My new barn is being delivered at the end of the month. I’d like to get the stall walls and aisle sealed with something - urethane ? polyurethane ? something else ? I’ve never done anything like this before so would like something fairly foolproof that looks reasonably good with the least amount of frustration possible. No stain, clear coat only. Recommendations?
Thanks in advance!
I guess I’ll ask why seal the wood inside the barn? We gutted and rebuilt the entire bottom floor of our barn, but I never thought to seal the wood (which came from a local lumber mill). 17+ years later, the wood still looks new.
I like shiny things :lol:
But in all seriousness, I’d like something that makes the walls very easy to clean/wipe down. Especially because I have one mare who really likes to poop on stall walls.
Get a good deck paint and apply that. My barn was painted with polyurethane and it didn’t hold up. Well it did in some areas, but peeled in others. I don’t think polyurethane is very UV resistant. My barn is 12 years old, so it lasted this long, but it definitely needs to be redone. Another issue is that polyurethane takes forever to stop stinking. I painted my cat house with polyurethane and the cats completely stopped using it for nearly a year. According to them it stunk like chemicals and they would rather sleep elsewhere.
You could go with a gloss paint which should clean easily or a water based polyurethane which shouldn’t stink so bad. You often have deck paints and stains that give a beautiful look, while providing a easy to clean surface.
:lol: Okay, that’s a good reason.
Personally, I’d used a water-based product (not oil based), It will dry faster, you can do more coats in a single day and it should be less stinky. The water based is also easier to clean up (rollers, brushes) and it stays more clear over time (whereas the oil based has a tendency to turn yellow.amber).
I’d do multiple coats, at least 4 if its rough-hewn lumber. And you need to read on the label on the “cure” time. I’d not add horses or other animals to the areas you’ve coated until it is fully cured. That may take a few days to a few weeks.
Good luck with your project!
A friend of mine used a stain/sealant that was used for boats. She had researched what was good for exposure to sun and water… She was looking for something that was easy to clean as well.
We built our barn 13 years ago and the poly has held up great. Perhaps some of the boards at the aisle entrance that get beat on by the sun for hours every day have been touched up, but everything else is holding up just fine. I will say the wash stalls need to redone every few years, as they get a ton of daily use. We don’t use regular poly on the wash stalls, we use a marine sealant. This is the only area where we have seen peeling but given the amount of hours the stalls are exposed to water on a daily basis, I guess it is to be expected.
OP if you wipe down your stall walls regularly to remove manure, you may want to use T&G rather than rough cut lumber and have the boards sanded before you apply the poly. We find the smoother surfaces, are easier to keep clean.
Cuprinol is a product that was recommended to me.
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