Bamboo Fencing and Haymes Dexpress Exterior Wood Stain

During a recent pool renovation and complete yard transformation, we had the task of sourcing out nice tasteful fencing. We quickly realised the choices are huge and so is the expense with some products. We had no choice but to follow regulations on boundary heights etc but we had to decide should we keep the existing Colorbond boundary fence and paint it, or should we use some sort of decorative screening? After all we know where we can get paint right? No surprises there! 

We looked at decorative screens, brushed timber, hardwoods and then we found bamboo! We were a bit dubious at first as this was totally a foreign product to us. We wanted something natural and not artificial looking. The bamboo was reasonably priced as well. We needed the fence to work well with travertine pool surrounds and the colour of the pool's water. The pool waterline tiles and water colour needed to remain the main feature of the yard, so the fence was very important and needed to also feature alongside the pool. So hard to decide what should feature more! In the end it was important for everything to work and look natural. We live in a bushy suburb, not too far from the beach and surrounded by state and national parks. How lucky are we!

After discussing the ongoing maintenance with the supplier and how we would look after it, we decided that bamboo was going ahead and we were having the whole yard done along with a new framed 1.5 metre high fence at one end. The bamboo is smoked in Vietnam and when delivered has a lovely deep "smoky" merbau/teak colour. The smell is wonderful but sadly disappears to a natural "timberish" smell which is still pleasing. 

Installation was done by a professional carpenter and was done within two days. We also had some gates made and the new framed bamboo1.5 metre high fence done as well, including the regulation pool gate.

Once the bamboo was installed we allowed it to settle and weather. After about 6-8 weeks it faded to about half of it's original colour. Some areas lightened more than others because they were in full sun.

The bamboo was wiped down with a damp towel or cloth and this removed some of the smoky (now yellowy) residue. It sounds labour intensive but it was smooth and easy to clean. Once dry we coated it by brush with two coats of Haymes Dexpress Exterior Water based Stain. Our colour choice was Simply Woodcare "Chocolate" and we found this tint brought back the lovely original smoky colour. For a lighter colour you could choose from a large range of tints or simply buy the product in the "Natural" tone that the stain already comes in.

The finished coating has a slight sheen and looks elegant. The product was easy to brush and clean up is with water! Below are some pictures showing original, weathered and coated finish.

Bamboo after weathering 6-8 weeks	First coat of Haymes Dexpress Wood Stain "Chocolate"	Feature Screen before Dexpress	Feature Screen after Dexpress
Close up shots of coated and weathered Bamboo	Wipe down weathered bamboo before coating to remove residue	Finished! Haymes Dexpress is water based and easy to use	The perfect colours of nature