More than just timber in your garden

You have lots of different timber in your garden

More than just timber in your garden…Your timber fence, timber cladding, timber decking or timber pergola is a living breathing part of your garden design. Come away from simply using the standards off the shelf. There are far more timbers to choose from and so many techniques to use. Change the colour, scrape, bleach or sandblast are just some of the techniques you could consider to make your timber stand out as a unique and special feature of your project. Some of these techniques will enhance the longevity and also durability although I would advise taking them on purely for vanity…

Be different, set the bar high

By considering the many techniques one can apply to timber, the simple and perhaps overlooked can bring the edge to the design, wow the client and change the whole dynamic of the finish. The surface texture and grain of your timber and how you can change it is such a diverse and existing proposition to any designer.

Bleached timber                 reclaimed and refurbished timber            scraped

                          brushed                       polished              sandblasted        burnt or charred

Your choice of timber

Don’t just choose the most expensive timber, let the design dictate, get creative.  As we are now considering an artisan approach to the finish of the timber you can use pretty much anything available, the art is being able to select exactly what is required. Quite often your material gets delivered to site and when you come to use it there are problems, bent, twisted or warped… How about you get yourself to the supplier and select exactly what you want. You can then choose the timber, quarter cut for straight grain or flat sawn for that decorative and immediate impact.

Beautiful structure in your garden

Just because your timber is expensive and its part of an elaborate design, maybe there is a lot of it… or maybe, it’s different because you’ve thought well about how to enhance the grain or texture. There is more than just timber in your garden.

Have you designed something achievable, do you have to steam the laminations into a mould and when its dry use a steel brush, get a sweat on for hours… the reward will soon be the grain, look at it jump out… finally soaking with quality timber oil.

A fence or a panel, consider burnt timber, scraped and devoid of that crusty burnt carbon texture, instead presenting a well scraped and polished smooth finish, tactile at every angle and looking like the ripples on a sandy beach with the tide out.

Sandblasting is perfect for your reclaimed timber, scaffold planks, wide – strong and great length. Remove the steel strips from each end, ignore the years of grime and site dirt. Get them sand blasted and soaked in Textrol, probably one of the most beautiful finishes out there…

Hide your fixings

Either hide them or enhance them, lets not see cheap screws no matter how perfectly they have been fixed. Secret fix, rebated and plugged, reverse fixed to completely hide the fixing or perhaps better than that use massive oversize screws or fixings, perhaps a massive old oak style dowel – without dressing it of course and leave it sticking out… I don’t know as long as it’s different and works with the design you are working too.

Let’s Design then

Its always best to use a professional designer, they understand material best. The Decking Network recommends the Association of professional Landscapers who have registered Designers.  If we can push the information out there we can add these attractive and exiting finishes to our timber. Lets evoke a new dimension to what has been a simple standard for so many projects. So let’s get caustic, start scrubbing and get the oil flowing. let the grain out, because theres more than just timber in your garden