oak beams renovation

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This!
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oak beams renovation




by This! » 05/03/16, 12:14

Hello everybody

We are renovating an old house. In the living room, full full full (!!!) of very dark oak beams that we want to lighten. We took a long time to sand them and they came back in a nice light shade. We will protect them against small animals but we hesitate on the last layer to put.
We want to keep the wood color as natural (and clearest) as possible. Varnish? Stain? Something else ? Nothing at all ? What should you apply?

Thank you for your answers.

This!
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Ahmed
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Re: Renovation of oak beams




by Ahmed » 05/03/16, 12:40

If your beams do not contain any portion of sapwood and are therefore only made of heartwood, it is perfectly useless to treat them with filth against "little beasts". Regarding the aesthetic aspect, it depends on: transparent varnish, wax or nothing ...
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Re: Renovation of oak beams




by Macro » 05/03/16, 13:15

Make a preliminary test in a non-visible part ... But of the old oak as soon as you put anything back on it will automatically darken ... In any case attack by colorless ...
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This!
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Re: Renovation of oak beams




by This! » 05/03/16, 15:14

Thank you for your answers !
I thought I would give it a try .... We are never sure of the result (even in colorless). But I admit that if we can avoid putting a varnish even colorless and that it does not fear anything in time, we would perhaps opt for this solution.
What do you think ?
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Re: Renovation of oak beams




by Ahmed » 05/03/16, 16:05

The heart of oak is made of a material which is already dead when it is part of the living tree, it contains highly polymerized tannins which protects it from attack by insects. This material has an extremely long duration under the conditions which are yours and if many wooden habitats have disappeared, it is because the conditions of conservation could not be maintained or were subject to hazards during history (fires, wars ...). There are still many half-timbered houses dating from the early Middle Ages which are in perfect condition. In a fully submerged situation, the same durability is observed, especially in the reinforcement of hydraulic structures; it is the intermediate state which is fatal: permanent exposure to humidity; molds and other pioneering organisms (fungi, lichens) have the property of degrading * the most ungrateful materials.

* It would be better to say recycle, because it is an essential function of ecosystems.
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Re: Renovation of oak beams




by dede2002 » 05/03/16, 16:26

Hello,

I also think that the best for the interior is to put nothing.
When I redid my roof I just brushed the old rafters and purlins with a rotating nylon brush, and the new battens are the ceiling, left natural.
17 years later it's still beautiful, and it smells of wood.
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