Outside wood use but not treated

[ironhat]

I'm about to change out the lattice around our enclosed deck and will probably be putting in slats that resemble the treated one. I used some of the treated ones at the cabin and, as expected, they are beginning to look like the hind leg of our furry friends. These will be painted so which of the softwoods am I looking at for this app? I plan on milling my own, if practical, since the slats are usually wider than the off-the-shelf 3/4" of an inch.

[BasementDweller]

You'd have to check to be sure, but I've heard both Hemlock and Locust is good for outdoor use.

I get both from my local yard. And they're both pretty cheap. Locust is actually a hardwood though I think.


- BD

[crokett]

Why aren't you just using treated and painting it? Another option (if you don't want white) is to buy the plastic stuff and paint with plastic paint.

[shoottx]

Try This and see what you come up with

http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/wdpick.htm

[cabinetman]

If you're going to paint, the specie really doesn't matter as long as you get good paint coverage, and maintain the finish. You could start with any of the exterior friendly woods like White Oak, Cedar, Cypress, or even Redwood. Or, If well protected with paint just about anything like White or Yellow Pine, Douglas Fir, Spruce, or Hemlock.

It would be wise to closely select stock for minimal defects, like knots.
.

[ironhat]

I hadn't considered locust because of how hard it is on blades. If that's an urban legend I'd like to know about it, Basement Dweller. All of the woods that came immediately to mind like hemlock, pine (various), spruce, etc, came up as having low resistance to decay in the link that 'shootx' posted. I wanted to avoid the treated stuff, crockett, because I've had such bad luck in the past with twisting and warping. I guess that I'm counting on good coverage on clear wood, as c.man says. Thanks, everyone!

[BasementDweller]

Well, I've not really noticed any "extra" hardness to it. Seems about like anything else I work with. Let's put it this way, I use a BT3100 and never have any bog down or anything while working with it.

Hemlock does say low resistance to decay on that link. I'm not sure how much I buy that as most of the old barns around here are built from the stuff. They are pretty much all over 100 years old!

You do hear a lot about some of the hardwoods like red oak for outdoor use, but if you are painting it, why pay for something like that?

I agree treated wood is pretty lame to work with. It also is bad for the environment if you're in to the whole "green" movement.

I hadn't considered locust because of how hard it is on blades. If that's an urban legend I'd like to know about it, Basement Dweller. All of the woods that came immediately to mind like hemlock, pine (various), spruce, etc, came up as having low resistance to decay in the link that 'shootx' posted. I wanted to avoid the treated stuff, crockett, because I've had such bad luck in the past with twisting and warping. I guess that I'm counting on good coverage on clear wood, as c.man says. Thanks, everyone!