Thread: What timber is this and how do I treat it ??

Hi,

My wife and I are only weeks away from settlement on a cute little holiday home in the hinterland of the East coast of Tasmania.



We recently had a building & pest inspection on it and it doesn't seem to have any major problems but will need a bit of TLC of which I'm keen to give it. We had a DVD of the inspection sent to us here in Brisneyland (aka: Brisbane) so we could see what the inspector was commenting on and one of the few things he noted was the condition of the timber weatherboard cladding. It's not too bad but will need some treatment soon to keep it ship-shape especially on the East facing wall.

Here's a shot of one of the worst bits which would be about the size of a standard mobile phone:



... and here's a shot of the general condition of the Eastern wall:



So, the first thing I need to know is what kind of timber it is. I'm guessing Cedar but I'm really not sure until I get down there to personally inspect it in a few weeks time ... but even then I'm not sure I'll know for sure (I'm not as clever as you guys ;) The next thing I'll need to know is exactly how to strip this back and treat it keeping in mind it seems to be rough-sawn timber so I don't want to polish it up like a piece of furniture.

Anyone have any handy hints, methods and/or recommended products ? I'm planning to do the entire house in one go and will be keen to spend quite a bit on it if it means that the timber will be protected for 10+ years into the future. I don't want to skimp on quality just to save a few quick bucks now to then find out I need to do it again in 2 years time.

A bit of history ... from what I've been told the dwelling is about 10-12 years old. It would be exposed to salty ocean air & direct sunlight 24/7 but also exposed to relatively cold temps in Winter but not sub-zero (gees, I hope not anyway ;)

Any help would be appreciated, thanks !