light brown’ actually looks pretty dark when dry, so I mix 2 x clear with 1 x light brown.
(prob not economical for the OP to do that though)

[JoshSm]

I'd have thought the shrinkage will mostly go away now the summer is over? I had something that had really started to gap this year & has returned back to normal now.

Can't remember what I last used for a shed, some sort of 10 year woodstain (maybe Ronseal?) after a good lot of wood preserver first.

Prefer the woodstain on anything that's a smooth timber plus the way it weathers away instead of peeling off works quite well. Better than a fence product anyway.

[Simpo Two]

technodup said:

there are some gaps between planks due to shrinkage which let water in.

Clear sealant works well, but you may need a few tubes!

[Peanut Gallery]

Depending on the extent of the gaps - previous owners of my house screwed thin plywood around the outside of the shed - easy and simple, can then be painted the colour of your choice.

(Note, removing airflow may not be the best for condensation, keep some gaps - but then wasps get into gaps...)

[BrokenSkunk]

One garage duly pimped as requested.

[Peanut Gallery]

Also, you got to put a garage in your garage..

[technodup]

swanny71 said:

Belle427 said:

I use this on my shed every other year, seems to repel water very well.
https://www.barrettinepro.co.uk/25/266/nourish-and...

I ve used this on my timber garage for 10+ years, it s excellent stuff.

Be aware that light brown actually looks pretty dark when dry, so I mix 2 x clear with 1 x light brown.
(prob not economical for the OP to do that though)

I'll get a couple of tins of this, thanks. The roof seems in good shape so just want to extend its life a bit, it's very handy to have as extra storage/workshop.

[DonkeyApple]

technodup said:

Not as interesting as the title but my newish to me house has an old timber garage which I'd like to tart up a bit. It seems basically pretty sound but tired. The wood is dry and cracked and there are some gaps between planks due to shrinkage which let water in. What's the best product to try to bring it back to life a bit and give it some weather protection? It's had some blackish treatment in the past (creosote?) but all gone now.

I have another brick garage so I'll not be spending a fortune or rebuilding anything, but I want to give it a coat of something before winter. But what? And what should I fill the gaps with?[url]

I always think it's best to wait on these things when just moved to a new home. Live with it as is for a few seasons and wait for the idea as to what you really want to do with it formulate etc.

The roof felt looks pretty new. The gaps in the timber are probably due to the long dry summer and may close back up by Spring.

There looks to be a similar shed in green next to it? How is that going to be part of the final look?

The one thing that I'd would consider critical is that the shed timbers all look to be right down on the ground so are going to rot out quite quickly. If you plan to keep the building and use it then you need to address that issue as a priority.

Also, the roof overhang isn't great which will exacerbate the amount of water hitting the bottom panels and speed up the rotting.

Come Spring if you've settled on a colour or a treatment then give it a tart up then.

[RGG]

Bedec Barn Paint -



Easily available from Brewers or Toolstation.

The black comes in matt satin gloss and it covers with one coat.

There's a full range of colours.

[Simpo Two]

DonkeyApple said:

.Also, the roof overhang isn't great which will exacerbate the amount of water hitting the bottom panels and speed up the rotting.

Guttering might help.

[technodup]

DonkeyApple said:

I always think it's best to wait on these things when just moved to a new home. Live with it as is for a few seasons and wait for the idea as to what you really want to do with it formulate etc.

The roof felt looks pretty new. The gaps in the timber are probably due to the long dry summer and may close back up by Spring.

There looks to be a similar shed in green next to it? How is that going to be part of the final look?

The one thing that I'd would consider critical is that the shed timbers all look to be right down on the ground so are going to rot out quite quickly. If you plan to keep the building and use it then you need to address that issue as a priority.

Also, the roof overhang isn't great which will exacerbate the amount of water hitting the bottom panels and speed up the rotting.

Come Spring if you've settled on a colour or a treatment then give it a tart up then.

I've been in a year now so have cleared it of all the moving stuff/assorted debris/clutter and I've built a workbench for tool storage and occasional project use. The green shed currently is a wood store but it's falling down (her indoors wants a greenhouse in its place...), so the aim is to halt the decay of the bigger one for a while. I'll clear the ground around it and I need to trim the bottom of the doors as they catch and soak up water. Then a coat of something for protection. I'm not planning on living here too long so as long as it's still in one piece in a couple of years I'm happy.

[DonkeyApple]

Sounds ideal. If keeping tools in there then worth getting an appropriate can of spray oil and give them a dusting before winter as it stops the surface rust forming.

[DonkeyApple]

Sounds ideal. If keeping tools in there then worth getting an appropriate can of spray oil and give them a dusting before winter as it stops the surface rust forming.