If you have just had a new compressed hardwood screen installed in an exterior area of your home, or if you have owned one for a while and would like to make sure that it will continue to look good for years to come, here are our professional maintenance tips.
As with the health of our bodies, the best way to keep your screens in optimum condition starts with...
After some time outside, your screen will be due for a good cleaning with clean water to remove dirt and grime and improve the performance of the protective sealants. If there is any mould, remove as much as possible with a stiff brush and then apply a mould remover. Rinse the remover off thoroughly with clean water and allow it to completely dry.
Generally, the exterior surface coatings deteriorate by chalking rather than flaking, so when it is time to re-seal, first prepare the surface of the wood by giving it a good clean, then remove all the loose chalk, dirt, and dust with fine grit sandpaper. Dust the wood off thoroughly and apply a minimum of two coats of your choice of sealant in accordance with the manufacturer's directions. We recommend Cabot's Aquadeck or equivalent. Be sure to give your sealant a good thorough stir with a flat stirrer to achieve the optimum chemical effectiveness. Pay particular attention to the most exposed parts of the screen or wood grain, and use smooth even brush strokes in the same direction. Wait no longer than 15 minutes between coats, as you want to apply the additional coats on before the previous coat has dried; this creates a stronger, more cohesive seal. There is no need to apply more than two coats in most cases, as once the wood is penetrated and sealed, excess coats will simply remain on the surface.
Every four years at least. This will maximise your investment and help your screen to look its best for years to come.
I hope that this post has helped you with maintaining your QAQ screen. If you have any questions about maintenance not answered here, please don't hesitate to contact us! :)
Sincerely,
Christine & The QAQ Staff
As it's autumn now, it seems fitting to feature one of our nature pattern decorative screen designs, 'Maple'. This design is a cascading array of gently falling maple leaves. It is especially suited to outdoor placement around a patio or garden, and thus made in a material that will weather well for years to come, such as compressed hardwood, aluminium, mild steel, acm (aluminium composite material), and most especially corten. Why especially corten? Because this high-strength material is made to rust; it is a lovely rust-color when new and becomes more so as it weathers, and never requires painting or maintenance. It is thus very similar to the maple leaf autumnal color.
Here is a tall vertical corten 'Maple' screen along the right hand side of the QAQ headquarters building that was hung a number of years ago:
Of course, 'Maple' could also be cut in an indoor material such as plywood or MDF and painted or stained to suit an indoor nature-themed decor style. The design evokes a warm and relaxing feeling, a bit like the beginning of autumn does.
Here a few products in autumn colors that evoke the nature-lovers style:
1. Howard Elliott Scarlet Red Ceramic Vases with Brushed Black Accents, found on Houzz.com
2. Maple Leaf embroidery design by ABC Machine Embroidery - this company has the most exquisite embroidery designs! These could be sewn onto linens, pillows, or other soft furnishings for the home to continue a maple-leaf theme.
3. A beautifully designed set of matching maple leaf jewels I just had to include here, found on aliexpress.com
4. Rattan chest by Cane Design via Zanui. Indoors, it can store wood for the fireplace; outdoors, cushions for the outdoor patio set.
5. Earthen gray colored plate set by via Zanui
6. Tango ocha rattan occasional chair by Globe West via Zanui
7. Again via Zanui, mecca of fantastic home decor for Australia, set of three seagrass round baskets by Cane Design.
For more inspiring decor ideas around the 'Maple' design, see our Pinterest board collection. Any new decorative installation projects we my do with this design will be added to this board alongside more decor inspiration!
And if this beautiful design has piqued your interest, please don't hesitate to contact us to find a distributor near you.
Thanks for reading!
~Christine Rice
Decorative screens add interest, beauty, privacy, and shade to the inside and outside of homes, and they are quickly becoming more and more popular within the Australian home improvement and interior design industries. They can be an inexpensive way to create a dramatic visual impact in any style home, office, or garden while simultaneously serving a very practical need such as dividing open spaces, or creating much needed privacy. The creative possibilities with how they can be used are endless: from simply decorating a wall, to becoming a feature wall themselves, to serving as window cover, door, banister, patio roof, furniture panel, or fence.
Over the past 3 years, QAQ decorative screens and panels have been used in hundreds of home improvement and interior design projects across Australia, so we have seen and learned quite a lot about the many creative ways we have had the pleasure of seeing our customers put our screens and panels to use. We have worked with them to help solve their issues of privacy, placement, sizing, material, finish, installation, and styling among many other considerations, to provide them with the optimum use of our screens to best suit their needs for the years to come. With all our experience in helping our customers, we would like to begin to share our knowledge to help and inspire you in case you have ever considered beautifying a space in your own home or garden with a decorative screen or panel.
What you can expect from our blog:
1. A visual feature around one of our many screens designs every Tuesday, to inspire and help you decide which style suits your decorating taste and personality.
2. An informative or educational article every Thursday to share what we have learned and to answer some of the questions that we receive about our products.
In addition, we may occasionally post our very special company updates or events to let you know what QAQ is up to, though our Facebook page is our primary update platform.
Speaking of questions, we welcome any that you may have for us! Contact Sam at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thanks for checking in, and once again, welcome!
Sincerely,
Christine & The QAQ Staff
When creating an alfresco dining area, be mindful of the materials you use as they have to be able to withstand all weather conditions. All-weather material such as weathertex, corten, aluminum, aluminum composite, and mild steel are best suited to year-round outdoor use.
Built in furniture: By building in furniture it gives a more casual and natural environment to any alfresco area, it also allows more room for storage, for things such as pillows.
Red gum timber decking: is very popular in alfresco areas as they allow warmth and style to your outdoor area.
