Cedar Facia & Soffit (Treatments)

[wigster]

Hi,

I am interested in fitting Cedar Facia & Soffit but i am worried that it will fade if I do not treat it with the correct stain/varnish. Any ideas would be grateful.

 

[Carpenter]

If using cedar on a soffit the timber will be less likely to fade as the timber won't suffer direct exposure to rain and wind. Commercially available treatments will stain and darken the wood. You could try a white spirit and linseed oil mix. The linseed oil will preserve the wood somewhat, but such a treatment will require some maintenance over time. Cedar soffits look fantastic but when used on a vertical surface (cladding) it will go grey/ silver in time and whilst this is a look that is in vogue with many architects I'm not sure about it myself.

 

[wigster]

Thanks Carpenter. I am trying to match the timber with wooden windows (although pine) and like the look but i am worried about the cedar. If the cedar did go grey/silver is it difficult to bring it back? I assume that it would need a few coats of white spirit/linseed? Is there any other type of timber you would reccommend? What about larch?

 

[Carpenter]

Once the timber weathers to silver (technically this process is called degrading, caused by UV) it can't be restored, unless you sand or plane back to bare timber. So the only way to maintain this appearance is to take preventative action by pretreating in the first instance.