Hello,
I was wondering what is the best thing to treat a fence with?
The chap who put the fence up (sorry, I didn't DIY) said that creosote was wonderful and that it had been replaced by water based products which weren't as good because they sat on the surface rather than soaked in.
I remember hearing creosote was being banned but I don't remember why. Are all oil based products gone? What's best? (I always took my engine oil to the tip so I don't have any of that)
TIA
Creosote is not banned but sale is restricted to industrial size quantities (to avoid DIY use). It works well becasue it's oily and carcinogenic. There is a high correlation between the effectiveness of products and their hazard rating ( I always wanted to find something labelled "Nuclear mega-death: where used, nothing will grow for 1000 years" for my hoggin drive, rather than sodding P*thcl**r). There are creosote substitutes but these are slightly less effective and expensive.
You may as well (these days) buy Ronseal or Cuprinol fence and shed stuff and redo every 2-3 years. It's OK.
IMHO YMMV etc
creosote
products
carcinogenic. There
their hazard
mega-death:
The Wickes 'Creosote Substitute' is pretty good stuff - comes in two hues, dark and light brown, the dark stuff is effectively the same end result colour as creosote - 20 litre drum for a tad under £30 iirc - certainly soaks in, isn't water based, and smells superb.
AWEM
In message , Fred writes
Well, I asked here and got no replies, so went on a scour of diy places, ending up at somewhere that had some cans of "Barrettine" clear wood preserver. I was looking for something oil-based that would do for some end pieces on my just Ondulined shed and ideally wanted something that could later be overpainted with the water-based shed coating to match the walls.. The tin, as on so many of these things, didn't tell me all I wanted to know, so I emailed Barrettine and got the info that it could be overpainted after a suitable delay. I like companies that reply personally to emails.
I have no idea how well it will last, but it smells powerful. I spilt a tiny amount on the lawn and there is now a completely dead circular patch.
This stuff also comes in various colours, and I'm required to find something to put on our light-coloured front fence, so I was thinking of the very light brown version of this, but nowhere seems to stock coloured versions locally, and ordering seems to be an alien concept to the place I got this from. I'd be really interested to hear from anyone who has used this.
Barrettine also do Creosote substitute, but the Wickes light brown creosubs dries too dark for her indoors.
Having seen a few neighbours attempts with water based coatings, I've been very unimpressed. Streaks, areas where it hasn't "taken" etc., and I really want something to last about 15 years, not 2.
I've found that the colour of creosote substitute seems to fade quite quickly.
I buy the jet black real-mans creosote here
Dear Fred The reason it has been banned is cited here
If you already have the fence up then it is best to treat it with a UV blocker and a water repellent
By all means put in a fungicide if you want and there are plenty on the market but most will just leech out unless you put them in on a really hot day with an oil based solvent that will penetrate the wood and do it late afternoon so that when the wood cools overnight the active ingredient is sucked further in by contraction
Look also at
here
Good link.
Can "the real thing" be used on a fence which has previously been treated with the water-based stuff? And how long does it last between treatments?
here
here
OK, let me rephrase - notwithstanding being thrown into gaol for serious crimes, if I unlawfully and wilfully applied the toxic carcinogen "creosote" to a fence which had previously been treated with the water-based stuff would it take? And would it need retreating any time before I get let out on parole?
here
yes and no probably unless they gave you a 5 to 7 year stretch
Only proviso is that the previous treatment would have to have been a few weeks before months and years before and there would be no difference to take up c
here
Martin, Provided the water based stuff is not fresh and formed some sort of surface skin that will stop the creosote penetrating. If the old stuff has largely disappeared then a good wire brush over to get rid of anything flaky then there should be no problem.
Keep the stuff off your skin as it will tend to burn all but the toughest of human hide. Splashed on the skin and working in the sun doubles the burning risk. Applying it after a long dry period and before the rain is best and the wood will soak it up like a sponge. With sensible precautions you can spray it but any rubber seals in your sprayer will swell until the stuff has evaporated. If there is any breeze don't spray. Buy cheap wooden handled brushes as it might not mix well with plastic. Keep it off the soil and any plants that you want to live
I put up a timber clad workshop 3years ago. About 50 sqm of clad area and about 30-35 litres of creosote put on. This is many many coats spraying on to the top of the wall and letting it rundown, soak in and apply more etc. However it is still black as your hat and I don't anticipate having to do it again for years.
So we could both do out time in the knowledge that the fence will be well protected until well after we are released!!
Good Luck Bob
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