How do I look after a garden bridge?

How do I look after a garden bridge?

The best start to looking after a garden bridge is starting with a quality bridge in the first place. This comes down to a number of factors but two of the most important are the wood the bridge is made from, and the craftsmanship that went into creating it.

Cleaning

In terms of cleaning your garden bridge we recommend first brushing it with a dry brush to remove any dirt or debris; for this, it's best to use a brush that is not too hard or stiff to make sure you don't risk marking the wood.

If you feel as though it is necessary, some people then choose to gently sand down the surface before adding any colour, preservative or treatment to ensure they are working with a smooth surface. If you choose to do this, you must then make sure to remove any left over debris left behind by the sandpaper.

When it comes to the actual cleaning down of the bridge, we recommend avoiding any strong chemicals and going for a simpler solution. Most people will find that mild soapy water is the best solution when it comes to cleaning outdoor wood as it cleans the wood effectively without risking damaging it. We also recommend avoiding any kind of pressure washer or more aggressive spraying as there is a strong chance this could damage or weaken the wood.

Personally, we use a quality Scandinavian Redwood and craft each piece of furniture by hand in our Lincolnshire workshop to ensure the best quality.

Protecting & maintaining

When it comes to protecting and maintaining the appearance of a garden bridge, we personally recommend using a solvent based decorative wood preserver. 

If you choose to paint, oil or stain on your garden bridge, or any outdoor wooden furniture for that matter, it is important to choose your product carefully. When it comes to choosing any of the above, the first thing to ensure is that you are choosing a product that firstly, is suitable to use on wood, and second of all, is designed to be used outdoors. Some of the useful features you may want to consider when choosing products such as wood preserver are if it protects against wood-destroying and discolouring fungi, wood-rot, mould, decay and wood-boring insects.

It is also important to note that all wood should be dry before any product or treatment is applied to it.

Our extra notes on enjoying your garden bridge

Personally, to further protect the quality of the outdoor pieces, all of our products are made from a pressure treated wood. Pressure treatment is a process that forces wood preservatives into the wood and is considered by many to be the most effective way to preserve the life of the wood.

In relation to the the appearance of garden bridges it should be noted that timber is a natural product and therefore the colour grain and features will vary throughout – we think this is what makes it special and gives each piece a lovely unique quality. Due to the natural qualities of timber, changes in weather and temperature may reveal hairline cracks that can open and close; this is a completely normal characteristic of the material which there is no need to worry about.