James Gate Works Wants to Help You

Maintain your Wood Entry Gate

to keep it looking its very best.

James Gate Works suggests for the maximum enjoyment of your new wood gate you look at various finishes and their maintenance timelines

It is important that your gate be sealed to prevent the absorption of moisture.

This helps reduce the dimensional changes---swelling during the winters and shrinking in the summer. If the gate is hung into place without seals or stains or paint primer, and takes on the moisture of rainfall or heavy dew, it is then necessary to allow the wood to dry before proceeding with the finish.

Clear seal A natural graying with time. To prevent moisture absorption, Cabot's Waterproofing (completely invisible) should be re-applied when water no longer beads on the surface of the wood gate. 

Natural Oil:   Cabots Clear Solutions, in three tints. A penetrating oil that enriches the wood tone while providing a water repellant seal.   Should last one or two years:  Use a single coat.

Cabots Semi-Transparent and Semi-Solid Stains:  Should be adequate for three to six years.  The wood grain remains visible. It is a finish often preferred because the pigments provide a more organic compliment to the surrounding landscape. Requires a single coat.  No primer is needed.

Paint:  Should last five to ten years.   The most durable and yet requiring one primer coat and two top coats. For gates to be painted white, all end-grains are epoxy-sealed in the shop.  To prevent unsightly tanin bleeding we use the best primer for redwood,  Zinsser Cover Stain, oil based and then follow with an acrylic top coat. It is also acceptable to use the Benjamin Moore exterior oil-based stain-blocker primer.