Maybe you’re a homeowner who needs more space for a workshop, office, or car garage. Or maybe you’re a new homeowner looking to upgrade your new home before the move-in date. Whatever the case, there is a reason you’re looking at adding a wooden garage to your property, and you want this investment to stick around for the long haul, right?
Wooden garages are a beautiful addition to any property and are becoming more and more popular in the UK. Taking care of a wooden garage and wooden buildings, in general, can be done easily, but it will take some effort and requires some insight into the wood as a building material.
The lifespan of wooden buildings can be dramatically prolonged by taking a bit of time throughout the year to look after the building. So, if you’re interested in building a wooden garage on your property, take a look at some things you should be doing before, during, and after the building process.
Tips to ensure a long life for your wooden garage
Initial and timely treatment of wood
Insects, moisture, and fungal infections are all a threat to your wooden building. To prolong the life of your wooden garage, ensure that the wood is properly treated at the time of the installations (or before) and periodically after; this will help preserve the quality of the wood. Treatments should always be done when the wood is dry.
The additional coating should be done on places that are expected to get wet frequently, parts that have interlocking, and doors of the garage/where doors come in contact with the walls of the garage. These areas are more prone to wear and tear, so they must have additional coats of the treatment material.
Ideally, treatment should be at least once a year; however, the type of treatment and weather conditions are among some factors that will help you determine the schedule for treatment.
Fill In Splits
Your wooden garage is likely to succumb to splits at one point in its life, especially if it is directly in sunlight. Splits are a separation of the wood through the piece to the opposite surface or to an adjoining surface due to the tearing apart of the wood cells. While splits are inevitable, proper treatment of the wood is the most efficient way to prevent them. However, when splits do appear, they must be filled up in a timely manner with a good-quality wood filler.
Counter Wood Deformation 
Wood gets deformed over a period of time, and therefore, necessary care must be taken to ensure that these deformities in the timber do not affect the functioning or structural cohesion of your wooden garage.
Wooden garages will be constructed with visible spaces between the walls and the roof and between the doors and windows. These spaces allow for the expansion or deformation of the wood, and filling them up will obstruct the natural deformation of the wood, thereby affecting the entire structural integrity.
Therefore, keep these gaps untouched and not fill them with wood fillers or any other material.
If the doors and windows are kept open for a long, the deformity of the wood will result in them not getting closed properly, so it is a good idea to open/close them frequently to maintain the shape of the wood.
These are just a few tips that will help preserve the life of your wooden garage. If you have a specific question regarding your circumstances, give us a call, and we will be happy to assist you.
Wooden Garages from Jon William Stables
At Jon William Stables, we have many years of experience designing and building quality wooden garages and garage workshops and are proud of our craftsmanship. Constructed using the same quality of timber and techniques as timber-framed houses, our wooden garages and workshops are all built to a very high standard in line with all our timber buildings.
If you are considering a new wooden carport or timber workshop and would like to discuss your options and the upkeep, then call Jon William Stables on 01380 850 965 and let us help you to create something special.
