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Monday, April 7, 2014

Courtyard Project - Picking The Metal Slats

An update on our Courtyard Project and the wood Vs metal fence slats debate we have made a decision and are going with the more expensive but no maintenance option of metal slats.

I think it will look just as amazing in 10 years time as it does the day we install it and Mr P and I aren't one to do things half hearted, even if we don't intend to be living in this house in 10 years time, we still want it to be a quality home for the next person.

So we are doing a DIY job on the fence slats and installing them ourselves. We measured the distance between each of the limestone pillars with a laser measure, which is a million times easier than a tape measure I can tell you! At this point we didn't need to be 100% accurate because the slats are sold in standard lengths and then you cut them to size yourself, so this was just to work out how many lengths we need, to work out the budget.

We found a local company AliTimber who do the timber grain finish over aluminium - it won't warp, split or crack, it has UV sun and salt protection and a 10 year warranty. Sounds good to me!

We got a brochure to work out what lengths we need to order. We will also be ordering a gate from them in the same materials. Now onto the fun part, getting the samples and picking a colour.


We need to see how the samples will look at the front of the house taking into consideration all the other exterior features and house colours - the limestone courtyard, cream house render, our jarrah look garage door and charcoal driveway and roof.


As for the colours of the slats, we had 4 to chose from - from left to right there is Snow Gum, Bushwood, Western Red Cedar, Jarrah - don't you just love the native Australian names!

Now remember these are aluminum materials and I think they are doing a damn good job at pretending to be real wood - don't you? They each have a different type of grain running through them and the colours are pretty spot on mimicking real wood.



Straight away we felt the first 2 on the left were too light and looked a bit washed out against the limestone. It was down to our 2 righties ... Western Red Cedar and Jarrah.


The wood look slats also need to match in nicely with our new garage door - the Jarrah on the left is a closer match but I'm worried it is too red especially when up against the pale limestone.

Whereas the Western Red Cedar on the right has a more natural wood look.



They also need to look good against the limestone blocks as this is where they will be seen .... when placed here the Jarrah doesn't look as natural and the tone of it is very dark compared to the tone of the Western Red Cedar.

I thought back to my interior design training course studies which taught me that colour tones should always match and to pick the closest tone on tone you can if you want something to match or pick the biggest contrast if you want to make a statement .... in this case I'm going for a match of tones and it's definitely the Western Red Cedar tone of wood that matches the limestone bricks.


I'm leaning towards the Western Red Cedar BUT how can I name my blog Jarrah Jungle as a nod to my love of the jarrah wood through out my house and then not choose this Jarrah sample?

See my dilemma readers! 

So decision time - will we pick Jarrah or Western Red Cedar?


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12 comments:

  1. Oh big decision!! I see where the red cedar could work, but honestly...I love the jarrah because of how close it matches the garage door. I'm just thinking, limestone/cream, charcoal and then jarrah...3 colours. If you do the red cedar you've added a 4th. I like the 3, that's how I usually think when it come to planning a design. But I do see how the red cedar looks more like a natural wood tone...good luck!

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    1. Now you have me thinking about sticking to the 3 colour combo, I think you might be right there Leanne. Thanks so much for your advice :)

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  2. You made the decision I would have made! I can't wait to see how it looks after it is finished!

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  3. I'd go with the jarrah because of how it matches with the garage door (and the blog title of course!). I think what Leanne said in her comment about the 3 colours is spot on and if you look at your house from the street, you want to be able to see that the colours and materials compliment each other. Good luck with the decision making :)

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    1. Of course it has to match my blog name hahaha. Thanks Natalie appreciate your advice :)

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  4. I think they may be right the Jarrah, wouldn't introduce another colour xxxx

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    1. I am now considering that as well Rae, 3 colours instead of 4.
      Hmmm decisions decisions!

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  5. I'm gonna say Western Red as it looks more natural yet still has the reddish tones like your garage door. Go with your gut instinct. All the best on your decision!

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    1. The Western Red definately looks more natural
      Thanks for your advice - I will listen to my gut feeling, which is currently a mess of butterflys so clearly Im not ready to make any final decisions just yet!

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  6. Sounds like a great way to go, we are always re sanding and staining our wooden slats!!! They look great.
    Peace & Love
    M+B
    mollyandbeans.com

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    1. I dont envy you having to maintain the wood all the time!

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