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Frequently asked questions about onderhoud

There’s no such thing as maintenance-free wood. Wood is a natural product and will always be influenced by the outdoor climate. However, Platowood wood is low-maintenance, meaning it requires little upkeep. Thanks to our unique platonising process (hydro-thermal modification), the wood is exceptionally durable and dimensionally stable. It hardly shrinks or swells and needs no additional treatment for outdoor applications. Periodic cleaning is sufficient to enjoy a wooden façade for many years when using Platowood wood without a colour finish.

For façades with a colour finish, we recommend consulting our maintenance instructions.

Frequently asked questions about Platowood wood

Platowood Poplar is shorter than our other wood types, Platowood Fraké and Spruce. For all available lengths of our wood, we recommend checking our profile overview.

Platowood Fraké and Poplar are both double-sided usable, but this is not the case with Platowood Spruce.

For spruce, the oldest growth rings—marked with a scoring roller—must be installed on the back side of the façade. Due to fluctuations in the weather, spruce can start to delaminate, meaning the growth rings separate from each other. By placing the youngest ring on the outside, any delamination remains invisible.

For all available lengths of our wood, we recommend checking our dimensions and profile overview.

Untreated, fraké has a color reminiscent of oak. However, there are significant differences between oak wood and Platowood Fraké. First, our wood turns brown in color due to the platowood process, which eliminates its natural pale yellow tone. Second, oak is a very hard and slow-growing wood species, unlike fraké, which can grow up to 50 meters tall in just 30 years.

The sustainability of Platowood Fraké is a frequently asked question. Thanks to its low environmental cost indicator of just €0.43 per square meter, Platowood Fraké is an extremely sustainable choice. Fraké is a fast-growing wood species that gains a long lifespan through hydro-thermal modification.

The Terminalia Superba, better known as the limba tree, provides the wood from which Platowood Fraké is made. Naturally, this wood is not durable and falls into durability class 5 — meaning that untreated, it will rot quickly when used outdoors.

By platowooding the wood, its lifespan is significantly extended, creating a sustainable product suitable for outdoor use. In addition, harvesting these trees contributes to the local economy.

Want to read the full story about the origin of Platowood Fraké? Then check out our news article: Platowood Fraké: from forest to sustainable wood product (1/2).

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and OLB (Origine et Légalité des Bois) are two different certification systems focused on sustainability, but they apply to different aspects of natural resources and production processes.

The wood will not grey indoors. However, the brown tone of the wood will gradually fade over time. Want to prevent this? Then choose wood with a Natural finish or a color you personally like!

For indoor use, a high durability class isn't necessary, but there are still good reasons to use Platowood wood indoors. First, it has a beautiful brown color without any paint finish, and second, it is highly dimensionally stable—so you can be sure the wood will hardly move even when humidity levels in the building fluctuate.

The fire safety of a wooden façade depends on its configuration. As a rule, fire spreads more quickly with an open façade than with a closed one. For untreated Platowood Poplar, Platowood currently does not have a fire classification certificate. However, it is possible to achieve Fire Class D with a color finish, and even Fire Class B with a fire-retardant treatment.

Frequently asked questions about finishes

Would you like to touch up part of your wood in the color of the finish? Then order the correct color by contacting us.

When you apply a color finish to wood, maintenance becomes a factor. Weather influences cause the finish to gradually degrade. To ensure good adhesion and a long lifespan, the wood is brushed.

Note: when wood has a color finish (with the exception of Weathered), we only provide a warranty if the wood has been brushed.

It is possible to request samples of wood with the Burned finish. You can easily request samples via this link.

When you apply a color finish to wood, maintenance becomes a factor. Weather influences cause the finish to gradually degrade. To ensure good adhesion and a long lifespan, the wood is brushed.

Note: when wood has a color finish (with the exception of Weathered), we only provide a warranty if the wood has been brushed.

It is possible to request samples of wood with the Natural finish. You can easily request samples via this link.

When you apply a color finish to wood, maintenance becomes a factor. Weather influences cause the finish to gradually degrade. To ensure good adhesion and a long lifespan, the wood is brushed.

Note: when wood has a color finish (with the exception of Weathered), we only provide a warranty if the wood has been brushed.

Previously, we also had two Natural colors: one oil-based and the other stain-based. Due to changes in laws and regulations, oil finishes are no longer suitable for maintaining Fire Class D. These two colors, NCO and NCS, have now been replaced with new versions that meet Fire Class D. Since both colors were popular choices among architects, we decided to reintroduce two Natural variants.

It is possible to request samples of wood with the Weathered finish. You can easily request samples via this link.

Platowood wood weathers to a silvery tone. This is part of the natural greying process in which lignin is broken down by UV rays. When developing our pre-weathering stain, we aimed to match the naturally weathered color as closely as possible. Want to know more about wood weathering? Read all about it at: https://www.platowood.nl/nieuws/natuurlijke-vergrijzing-uitgelegd/

Frequently asked questions about fire safety

The fire safety of a wooden façade depends on the configuration. In general, fire spreads more quickly in an open façade than in a closed one. Without fire-retardant treatment, our wood has Euro fire class D.

Standard Platowood has a fire class of D-s2, d0. With the FireProtect treatment, this is upgraded to B-s2, d0. The exact fire class may vary depending on the wood type, treatment, and application.

The fire safety of a wooden façade depends on its configuration. As a rule, fire spreads more quickly with an open façade than with a closed one. For untreated Platowood Poplar, Platowood currently does not have a fire classification certificate. However, it is possible to achieve Fire Class D with a color finish, and even Fire Class B with a fire-retardant treatment.

With fire-retardant treated Platowood, the coating may sometimes degrade faster than expected. This is related to the moisture content of the wood.

After impregnation, the wood is mechanically re-dried to a level suitable for processing and for proper adhesion of the coating. The wood is deliberately not dried to 0% moisture content, as this would make it brittle and unworkable.

Because wood is a natural product, the residual moisture content may vary from plank to plank.

In combination with storage and installation conditions (such as temperature and humidity), this can lead to slight exudation of the fire-retardant agent. This process may affect the pigment of the coating.

Depending on weather conditions, the exuded powder will usually disappear naturally over time with rainfall. Under eaves or on areas exposed to less rain, rinsing with water may be necessary. Brushing is often ineffective at first, or even counterproductive, as it may rub the powder into the surface.
If the deposits do not disappear over time, please contact us.

Important to note: This has no impact on the fire-retardant performance or the technical quality of the wood. It is purely an aesthetic deviation.

Maintenance and Repair

For a color coating system, a new coat of paint can be easily applied.

For a pre-greying system, the situation is different: this system is designed to weather naturally. Applying additional layers may cause staining. In such cases, we recommend waiting until natural weathering takes over the process.

Storage and Installation

For a durable and stable result, it is essential that Platowood is stored and installed correctly.

During storage, it is important to prevent the wood from becoming wetter or more humid than its moisture content at the time of delivery.

Only after installation — provided the wood is properly ventilated and mounted on the façade — will it reach a stable moisture balance.

We therefore strongly refer you to the official Platowood storage and installation guidelines.

For certificates or background information on the technical process, please refer to the documents available via our downloads section.
If you have any questions about these files, feel free to contact us.

Frequently asked questions about window frame wood

Both thermal and hydro-thermal modification (the Platowood process) involve heating wood at high temperatures in an oxygen-poor environment, which causes chemical changes that reduce moisture absorption and improve dimensional stability—factors that contribute to increased durability of the wood. Thermally modified wood is also referred to as “thermowood.”

What’s the difference between thermal and hydro-thermal modification?

In hydro-thermal modification, the wood undergoes an additional step before the heating process: “cooking.” At Platowood, the wood is “cooked” in an autoclave under high pressure using saturated steam. This process increases the reactivity of the molecular structure, allowing the wood to be heated at relatively lower temperatures to achieve durability. This unique combination of cooking and heating is what we call platowooding. Platowood is the only wood processor that uses this specific modification technique.

The advantage of platowooding is that our wood becomes less brittle, which results in less material loss during installation. And that reduced brittleness comes with another benefit: Platowood is the only supplier that can deliver KOMO-certified window and frame wood made from fraké.

To reduce waste, we use our residual wood streams. Selected planks are optimized into lengths of 40 cm. These lengths are finger-jointed and laminated into beams from which windows and frames are made.

Since every tree is different, there will naturally be some variation in brown shades. Over time, Platowood Fraké will grey evenly, making this color difference no longer visible.

Platowood Fraké has a KOMO certificate and has passed tests that measure the screw withdrawal resistance of the wood. Because we steam and heat our wood at lower temperatures, our fraké is less brittle than wood that is only heat-treated. This means we are the only suppliers of fraké window frame wood with burglar-resistant properties.

When the window frame or door is evenly exposed to sunlight, the weathering will also be uniform. To prevent uneven greying, you can choose to treat your frame with a pre-weathering stain.

Keep in mind that if you apply Platowood window frame wood untreated, the wood behind the glass will not grey as evenly as the exterior. Glass blocks UV rays, which influence the greying process of the wood.

Platowood Fraké and meranti are both suitable for window and frame applications. The difference between the two is that Platowood Fraké can be used untreated, while meranti must be painted. Although fraké may be more expensive initially, it becomes more cost-effective over time because paint requires maintenance.

In addition, Platowood Fraké shrinks and swells 70% less, which means windows and doors are less likely to stick during winter.

Platowood produces a semi-finished product: laminated and finger-jointed wood beams in industry standard lengths of 5.90 m. Windows and frames made from Platowood Fraké are manufactured by joinery factories throughout the Netherlands.

Frequently asked questions about wooden cladding

Both thermal and hydro-thermal modification (the Platowood process) involve heating wood at high temperatures in an oxygen-poor environment, which causes chemical changes that reduce moisture absorption and improve dimensional stability—factors that contribute to increased durability of the wood. Thermally modified wood is also referred to as “thermowood.”

What’s the difference between thermal and hydro-thermal modification?

In hydro-thermal modification, the wood undergoes an additional step before the heating process: “cooking.” At Platowood, the wood is “cooked” in an autoclave under high pressure using saturated steam. This process increases the reactivity of the molecular structure, allowing the wood to be heated at relatively lower temperatures to achieve durability. This unique combination of cooking and heating is what we call platowooding. Platowood is the only wood processor that uses this specific modification technique.

The advantage of platowooding is that our wood becomes less brittle, which results in less material loss during installation. And that reduced brittleness comes with another benefit: Platowood is the only supplier that can deliver KOMO-certified window and frame wood made from fraké.

An important aspect of installing wooden façade cladding is moisture. Can the wood dry and ventilate properly? These are key questions to ask when designing and installing a wooden façade. Wood may get wet, but it must not stay wet. Moist wood reduces the lifespan of both the wood and any optional finishes. For more tips on installation, we recommend reading our installation guidelines.

Platowood wood is available through our points of sale. Curious which dealer is closest to you? Then click on this link.

In summer, we often see wasps gnawing on wood. Wasps build nests and use wood fibres for that purpose. They collect these from trees, but wooden façades can also become a target. Especially when the wood has weathered naturally and became somewhat worn, the surface fibres are relatively easy for wasps to gnaw off.

Would you like to know more about wasp damage and what you can do to prevent it? Read our article here.

Frequently asked questions about prices

The prices of our wood depend on the cross-section, profile, and finish. Platowood works exclusively with a dealer network, who set their own prices. For current retail prices, you can contact your nearest dealer.

The prices of our wood depend on the cross-section, profile, and finish. Platowood works exclusively with a dealer network, who set their own prices. For current retail prices, you can contact your nearest dealer.

The prices of our wood depend on the cross-section, profile, and finish. Platowood works exclusively with a dealer network, who set their own prices. For current retail prices, you can contact your nearest dealer.

The prices of our wood depend on the wood type, cross-section, profile, and finish. Platowood works exclusively with a dealer network, who set their own prices. For current retail prices, you can contact us.

Frequently asked questions about wooden decking boards

Platowood Decking Boards are made from Platonium 16, a profile with a clip groove for concealed installation. The decking boards from Platowood can be installed using the Cobra Hybrid clipsystem.

Wood is a natural material and will show signs of use over time, especially when walked on.

As decking, wood endures much more than when used as façade cladding. Think of rain, hail, sliding furniture, and shoe soles. When you install a deck with Platowood Fraké, you'll notice that signs of use—especially in the beginning—are quite visible.

You can compare planed Platowood Fraké to polished metal: the first scratches and marks stand out clearly. But over time, a more even appearance develops, as the wood accumulates more wear—just like brushed metal.

If you absolutely don’t want any streaks or stains, you could opt for slow-growing tropical hardwood or composite materials. However, keep in mind that both options are less suitable if environmental consciousness is an important factor in your decision.

Frequently asked questions about complaints

We ask you to report complaints to our After Sales department. This is to register and process your complaint in the right way. This ensures your complaint reaches the right people and will be handled.

To handle your complaint carefully, it is necessary to download the ‘Complaint Registration Form’, complete it as fully as possible, and email it together with photos to klachten@platowood.nl.

Complaint Registration FormDownloaden