Welcome to a new feature on our blog: Helpful Tip Tuesday!
I'm Jeff, the resident builder on staff. With years of construction background, I will be heading up Helpful Tip Tuesday. I’m here to address any of your common installation questions, discuss other issues that come up and offer helpful practical knowledge. Your home improvement questions are welcome here.
Let's start with this:
Oil and water don't mix.
Seems pretty basic, doesn’t it? But when it comes to painting and staining, it’s easy to get confused on this matter.
Most of our wood beams come pre-primed with a water-based primer. Because of this, they’ll need to be top-coated with a water-based stain or paint. Keep in mind that you CANNOT use an oil-based stain or primer. This is the most common mistake in the finishing process.
Here is some help to determine the best stains to use for our different beam products.
As for our personal favorites, we like to use an acrylic water-based deck stain. We love the stain made by Benjamin Moore.
Why? It is safe to use. It is non-toxic. It has an excellent UV inhibitor, which is particularly great if you’re using our products outdoors. This will help keep the beams colorfast for years to come.
Leave your question or a situation you’d like advice on in the Comments section.