How to Protect Wood from Getting Water Damage

There’s never a circumstance in which water damage is easy or enjoyable to deal with. This is especially true when you’re dealing with wooden items—depending on the type of water (was it mixed with sewage?) or the extent of the damage, you might end up having to do some significant structural repairs to your property if it sustains severe water damage. Different types of woods vary in their susceptibility to water damage, but all have at least some basic level of potential for damage.

With this in mind, here are some tips from a wooden post supplier in Utah about how you can protect your wood from sustaining water damage. While there is no type of wood that is completely resistant to water damage, there are ways you can protect your wooden items to prevent this from becoming a major issue.

Waterproofing

Wood is porous, which means water can easily seep into it. For this reason, it’s important you do what you can to apply waterproofing sealants.

Oil-based sealants will cover up the pores in the wood, which can help prevent water and microbes from getting inside those pores and causing damage. These sealants also help keep water out of basement areas, so it’s important to put these waterproofing products on areas of your home like decks and flooring. Be sure to clean the surface of the wood first to remove any dirt, mildew or mold that might already be on the wood. If you sealed it with mold still on it, the mold will remain trapped underneath and still spread, potentially ruining the wood even more quickly than it would have otherwise.

We recommend you use tinted waterproof sealants instead of clear ones, because this will help provide some extra ultraviolet protection to the surface of the wood. Prolonged UV exposure can result in the wood fading in color, making it look less like the wood you’d originally had.

If you know you’re going to finish or waterproof wood, you should do it as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more likely it is you’ll have to contend with problems you could have otherwise prevented, especially when you consider how sensitive wood can be to light, moisture and other elements.

Keep in mind that we’re talking about actual hard and soft woods here, rather than particle boards and cheap plywood. Particle wood and press boards soak up water in a hurry and will need to be thrown out if they get exposed to water—they simply aren’t designed for use in locations where they’ll be exposed to the elements, and cannot be sealed very well. Therefore, if you’re working on a project you know will face exposure to the elements, make sure you use the right kind of wood that you can easily waterproof.

For more information about preventing water damage from becoming an issue with your wood, we encourage you to contact a wooden post supplier in Utah for tips and advice. Get in touch with the experts at Huberwoods for the help you need!

Categorised in: Wooden Post Supplier

This post was written by Writer