How to make charred wood siding?
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.