How to: treat a wooden terrace
A wooden terrace is a great, sustainable investment to make, but it does mean some investment in maintenance as well. How can you keep your wooden terrace optimally protected and in good shape? Does that require wood staining, or can you just use oil? Is it possible to add colour to a greyed terrace again?
On this page, you'll find all the answers, in the form of a simple two-step how-to guide. Our best products are included!
Step 1: Preparation
Step 2: Applying oil or wood stain
If your terrace has only recently been installed, you won't have to do all too much preparatory work. In that case, degreasing with lukewarm water and detergent will do. Make sure to rinse the terrace afterwards thoroughly, let it dry and lightly sand it, before you start treating it.
A really dirty terrace can be cleaned easily with a specialised product such as Xyladecor Krachtreiniger voor alle Buitenhout. It will quickly get rid of all the dirt and other stuff that's on your terrace.
Maybe your terrace is already a bit older? Then it could look a bit greyish and/or darkened, or it could be affected by green deposits. Thankfully, there's a quick fix for all of that as well. Green deposits can be cleaned away with soda crystals dissolved in water or a specialised product such as AlgiAlgues. Moss can be removed with cleaning vinegar (a type of vinegar that is especially intended for cleaning and is less acidic than its regular variant). For greyed terraces, Xyladecor Ontgrijzer voor alle Buitenhout is THE product to use. Only ten minutes of letting the gel do its job, some good rinsing, and the terrace will be clean and no longer grey at the same time.
You can opt either for oil or for (transparent) wood stain to treat your terrace. They both penetrate the wood and protect it from the inside out. Both also preserve the wood's natural characteristics, such as the colour and wood pattern. Should you want to slightly change or intensify the colour, however, you can also choose to use a tinted oil or stain.
To optimally protect the wood, use a brush to apply at least two coats of oil or wood stain on your terrace.
Checklist
- Remove dirt
- Sand and dust off
- Use oil or wood stain
- Apply two coats directly with a brush
- Walk around on your beautiful terrace and enjoy!
Need help?
If some of the steps aren't entirely clear to you, or if you are in a specific situation that isn't covered by our how-to guide, then our experts will be happy to help.