Japanese Method Of Burning Wood Siding
The longer you hold the fire on the wood the darker the char.
Japanese method of burning wood siding. Originating in 18th century japan shou sugi ban is a particularly striking method of preserving wood by charring it with fire. The term shou sugi ban is japanese 焼杉板 and literally translates to burnt cedar board. How to make shou sugi ban wood siding. The wood is burned and this preserves the wood by making it resistant to sunlight water and fire.
If you have a large number of planks to char and the chances are if you re planning to. Lay your planks out ready. Take the head of the blowtorch. Now comes the fun part.
This can also be done using coals from a fire but this will likely result in a far more inconsistent final finish. Use a garden torch to burn the surface of the wood. And keep a fire extinguisher close by. The torch needs to be passed at the same speed and held the same distance from the wood to get a uniform burn.
You need to have enough space to hold the blowtorch around 5 12cm above the wood and to. The process is specifically meant for cedar but works on many species of wood such as cypress ash oak maple and of course pine like i used. Don t quote me on this but my research indicates that shou sugi ban means burnt cedar board and it s a centuries old japanese technique for preserving wood with fire. Traditionally this practice is used with japanese cedar in order to weatherproof it.
Be sure to work in a well ventilated area with no flammable materials near your workspace. Basically it s a way to speed up the weathering process and make a wood plank naturally weatherproof. Set out your workspace. The wood is burned until the surface is charred and then coated with natural oil.
The term is commonly used to describe the centuries old japanese technique of charring sugi cedar planks used for residential siding fencing and decking projects.