Red-hued mountain cabin at the top in Sälen

At the top of Sälfjällstangen is a fine red holiday home with a view of Högfjällshotellet and the beautiful slopes. In summer, the house is exposed to the sun’s scorching rays and in winter it is the cold winds that have worked hard on the mud-colored facade. Thanks to Rödtjäran, the homeowners now look forward to not having to repaint the house every summer.

– The high altitude means that the house is extremely exposed to the weather in both summer and winter. We have had to spend some time every summer repainting the house that I built myself in 1990. The house is a semi-detached house with an attached scooter garage that we own together with our friends. We are all west coasters who like to go there several times a year,” says Iwan Borge.

The scooter garage first out

It was when Iwan was going to build an Attefallshus for his friends Eva and Björn that they discovered there actually is a paint that can be used on houses treated with distemper paint. The house manufacturer Larssonhus had samples of Rödtjära and Iwan became curious to use the paint on the new house. The snowmobile garage, which was also treated with distemper paint, became the “test facade”.

– We quickly fell in love with the beautiful red color and the impregnating properties. It was also important that the color was as close to the mud color as possible – which we saw immediately. When it came to choosing the color for the Attefall house, Red Pine was an easy choice. We were so pleased that we ordered the painting of the other buildings in winter 2016.

Some tips from Ingmari and Iwan

• Paint early in the season as the drying time is longer than “regular” paint.
• Paint during warm days – the paint is more pliable then.
• Red tar adheres well so be sure to protect/cover surfaces that will not be painted.

Name: Ingmari and Iwan Borge
Occupation: Retired today, but previously ran the construction company INBO Bygg AB
Lives: In Onsala outside Kungsbacka. Owns a semi-detached house in Sälfjällstangen together with friends Eva and Björn Jonsson