Your terrace is just the spot to spend your leisurely summer afternoons. Get ready for summer by planning your terrace build or rebuild with plenty of time to spare. The material you use is up to you. Perhaps you have wood in mind? Of course, wooden terraces are the traditional and natural option. Unlike concrete, cobbles or wood parquet, wooden terraces are more amenable to hot weather and stay at a pleasant temperature both in summer and in the cooler months. And there’s no need to be fearful about maintaining it either. You just need to abide by a couple of key principles.
To make your wooden terrace last longer, make structural wood protection your first priority. Lay your terrace on a bed of gravel to prevent wood from coming into contact with the soil – a permanent source of moisture, ground microorganisms and wood-decaying fungi. When laying down the planks, bear in mind that the wood is still developing, drying and shrinking in the warm summer months and gathering moisture and expanding during the winter. So you should leave space for air to circulate between the planks.
Terraces are constantly exposed to rain, snow, temperature changes and direct sunlight. Indeed, moisture is the main cause of infestation by wood-decaying fungus, mould and insects. Where the wood dries out and cracks, this is where pests can penetrate it. And UV rays will also cause the wood to decolour. Trust in Bochemit’s wood protection system so that your terrace stays beautiful and healthy for longer.
When building a new terrace, the simplest solution is to buy professionally pre-impregnated wood straight from the sawmill. The experts will most often use Bochemit QB Profi. Ask for certification that the wood has been pre-impregnated using Bochemit-branded fungicides and insecticides.
If you choose to apply wood impregnation yourself, use Bochemit Opti F+. For smaller surfaces, you can opt for Bochemit QB Hobby. Before beginning the impregnation, clean the surface thoroughly. Dilute according to the recommendations on the label and coat evenly across its surface until the entire solution has been consumed. Remember to also coat the plank ends, cross-sections, grooves and around the joints made after impregnation, as that is where pests love to get into the wood. Well-impregnated wood has a lifetime of at least 10 years. Read here for how to ensure proper impregnation.
