The Wood Guide · Calculating with wood
From the warehouse and showroom in LebbekeSpruce, pine and Douglas fir are affordable and warm in character — and they ask for little, as long as you know what they ask for. This is what we tell our customers.
Conifers grow fast and so their wood stays light and open-fibred. That makes it affordable and easy to work — but it also absorbs water faster than teak or oak. Everything else follows from that.
Softwood that stands outdoors does three things: it absorbs moisture and releases it again (which makes it move slightly), it turns grey under UV light, and without protection it is attractive to fungi and insects. None of the three is dramatic — they are simply predictable. And what is predictable, you can get ahead of.
Keep the wood clean and dry, and make sure there is something on or in it that keeps out UV and moisture. The rest is detail.
Maintenance is not a job for a whole Saturday, but four short moments. This is what is due now.
No pressure washer and no bleach. The first blasts away the soft fibres between the growth rings and makes the surface rough; the second eats into the fibre and leaves pale patches you can never get out. A brush, lukewarm water and a little patience do a better job.
In pictures · Maintenance in three rhythms
Schematic drawing.
Not everything needs doing equally often. This is how it looks in practice — most points take minutes, not hours.
A few minutes, now and then
Half an hour in spring
Straight away, so it stays small
The answer determines what you have to do — and above all: what you do not have to do.
A preservative has been forced deep into the fibre under pressure. That protects against rot and insects — for years, without you doing anything. Our picnic tables and beer table sets start out like this.
Beautiful and fragrant, but completely unprotected. Outdoors every month counts here: start protecting before the first season is over.
Three valid choices. They differ in work, in look and in how they age.
Soaks into the wood and nourishes the fibre. Gives a warm, deep colour and leaves the grain tangible.
To be fair: oil protects against UV for a shorter time than a pigmented stain. More colour means more protection.
Lays down a protective coat with pigment. Water-based and transparent keeps the grain visible.
To be fair: a coat you leave until it peels makes more work than touching up in time.
If you do nothing about the colour, pressure-treated wood turns silver-grey within a few seasons. Many people find that attractive, and structurally nothing is wrong — the treatment keeps doing its job. It does still need to be kept clean.
Choose water-based stains and biodegradable cleaners, and work on a dry day so you do not have to redo anything. For ordinary cleaning, green soap and lukewarm water are enough — the cheapest and the mildest product there is.
That depends on how much sun and rain it gets. A piece of furniture in full sun usually needs a new coat every one to two years; if it stands sheltered, it can go longer. Look at the wood itself: if water beads up, the protection is still there. If it soaks straight into the board, it is time.
Yes. First brush the furniture off dry, clean it with lukewarm water and green soap or a cleaner for garden wood, and rinse well. Do not use bleach on softwood: it eats into the fibres and leaves pale patches. Let the wood dry completely before you treat it again.
Not necessarily. The treatment is in the wood and protects against rot and insects; it does nothing against UV. If you leave it as it is, your furniture slowly weathers to silver-grey — a matter of colour, not quality. If you want to keep the warm tone, stain or oil it.
No. Softwood that gets wet and dries again raises its fibres a little — so after a season it feels rougher. Sanding lightly along the grain with 120 grit and then treating it makes it smooth again.
Knowing which wood you are dealing with makes maintenance much simpler. Our knowledge base explains every species — including the honest drawback.
Unsure about your furniture? Ask your question — we are happy to take a look.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons: Softwood: pine, spruce, larch and juniper side by side — Anonimski, CC0
