Hi everyone,

I would appreciate some help in how to treat wood that will be used on the exterior part of a beach house so that it lasts longer. Sana it's cost effective and not too toxic.

We are building a house in batangas with a portion that is made from wood and has wood cladding (and the other part concrete). To save money, we are doing the construction ourselves based on our architect's design. We source materials and labor but we have a really good foreman doing the day to day supervision.

The wooden portion has a wooden deck and balcony made from mixed recycled hardwood (yakal, dungon, molave) and the exterior wall will have burnt cedar cladding (sho sugi, it's a japanese technique that supposedly extends the life of the wood to 60-80 years).

To prevent mold/termites:

For the interior wood, I am using propylene glycol + borax + boric acid. This is supposed to be a minimally toxic, effective anti termite mix according to my internet research. Also before pouring the slab we put plastic sheets with lots of borax. The problem with this mix I understand is epoxy paint will have a harder time bonding to the wood. However the glycol is supposed to draw the borax, boric acid into the wood.

For the exterior wood - I am planning to use ethylene glycol (similar to propylene glycol but toxic if ingested) + boric acid + borax. This is supposed to not just prevent termites but also stop mold/fungus. I understand you need to reapply the treatment every so often (couple of years?) if the wood is exposed to driving rain.

For further protection, this is actually where I wanted some help. Our foreman uses old motor oil (for a wooden house he takes care of, he is a bantay in the same area, is 20 years old and the wood looks like it's been there for 6 months only).

I've read about using sadolin yacht/spar oil (which is really expensive in truvalue). For the burnt cedar, on youtube they use boiled linseed oil/tung oil. I've also read on this forum to use polyurethane. Can I use varnish, wood sealant or clear epoxy paint (problem is may not bond to glycol impregnated wood).

Anyway would appreciate some advice on this? If possible with brand names of products and where to buy and approximate cost (sorry I know this is quite a lot to ask).

Thanks very much

Eric