Painting dry and weathered fencing palings

[PatDIY_Dad]

Hey all

Got a cubby house thats covered with fence palings as like a weatherboard style. The cubby house isnt that old really ( about 5 years ) but its been in the sun for that long and the timber is grey and also dry

I want to paint it to preserve the life of it so my kids can enjoy it as long as possible

Can this help it live alot longer if I paint it with a external paint? I have already cleaned it with some deck cleaner and a pressure washer

It would be this stuff I assume ( I didnt build the cubby house myself the previous owner of the property )

https://www.bunnings.com.au/100-x-12mm-1-8m-fence-paling-h3-treated-pine-cca_p0120255

And is the CCA still bad like the old fashioned CCA? I mean I dont want my kids exposed to bad chemicals so also another reason I would like to paint ( probably will either cover the inside with some salvaged boards or paint if I have left over

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @PatDIY_Dad 

I would use a spray painter as it is hard to paint rough timber neatly. A Spray Painter is not expensive, and   you will have it for more later projects.  I would stick the the wagner  brand as they have good system and parts.

Do use regular acrylic outdoor weather proof  uv resistant paint in your favourite brand they are all very good and don't require under coat just 2 to 3 coats.  

Just mask different parts of the cubby so you can have a change of colour if you want.

Now if you want to do and extra good job use OUTDOOR no more gaps on the timber gaps first before painting this will also help cover spider hiddy holes,

[PatDIY_Dad]

Thanks for your reply but this isnt really answering my question. I know how to paint the fence ( I watched alot of Karate Kid in my day) palings there is no problem with my roller and brush

What my question is. There is small areas of rotted parts of the cubby house timber frame because the previous owner built this cubby house and had it directly sitting on the ground

I have built a decking with 5mm spacings thats 200mm off the ground and I am putting the cubby house back together and on top of the decking. So this should help a lot with moister evaporation

Will painting the frame with the smaller areas that have seemed to slightly rot preserve the life and protect it from further decay?

I dont want to basically re-built the cubby from scratch

[JacobZ]

Hi @PatDIY_Dad,

External paint will certainly help preserve the timber. The rot, as you've said, is from water being allowed to pool on or in the timber. External paint will act as a barrier which will prevent water from soaking into the timber. 

It is unlikely you'd have to fully rebuild the cubby house, but if the rotted parts are particularly bad, you might consider cutting them out and replacing them or using Earl's Wood Hardener before painting. 

CCA treatments are not good if they are ingested or burnt, but if they are fully concealed inside the timber and the subsequent paint, they will be fine.

Let me know if this answers your questions and feel free to ask any others that you have.

Jacob

[PatDIY_Dad]

Thanks I never knew about that wood hardener. I did remove some bad parts of the rotted timber. It was mainly the bottom bits and particuly the corrogated roof frame which I will probably make from scratch ( just the roof frame)

BUt the bits I have not removed and look a bit rotty Ill use that hardener. Thats a pretty cool product

Thanks

Looking forward to watching my kids play in it