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Sayer Fancher

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169
Location
Hudson Valley NY
I need some help. I just built myself a 12x18 barn to house my JD Gator. I used 1x12, rough cut hemlock, board and baton style. Im not sure if I want to stain it a color or leave it natural. If I do not stain it a color what is the best finish to keep it from turning a dark gray/black color? Could this product be sprayed with a hand pump, weed type sprayer? Also if I leave it natural color and use some type of sealer would that prevent me from staining it a color at a later date? Thanks in advance.
 
Just about anything less than paint, it WILL turn gray. UV light will do it. You can delay this for a while, but the sun will win. ;)
Perhaps a water sealer, Thompsons or the like, may work. photos please
 
Chuck Ellis said:
Don't mind my nonsense, but you know a BARN is supposed to be red...
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Growing up in WV during the 50s, if your barn was close to a highway Mail Pouch (Bloch Bros.) tobacco company would paint it for you, with a full mural "Chew Mail Pouch" on the side closest to the road.
Otherwise, most barns were left unpainted, and weathered to a dark gray. Some of the older barns were sided with 1" thick chestnut - boards were usually over a foot wide. As they weathered and aged, the boards got thinner and thinner. Nearly all the old barns were timber framed and roofed with slate.
 
When I was a kid we always went with whitewash. Partially that was because we could pack in the base ingredients dry though.. When you're hauling stuff over the mountain with horses hauling liquid weight isn't desirable. Having said that I kind of grew to like it as a pretty classic look. It's easy to apply, easy to re-apply.. offers some protection (not as much as paint.. good overhangs are kind of required). I'm about 80% sure we also added some volcanic ash which would have made it harder (and there was a good layer available on the ranch).
 
Jim DeLaney said:
Growing up in WV during the 50s, if your barn was close to a highway Mail Pouch (Bloch Bros.) tobacco company would paint it for you, with a full mural "Chew Mail Pouch" on the side closest to the road.
Otherwise, most barns were left unpainted, and weathered to a dark gray. Some of the older barns were sided with 1" thick chestnut - boards were usually over a foot wide. As they weathered and aged, the boards got thinner and thinner. Nearly all the old barns were timber framed and roofed with slate.
Click to expand...
In Tennessee, Rock City paints the roofs of the barns....

There is a big old tobacco barn across the road from my house... don't know if it's made with Chestnut or not, but is weathered and made with some pretty wide boards...it's mostly used for hay storage now except down the middle which is full of lumber... think they were the staves they hung the tobacco from... also lots of junk in there... probably a few critters too... some nights my dog sits on the front lawn and barks at the barn.
 
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Sayer, A recommendation from one of the knowledgeable folks over on the forestry forum is to use PPG Transparent Stain Cetol 23 Plus RE Finish. It is a three coat system with mildew inhibitor, water repellent, and uv absorbers. The base coat is different than the top two coats. Not cheap, but supposed to be a good finish for B&B. I have no first hand experience with it.
 
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