We bought three old church pews from the previous owners of our new house. They're about 100 years old, and came out of a church in the local village a few years ago.
All three are varnished and had been put outside. Unfortunately, they've not been looked after, or maybe they weren't treated properly in the first place for going outside, and they're in a bit of state now. The varnish has cracked all over, water has got in, and where parts were nailed together (presumably the original nails) the nails are rusting and parts are falling off.
I've found someone that will strip them for me down to the original wood, but I'm going to do the rest. We want them to go outside as we haven't got room in the house for them.
One is definitely oak, the other two we're not sure about - the paint stripper thought it might be Canadian pine which was unexpected, and concerning if they're to go outside.
Any ideas of what I should do? I've been considering oil-based treatments, or yacht varnish (or maybe both). I don't really mind if it ends up a matt or a gloss finish, I just want to make sure they survive. I don't mind having to maintain them once a year.
They're each made up of several pieces of (presumably untreated) wood nailed together. I don't want to take them apart completely, but I want to be sure that the joins between sections aren't a weak spot that could let water seep in.
The angle of the seat is also a problem, as it lets water pool on them. I think I'm going to have to drill a few drainage holes in.
Finally, need to protect the feet so that they don't let water soak up from beneath. I was thinking about getting someone to make some metal 'shoes' to fit over the feet, or maybe I could do something simple with rubber?
Any ideas or suggestions, welcome!
All three are varnished and had been put outside. Unfortunately, they've not been looked after, or maybe they weren't treated properly in the first place for going outside, and they're in a bit of state now. The varnish has cracked all over, water has got in, and where parts were nailed together (presumably the original nails) the nails are rusting and parts are falling off.
I've found someone that will strip them for me down to the original wood, but I'm going to do the rest. We want them to go outside as we haven't got room in the house for them.
One is definitely oak, the other two we're not sure about - the paint stripper thought it might be Canadian pine which was unexpected, and concerning if they're to go outside.
Any ideas of what I should do? I've been considering oil-based treatments, or yacht varnish (or maybe both). I don't really mind if it ends up a matt or a gloss finish, I just want to make sure they survive. I don't mind having to maintain them once a year.
They're each made up of several pieces of (presumably untreated) wood nailed together. I don't want to take them apart completely, but I want to be sure that the joins between sections aren't a weak spot that could let water seep in.
The angle of the seat is also a problem, as it lets water pool on them. I think I'm going to have to drill a few drainage holes in.
Finally, need to protect the feet so that they don't let water soak up from beneath. I was thinking about getting someone to make some metal 'shoes' to fit over the feet, or maybe I could do something simple with rubber?
Any ideas or suggestions, welcome!
