How to Stain Your Barn or Storage Shed

Water is the leading cause of damage to wood and
wood structures. For outdoor wood products to
last they need to be protected from the elements.
This holds true for everything from a garden
chair to a large barn and that is what we are
looking at today wood barns and storage sheds.

Start with a good cleaning. If the building is
either old or has not been stained in a long time
the surface will need a good cleaning. The best
way to accomplish this is with a pressure washer.
In many places these can be rented locally and
they would be able to recommend the best cleaning
chemicals for your situation. Be sure whatever
you use it is environmentally safe for us and
your animals.

This is a good time talk about what equipment
you will need. Start with a ladder. If your
building is tall or multi story you will need an
extension ladder. Even if you just have a garden
shed at the very least you may need a step
ladder. The recommended method of application is
with a sprayer, you can rent one of these at the
same place you got the pressure washer. If you go
the manual way you will need brushes, rollers and
pans. I can tell you from experience that if you
have any roughness to the exterior siding at all
you will want to use a sprayer.

The stain. What you will use will depend on what
is already on your building. If this is a first
time then you will have a choice of oil base,
latex base or water base stains. For health and
environmental reasons most are moving toward the
newer water based stains. This should be a
consideration if you have a horse barn or
animals. You can get all of these products in
clear or a wide range of colors.

If your barn or storage building has been
stained in the past you will need to determine if
it was an oil or latex base, as a general rule
you can put water base over oil base but you
can't put oil over water base. Latex will go over
water based but not over oil. For best results
no matter which you choose it is a good idea to
use that sprayer and to do two coats. The first
will be absorbed by the siding and the second
coat will seal the wood. If you use a good
quality product you can get away with re-staining
every 3 years or so depending on climate.

Depending on the size of your storage building
or barn this task can be over whelming. A small
shed may take a day and larger barns can be a
multi-day project. You will need to be
comfortable with working with and around ladders.
Remember to exercise all the proper safety
procedures when working with the power equipment
and water and wear a respirator when spraying.

For some of us this may be a little daunting so
there is always Google and you can search for a
qualified contractor in your area that can help
you. Checking with your local modular barn dealer
would be a good idea they could recommend
qualified people in your area. Either way if you
want your wood barn or storage building to last
you need to protect the exterior.


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Carolina Storage Solutions was founded in 2008
and has sold and delivered HUNDREDS of modular
Horse barns and storage buildings to satisfied
customers in North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia
and Tennessee We opened our doors on this motto:
"Treat others the way we want to be treated".
http://deliveredbarnsandsheds.com


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