Garden houses made of wood create a feel-good atmosphere. A proper coat of paint is necessary to ensure that the house stands for a long time and is not damaged by wind and weather. The possibilities are wide. Its execution requires a certain basic knowledge.

A garden house must be repainted regularly

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. protect the wood
  3. glazes and paints
  4. preparations
  5. Paint the garden shed
  6. frequently asked Questions

    7. the essentials in brief

    • A garden house (€24.90) must be protected from moisture, pests and sunlight by painting.
    • Depending on the desired effect and the type of wood, oils, glazes (€66.50) and paints can be used.
    • Before painting, the wood must be cleaned, sanded and possibly impregnated and primed.
    • Glazes and oils must be renewed every two to four years; high-quality varnishes and paints can last up to 15 years.

    protect the wood

    Wood is a raw material that is exposed to the weather and is constantly changing. It is therefore important that you paint your garden shed correctly before assembly. Regular repainting is necessary, because the paint is not permanent.

    Why painting is important:

    • humidity: Damp wood swells and cracks as it dries
    • sun exposure: Wood yellows and turns dark
    • pests: Blue stain fungi, fungi and insects damage untreated or damp wood

    Oil, glaze or paint?

    A base coat of oil needs to be renewed more often than a coat of paint

    Before painting, you should think about how the garden house should look later. You can keep the natural character and only provide the wood with a transparent protective layer. The coat of paint should be renewed every ten to 15 years. A basic protection from glazes or oils must be refreshed every two to four years.

    fitness properties special feature
    oil hardwoods transparent environmentally friendly and water-repellent layer
    glaze softwoods transparent or slightly pigmented preserves natural wood grain
    color softwood and hardwood covering permanent UV protection

    glazes and paints

    Gray or classic white are popular colors for a sleek and modern garden shed. Swedish red or blue are in trend. Accentuations of door frames or roof gables in white go well with such paintwork. When it comes to glazes, light shades like pine are popular.

    digression

    The Swedish red and its history

    Sweden Red is an outdoor emulsion paint that is mainly produced in Sweden. Its history goes back to the 16th century. At that time, when copper was mined in Falun, a reddish-brown color pigment was obtained, which was mixed into paint. Wooden houses painted with the color were reminiscent of the brick buildings of wealthy Central Europeans. Over the centuries, red has become the national color. It went down in history as Falunröd and is still typical of wooden buildings in rural areas today.

    This is to be considered with glazes

    Pigmented glazes ensure protection against UV radiation. The darker the pigmentation of the paint, the better the wood is protected from radiation. Colorless glazes do not offer sun protection. The garden house should be painted two or three times. It is possible to paint over old coats of paint if it is a thick-layer glaze. Thin layer glazes must be sanded off completely.

    Thick and thin layer glazes

    A thick layer glaze is an open-pored and translucent coating with paint-like properties. The protective layer is water-repellent and still open to diffusion. This makes such glazes ideal for outdoor use. Thick layer glazes can also be mixed with a UV blocker.

    Thin-layer glazes are less suitable as exterior paint for summer houses. They are also open-pored and translucent, but do not form a closed coating film. The wood can continue to absorb moisture and swells. Subsequent coats are regularly necessary, as the thin-layer glaze washes out quickly on the outside.

    What to look out for when painting

    If you want to paint the wood colored, you should impregnate it first. For an optimal result, a layer of oil is applied first, which is then painted over with a primer. It ensures that the paint adheres better to the wood and does not peel off. It also prevents yellowish discolouration, which often occurs with white paint coatings due to escaping wood components.

    Various colors can be used to paint the garden shed

    Oil, solvent or water based paints

    Products that contain oils or acrylic resin fall under the category of solvent-based paints. Therefore, the terms oil-based and solvent-based are used interchangeably. Such paints are characterized by a longer drying time, which is why they are better suited for large-scale painting. Due to a high proportion of solids, these colors ensure high opacity and are extremely economical. They cover color differences in the wood and preserve the natural wood structure. If stored dry, oil-based paints have a shelf life of around five years.

    Properties of oil-based paints:

    • very hard surface that becomes brittle over time
    • strong odor when drying
    • good adhesion properties on the substrate
    • harmful to the environment and health

    Water-based paints are less opaque, dry faster and are more environmentally friendly. During painting, the wood fibers stand up, creating a rough surface. Therefore, the wood should be sanded before painting if a smooth finish is desired. The colors are permeable to water vapour, which prevents blistering and paint peeling. The colors are sensitive to frost and should be kept in the cellar during the winter. Their shelf life is limited to about 24 months. Water-based paints are usually referred to as emulsion paints.

    Preparations before painting

    Building a new garden shed eliminates the sanding and cleaning steps. Untreated wood requires impregnation. With pre-treated wood, this step is also superfluous and you can proceed directly to priming.

    The wood is ideally protected when it is impregnated, primed and painted.

    Sand down and clean

    Weathered wood or old paint residue is sanded down with coarse sandpaper. If the wood has already been painted, you can roughen up the layer of paint with a wire brush. The flaking residue can be scraped off with a spatula and smoothed with fine sandpaper. Before painting, the wood must be dry and free of grease or dust particles. You can use turpentine or a turpentine substitute for this. Ballistol offers a non-hazardous alternative. It not only cleans, but also serves to preserve wood.

    Impregnate

    The impregnation is of great importance because it ensures lasting protection of the wood. Cheap products are often of inferior quality and are quickly washed out of the wood. All wooden parts should be impregnated before assembly. This is the only way you can completely provide wooden planks with a protective layer, which will later be pushed into each other with tongue and groove.

    Interior floors and walls are not normally impregnated as they are not exposed to weather conditions. If you use the garden shed as a tool shed, you should also protect the interior. Also impregnate the underside of the wooden floor so that it is protected from rising damp. If you want to apply glazes or top coats, the impregnation layer should dry for at least 24 hours. For best results, apply several coats of oil.

    Suitable impregnations:

    • outdoor area: natural linseed oil or treated hard oil
    • interior: beeswax or vegetable wax
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    prime

    This layer is the basis for a long durability of the subsequent coats of glaze or paint. It ensures that paint or glaze adheres optimally to the impregnation layer. Pigmented primers also protect the paint from discoloration. These must be matched to the following coat of paint. Wood preservative primers are water or solvent based.

    tips

    Start impregnating immediately after buying a new garden shed if you cannot store the wood dry. In this way you prevent it from absorbing moisture during storage.

    Paint the garden shed

    Regardless of whether you want to paint a new garden house or refresh an old garden house, you should carry out the work at a minimum temperature of ten degrees Celsius. Warm and dry conditions favor the drying processes and the paints are easier to apply.

    repaint

    If you don't want to sand off peeling paint, you can protect the old wood with oil

    For already weathered surfaces it may be advisable to use an oil-based paint. This ensures an even and even surface without having to sand down the wood beforehand. For reasons of better environmental compatibility and lower health risks, water-based paints are also the better choice for old wood. Even if the preparations are more labor-intensive, you benefit from a longer durability of the paint.

    The perfect coat of paint:

    1. Process wooden facade with a steel brush
    2. Thoroughly sand off paint residue
    3. If necessary, impregnate wood with oil
    4. apply primer after a drying time of 24 hours
    5. leave to dry for another 24 hours
    6. Paint in the desired color with a soft brush in the direction of the grain

    tips

    Exterior walls that face south or west should be painted with three coats of paint. This means they are better protected from the weather.

    frequently asked Questions

    How often do I have to paint a garden shed?

    The interval depends on the respective coat of paint. Pure oil impregnations should be renewed every two to four years. This also applies to glazes. Coatings made of lacquer or paint are significantly longer lasting and require refreshing after about ten to 15 years.

    How much does it cost if I want to have a garden shed painted?

    Painting costs vary by company. Factors such as hourly rate, square meters, travel and workload play a role. Some companies summarize all costs in the so-called painted square meter. To do this, the employee needs information on the dimensions and whether the garden house should be repainted or refreshed.

    Will the garden house be painted before or after construction?

    That depends on whether the wood is pre-treated or left natural. Pure wood should be impregnated before assembly so that the areas that are no longer accessible later can be protected. Primer and paint coats can be applied after construction.

    Can I paint the wood without sanding it?

    This is possible if you use oil-based paints. These leave a smooth surface, but are harmful to the environment and health. Therefore, you should resort to water-based products that are applied after sanding.

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Garden design