The Wood Guide
Wood species99 Wood species →

Our wood species

Wood groups

European hardwoods

Softwoods

Tropical hardwoods

Treated wood

Sheet materials

Construction timber

Other materials

Comparisons

Which wood for what

Understanding wood17 Understanding wood →

Properties and movement

Calculations and sizes

Pests and decay

Identifying, quality and trade

Wood in our world

Care & finishing28 Care & finishing →

The complete guide

Treating and finishing

By wood species

By furniture and place

Problems and repair

Seasons

Choosing & buying16 Choosing & buying →

Picnic tables

Beer tables

Garden benches

Garden furniture

Garden and atmosphere

Indoors

Build it yourself51 Build it yourself →

In the garden

In and around the house

Making furniture

Techniques

Tools and glue

Getting started

Trees & forests31 Trees & forests →

Tree portraits

Forests

From forest to plank

To the Wood Guide home page →

Wood care & finishing: all the guides

Wooden table and benches on a patio among potted plants

The Wood Guide · Care & finishing

The Wood Guide · section

Care & finishing

Cleaning, oiling, staining and protecting — by wood species, by piece of furniture and by season. Plus what to do when something does go wrong.

  • 28 guides
  • 5 topics
  • Written in our workshop in Lebbeke
Start here

The core guides of this section

Caring for wooden garden furnitureLess work than you think: a few jobs a year, and above all knowing what not to do. By wood species, by season and by problem.Read the guide → When Should You Use Stain or Wood Oil?Read the guide → Impregnating Wood: A Comparison Between DIY and Industrial…Read the guide → Caring for pressure-treated woodThe wood of our picnic tables and garden benches — and one of the most misunderstood kinds of wood. What pressure treatment…Read the guide →
About this section

Care & finishing

None of the wood species we sell has to be treated to stay outdoors. So maintenance is mostly about how your furniture looks: silver-grey or warm in colour, crisp or with a patina. Here you'll find what to do for each species and each season — and what you're better off leaving alone.

From knowledge to garden

Ready to choose? Here is what we make from it.

Restol wood oil Covers for picnic tables
The Wood Guide

The other sections

Wood species99 guides → Understanding wood17 guides → Choosing & buying16 guides → Build it yourself51 guides → Trees & forests31 guides →

Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Wooden table and benches on a patio among potted plants — Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Planed Douglas fir boards with clearly visible growth rings — Philipp Zinger, CC BY-SA 3.0 · End grain of an oak trunk showing growth rings, heartwood and sapwood — Friedrich Böhringer, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT · Hand with hammer and chisel carving letters into a wooden plank — Frédérique Voisin-Demery, CC BY 2.0 · Beech (Fagus sylvatica) in full leaf — Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 3.0