Old Oak Fireplace Lintel - Restoration Project Questions?

[WolfCrafter]

Hi crafters, I'm undertaking a re-jigging of my chimney breast and opening it up nice and wide so I can replace our old electric heater, with an elegant wood burner. This involves installing a lovely 100 year+ old oak lintel I've acquired!

Im ok on advice on installing the brute, but wondered if any of you have any tips on preserving and treating it before installation!

Condition:
It's not rotten, just old, and to the eye seems free of wood worm. Although my new house has had a history of infection by the bug, which is certificated 7 years ago of being dealt with!

My Knowledge:
My experience treating wood is with the usual whittling aftercare products, such as linseed oil, Danish oil, bees wax, walnut dye, or general DIY varnishes and stainers!

Questions:
First off, should I treat the beam with some sort of clear woodworm product? If so, will it compromise/alter the finish?

Second, after cleaning up the wood sympathetically, can I darken it with a not too invasive wood stain (I'n my experience some soak into the wood, others like lacquers dry on the surface) I prefer stainers as I feel they give a dusky more natural look.. But they tend to go deeper into the wood! Is there any products I'm over looking for old woods of this type?

Thirdly, should I treat it with a final sealant such as wax etc?

All in all, im after what's best for the old oak wood without compromising too much on the finish I'm after? A slightly darker look than light English oak, with a dusky near matt finish!.. And of course, bringing out that grain as beautifully as possible!
I know some may say why change the darkness! Which I'm willing to compromise on if it's too invasive to do so!!

Any advice is much appreciated!
Pic link below!

Regards
WolfCrafter

 

[jojo]

I shouldn't worry too much about the worms... that bit of wood has been around for a long while and it's survived! You could try to mix some artist's oil paint(not acrylics, they are water based) into some boiled linseed oil. I have used that to darken some oak signs on a few occasions, there are many colours available, from light to very dark. The other thing I have used is a blow torch!! that darken oak nicely, just be easy on the flame, not keeping it too long in one spot, followed by linseed oil. You could experiment on the back of the beam, where it can't be seen when fixed.

 

[spandit]

I'd be wary of wax finishes with the heat from the stove

 

[rik_uk3]

Over the years I've used Briwax with great success on various woods/furniture and a lintel, it will suit your needs perfectly and is available in different shades these days.

Just google Briwax its readily available; I highly recommend it. http://www.briwax-trg.com/briwaxcolors/briwaxcolors.html

 

[blacktimberwolf]

To darken the wood, just a rub with linseed oil will do or a coat of alcohol /water based wood stain, It wont sink in too deeply as the wood will be so dense & hard.
Waxes may give it a satine sheen
I wouldn't bother protecting the wood against any xylophage critters, the wood is too hard & dry to tempt them & with the heat that will come from your wood burner, the surrounding warm, dry air will be very inhospitable to them............ they wouldn't survive.
Personally, I prefer the natural look & I would just clean it up a little & leave it as it is.

 

[bushwacker bob]

As your house as already been de wormed I would suggest you treat it with 5* woodworm treatment as you dont find out you have them until they emerge from the wood AFTER their dinner. It soaks in like water and is undetectable when done.
As its Oak, there is no point trying to make it look like mahogany but it will darken a little with age. Lots of folk don't put any tratment at all on oak as it looks good 'as is' but if you have a smothish surface Bri wax is a very good finish as is a few coats of Danish oil.(both are available in a variety of shades)

 

[Dogoak]

Theres some good advice here, oak, as mentioned is generally too hard for the critters, but it wouldn't hurt to treat it, prevention, etc; That, in it self may make it slightly darker, test on an end first maybe. The worm treatment shouldn't effect your final finish, but again you can test before hand.
Again, as mentioned, an oil may also give a slightly darker finish and you could also use it as the final finish, your oak will love you for oiling it!
You could also finish with wax (on top of the dried oil, or not), depending on what colour you use, your final shade could be obtained by one or more coats of this rather than dyes/stains. Good old Briwax P7 is the colour used on antique pine, a medium brown, quick and easy to use. My favoured wax for special items is Libron Black Bison wax, again, available in various shades, harder to use in the fact that you will need to leave it on overnight or longer before buffing off but the finish is IMHO more robust.
Hard to see from the image but is there remains of a lime/white wash on the beams? The beams in our cottage still had it on so as a trial, I did one up with this traditional finish, it looked ok but not what we were after so they are now all dark and waxed. Nice to hear you are not going down the black paint route good luck and remember to show us the finished article.

 

[JJJ]

I have installed a few wood burners over the years, but when I went to install the latest in March, I found Building Regulations had changed. They vary depending on location, and I will cross my fingers and hope you still have some freedom. Not so for me. To begin with I was told that I could not install it. It had to be installed by some one trained by HETAS. I objected and after a small battle was told I could BUT that I would have to pay £300 for a safety certificate. I shopped around and found the HETAS guys varied in price from between £100 including a short flue and the certificate, to over £670 .
I went for the cheap guy, but then found that the building regs prevented wood being used any where near the stove. Not for a lintel, mantel piece or even as a surround framing the stone tiles that had to extend a foot into the room and be at least 2" above the floor. One HETAS bloke even told me that I would need new furniture as the armchair and sofa were to close to the stove.
Here breaking Building regs is on par with serious crime. I hope you fair better, I do know that in parts of Scotland there is great free advice and even grants on making your home more energy efficient...good luck.

 

[WolfCrafter]

Well thank you all for the great advice (as always on BCUK! :0) )

I picked the beast up during the week, and feel a lot more comfortable moving forward with it now I've read this!
After studying it I'n person there is some old surface worm marks, so just to make sure, it's going to be treated as suggested by some. Ive been informed it's at least 200 years old, so some critter wear is expected.

I've wire brushed the surface (there did seam to be an original lime wash) and it's come up beautifully, even the old critter marks have given it a rustic charm and character. So much so that I've fallen I'n love with the raw look of it!
So as it's screaming out not to be touched, and after much appreciated advice on different colour/shade techniques, I've decided to just give it a loving treatment of Danish oil. (test first on the back)
I hope you agree!! :0)

What I will need to do though, is decide on how to bring my old pine floor boards up to match the shade/look/age and rustic qualities of the oak beam!
It will need a diamond hard matt finish for hard wearing, but again, from experience, Ronseal after 3 coats gives a horrid plastic look!
One of the links here sent me to a pine website that mentioned a veg oil solution that in photos looked amazing, when i get a moment ill dig it out, to iron out opinions on that front!.. So please keep posted.. I will be back for further advice!

I'll keep the thread alive on my progress (may be a while as I've a chimney to knockout and bush meets to attend.. Although SWIMBO expects it finished for Christmas!)

(cheers JJJ also, I'll double check with the local authorities, should be ok though as my parents live I'n the village and have just had a wood burner installed/passed 3 months ago!)