Wooden homes come with many benefits and healthy living. However, to enjoy its benefits, you need to maintain it regularly. This is because wood is a natural material and needs adequate maintenance to prolong its lifespan. Whether you have been living in your home for years or recently constructed it, specific maintenance practices apply only to wooden houses. Therefore, it’s essential to consider such maintenance elements, as they help maintain your home for years. If you’re eager to learn about such practices, hang on. The list below got you covered.
1. Maintain Your Wooden Floor
Many homeowners prefer using wooden flooring because of the natural appeal they bring to your home. Wooden flooring is not only preferred by owners of wooden houses but also those with masonry or brick houses. However, to preserve its beautiful and natural appearance, there are numerous maintenance steps to follow.
Firstly, to prevent dirt and debris from damaging your floor, you can use doormats in entry points or a large carpet for your entire house. Also, you may encourage your family to remove their shoes to avoid transferring dirt to your floor when entering the house. Finally, you can use felt pads and stoppers on furniture leggings to prevent scratches on your wooden floor.
Maintain a habit of cleaning your floor regularly; when anything spills, wipe it immediately to prevent damage to the wooden floor. However, avoid using cleaning solutions with vinegar, polish, wax, ammonia, and oily soaps because these components can affect the top coating of your wooden floor.
You may find out here about cleaning wooden floors. Furthermore, if you have pets, they can cause scratches and dents to your wooden floor when playing around. To avoid this, you can regularly clip their nails and claws to prevent floor damage and remember to lay rugs in their play areas.
2. Protect Your Wooden Home From Pests
Before building a wooden home, you should beware that wood is highly prone to wood-destroying pests. Therefore, you should be prepared with essential tips to protect your wooden home from pests and insects. To keep the pests and bugs away, you’ll need to use pest repellent, pesticides, or fungicides frequently.
The most common and notorious wood-destroying pests are the termites. Termites eat wood to get the nutrients and cellulose they need. They have protozoa enzymes and bacteria that help them break down wood. Termites are hard to detect and deal with. To effectively deal with termites, frequently inspect your home for any termite signs.
If you notice their presence, you can spray boric acids on your walls and floors or apply termite-killing substances like bio-advanced termite killer. You can also set termite bait such as Spectracide. In addition, you may want to contact pest control services in your locality for severe termite infestation.
3. Choose Durable Wood Varieties
Another great way to preserve and maintain the quality of your wooden house is by investing in durable wood varieties like cedar, cypress, pine, walnut, and oak. Of all these varieties, oak is the best as it has characteristics most builders and contractors prefer. Oak is high quality, has moisture resistance, and has a unique appearance preferred by most homeowners.
Homeowners looking to build a wooden house can consider using oak to have a durable home. If you already have a wooden home, consider using durable wood varieties like oak during your home renovations.
4. Choose The Best Paint Or Stain
Painted or stained wood has recently become common, especially in wooden houses. Painting or staining not only boosts the aesthetic appeal of your property but also acts as a waterproof material that protects your wooden building from moisture causing rotting and mold growth to your wood.
Additionally, a good finish and treatment to the wood help ensure that the paint or stain will be durable. All areas of your wooden house should be treated, including the wooden flooring, ceilings, and all the wooden frames. It would help if you reapplied stain, paint, and treatment every two years to protect your highly valued property.
5. Schedule Professional Inspections Regularly
It’s essential to have experts inspect your wooden home to ensure everything is fine, from the flooring and frames to the whole structure in general. Experts will not only check your home but will look for any potential damage and address it before it develops into more significant damage. It would be best if you had professional inspections at least once a year.
Conclusion
Maintaining your wooden property isn’t a walk in the park, but the tireless efforts are worth it, given the extension of your property’s lifespan. Also, given the high investment in your property, it makes sense to maintain it regularly to keep it healthy and beautiful. We hope the above tips help you in your journey of taking care of your wooden home.