Introduction
So, you may have contacted a fencing company for a quote, and they may have stated in the quote, that they are going to use something called green or brown timber. Yet you may not know what that means.
Well do not worry, as we will explain everything you need to know about green and brown timber, and why its often used to build a garden fence.
Most building merchants will stock both green and brown timber, sometimes this wood is used to make fence panels.
What exactly is green timber and why is it used in fencing?
Green timber is not a dark shade of green, often its just a light colour that the wood has, because of the pressure treating process that was used in a factory. This is to help to protect the wood, so it can be used outdoors, and that’s why its often used in wooden fencing.
The chemicals that are sometimes used during the pressure treatment process, are copper based chemicals, which will be soaked into the timber, and then oxidise, which when completely dry gives the timber a light green colour.
What’s a composite fence?
Composite fencing is very different from a fence that’s made from green timber, or brown timber, simply because a composite fence is not made using wood. Instead composite is manmade, its made in a factory, and sometimes is made using recycled plastics.
Why composite fencing is becoming more popular is because it wont rot, often homeowners dislike the fact that there old fence may have fallen over, because the wooden rails had wood rot. This meant that the timber snapped, and all the fencing slats ended up on the floor.
So sometimes homeowners want a fence that’s composite because it won’t incur wood rot.
Another reason is, composite fencing will not need painting.
So, what is brown timber?
Here at Hyden bros, we don’t use brown timber as much as we do green timber, yet sometimes its used by some companies when building a fence.
Sometimes we do use what is called dip treated brown timber, which is simply wood, that’s dipped in a large tank of wood preservative. This process is not completed in your garden, its completed in a factory and then sold to a builder’s merchants.
There are many other types of wood that is used in fencing such as
– Uc4 timber
– Tanalised timber
Do you build hardwood fencing?
Yes, we do, there are different products for sealing hardwood, it does depend on which wood you select.
Once you have selected the hardwood you want, we can recommend a product to protect the wood.
We can for an additional cost apply the product for you, to help to protect the wood.
Which wood stain should I use for brown and green timber?
When we build your fence, we can recommend different wood stains. For example, we would often recommend a different product if you opt for a wooden panel fence, than we would for say a hit and miss fence. It does come down to whether you want to still see the wood grain once painted, or do you want to paint the fence a colour so you no longer see the wood.
We can recommend different wood paints and stains, for an additional cost we can paint the fence for you.
For hardwood fencing we can recommend a sealant and we can apply this to the wood for you, for an additional cost.
Why is it so important to use wood that’s been made for use outdoors?
The mistake that some people make is thinking all wood is the same, so they may buy wood from a timbers merchants that is only intended for use indoors. So, this means that wood is meant to only be used in dry conditions, so for example for use to hold up a piece of plasterboard.
However, if the wood isn’t brown timber, or green timber or wood suitable for use outdoors, the wood may simply rot very quickly.
For example, kiln dried timber if its not meant for use outdoors will simply absorb so much water, and will rot very quickly. So, if the wrong timber is used in say the fence posts, then this means that wood rot may develop quickly, which means during a storm the fence posts may snap and the whole fence collapses.
