Month: March 2018

Charred wood siding (fencing) originate from the old Japanese technique of making an elegant, beautiful and unique external wood wall. ‘Shou sugi ban’ – the Japanese term for charred or burnt wood, allows for having extraordinary pieces in your own garden.

The idea behind shou sugi ban is to make burnt planks of wood varying on the degree of char. The surface can be completely charred or barely touched with a blowtorch. Or, it can be left unchanged and sealed with natural oil or stain. Such wood is usually insect, rot, pest, weather, fire and UV resistant, thus,  can be exposed to changing and extreme weather conditions and remain unchanged for a really long time.

Advantages of charred wood

First of all, wood modified in high temperature can be considered cheaper when it comes to preservation in comparison to a painted fence. What is more, such wood is also to remain in unchanged condition longer – it is resistant to fire, insects and weather. Experts say that with little maintenance work, it can stay for 10 to 15 years. Not to mention faster construction time.

We should also not forget about its unique style and attractiveness. Charred wood siding looks elegant and interesting. Nature lovers will definitely turn to burnt wood due to its eco-friendliness.

How to make a charred wood fence?

Apart from the situation that you can buy charred wood planks at local wholesales or a burnt wood distributor and this way make your own fencing, there are also ways of preparing the wood by yourself. The process is very simple.

In order to burn wood, you need the following tools and materials: wood sliding (traditionally cedar planks), some combustible materials like newspapers or wood scraps, a small blow torch, waterproof gloves, water, a metallic object and a wire, some bricks.

Firs of all, you need to use your bricks to prepare a kind of fire pit. The, you should take there sections of wood and place them in the way they resemble a triangle. The faces to be burnt have to be facing inwards. Next, you need to tie the pieces together so that they remain in this triangular shape. Inside the triangle, you need to stuff some paper.

Now you are ready to produce your own burnt fire. Put your gloves on, start the blowtorch and set the fire to your newspapers. You can control the process and play with the amount of air getting inside the triangle. After a moment, you can just quench your wood with water.

Once it is cool, you can check the results. If you wish to, you can clean the planks with a brush. Later, just apply a bit of natural oil to give your wood a desired colour.

Charred, or burnt, wood looks amazing. That is why this material has been used by interior design lovers to decorate their rooms with pieces of furniture made of burnt wood. Black and curved floors or tables look extremely elegant and are not difficult to maintain.

Taken from Japanese tradition of preserving wood with the use of fire, burnt wood is a perfect type of material for those who want to surround themselves with extraordinary and appealing furniture. Usually done with planks of cedar, the pieces are covered with a thin film of carbon which makes it protected from sun.

In order to make charred wood, it is needed to be burnt on both sides with the use of a blowtorch. When carbon residue appears, it is immediately removed with a stiff brush and then rinsed with water. Once the wood is try, some natural oil is applied on its surface to seal it. The colours of the wood depend on the type of oil used and can vary from natural wood colour to deep black. To make the shade more intense, the oil is put on a wooden plank several times.

How to maintain burnt wood?

Owning furniture made of charred wood has a number of benefits: the pieces are durable, aesthetic and fire, water and insect resistant. Their maintenance does not seem to be troublesome as well. If the wood is supposed to be used outdoors and will be exposed to changing weather conditions, the best option to preserve the planks is to oil them every 10 to 15 years. It is a standard period for the preservation of every type of outdoor wood.

In case the wood is exposed indoors, especially if the planks are only exposed – seen and not touched – they require virtually no special maintenance. However, if you possess pieces of furniture made of burnt wood, you will need to spend a portion of time on their maintenance but the process itself depends on their use. In general, it is all about hand-sanding and wiping a bit of natural oil into its surface.

If your wood has been produced with the use of very high temperature (torrefied wood or thermo-modified wood) and modified or baked in a high-temperature oven, you will need to take a special care of your pieces. During the manufacturing process, all the moisture is removed through some changes in the structure of cellulose. Generally, such wood is said to be more dimensionally stable and resistant to fungi, however it is less resistant to abrasions and scratches. What is more, such planks cannot be maintained with the use of oils and stains after they have been processed.