I’m having a hard time choosing exterior stain for our ‘under construction’ house. I was thrown when the charcoal roof turned out to have more brown tones to it. Anything with red/yellow tones looked really awful directly against it. I chose a ‘natural light’ Sikkens stain for the facias, and now can’t seem to go beyond that. The builder is pressing me for a decision. Any feedback appreciated.
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Replies
Nice Design,(kind of like the exterior fireplace on the porch). Color I can't comment on without seeing. Be careful with Sikkens-follow their installation instructions to the letter. Watch the sunlight and moisture content and deglazing if it is cedar. It's no fun redoing stain.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it!
The artist in me says that if yellow and red tones don't look good with the roof, go the opposite route and try greens and blues. If possible do a large sample first or do an inconspicuous spot and maybe lighter than you want so you can restain if it's horrible. (Maybe take a roof shingle into the paint store with you and hold colors up to it.)
edit: You could also do another color on the fascia to separate the two colors (wall from roof).
Edited 3/18/2005 11:42 am ET by Danno
I have used Floods Clear Wood Finish for 20 years on my cedar finished home, and have not been disappointed. Reapplication rate is about every 4 years, but some of that is due to the amount of shade the house receives. $10.00 says your next house will something other than wood.
Nic,
Not all browns are the same. Brown is a derivative of either red or yellow. Its basically red or yellow with some black. The true browns are called umber - from red, and sienna- from yellow. What you have here is an analogous color scheme rather than a complimentary, which in color, basically means the opposites.
When colors are close, but not of the same hue (true color), they clash. You either dont like analogous color schemes, or you have colors that clash. ex- a yellow based brown near a red based brown.
You can do many things from here, but I think the best thing is to try to figure out which type of brown you have and build your color scheme accordingly.
If you would like a complimentary scheme, remember the holidays, and you have most of the wheel. Christmas- red and green, Easter- purple and yellow, and the remainder is orange and blue.
If you would like to redirect or have additional questions, Id be happy to help.
-zen
Nic;
I have a log home in Minnesota that has a browntone roof on it and I have been using the Natural Flood CWF product on it for years. Each coating process (2 wet-on-wet coats, sprayed & brushed)lasts easily 6 years. Flood costs a lot less than Sikkens (which I like, but it is EXPENSIVE!) Has served me well for over 20 years. Comes in other stain shades too. I buy at Menard's on sale for $13.85/Gal. Home Depot would carry it as well as Lowe's. Good luck
Bearcat
Nic,
If not too late I would look into a product called Timber Pro UV. I have been following a construction project for several years that has been using it in the Kootenay region (100 mi N of Spokane)of British Columbia. After 4+ years it still looks great! I am using it on my clear W.R. cedar decks and my knotty cedar B&B siding. I started using Sikkens but it faded so badly after only 1 year I was quite ticked as my facias are 30+ feet above ground and now I have to redo them. I have used Flood over the years on other houses (I love wood) and it has performed ok but after seeing and using Timber Pro I am really impressed. It is made exclusively from a high grade 100% oil resin so there is no gummy residue from what I have seen. They have a large selection of colors as well. I am building on a lake in the Southern Interior of B.C. with SW exposure. Summers are hot 95-110 for weeks on end and 0 F is common for weeks in winter so the stain is getting a work out. If you want I can e-mail you photos of the project I noted above. Their website is [email protected] & their Vancouver phone # 604-270-4244. I am sure they can e-mail you photos but if you want pix of the projects I am familiar with just let me know.
Regards and Good Luck with your project!