How to look after your gates

Quality wooden gates are an investment and looking after them correctly will ensure they continue to look good and last for years to come.

Just a short amount of time spent looking after your gates, and maintaining them annually, will help them survive cold winters and hot summers, and stop unwanted deterioration.

Different gates needs different treatments,
follow our guide to find out how to look after yours.

How to look after your gates

Gate Care Guide

Tips for staining/oiling your gates

  1. Apply a coat of stain/oil prior to fitting your gates to avoid moisture ingress.
  2. Make sure you are happy with your chosen colour before you start – try it on a scrap of wood first, we’d be happy to give you an off-cut.
  3. For spirit-based stain/oil use a natural brush – don’t skimp on the quality or you’ll be forever removing loose bristles.
  4. For ease, lean your gate against a wall while you treat it.
  5. Treat both sides without allowing each side to dry in between coats – staining or oiling one side of a gate and leaving it to dry before doing the other side, puts your gate at the risk of twisting or warping. This is because you have created unequal surface tension within the timber and also because the unpainted side will try and absorb moisture, which will cause movement within the timber.
  6. paint-brushStain/oil the timber in the same direction as the grain.
  7. Coat the end grain of timbers well – it is most susceptible to sucking in water.
  8. Do paint the bottom of your gate, any timber left untreated will suck up moisture. Modern treatments should allow the wood to breathe.
  9. Watch out for any drips or runs and brush them out.
  10. After treating the first side, spin it around and use a small piece of wood between it and the wall to avoid the treated side getting marked.

The nature of wood

Please remember that wood is a natural product and can be affected by weather conditions. You may find that your gates shrink or swell slightly with the weather and you may even see cracks appear along the grain of the wood. All this is to be expected with a gate and is part of the character of the timber.

*Empress Fencing cannot be held responsible for damage to gates caused by moisture ingress through failure to apply a suitable preservative treatment.