Hi Everyone,
Just a quick question: What is the best wood to use for outdoors? I would like to leave it unfinished (no varnish, preservative…) I am thinking Ipe, Teak, Mahogany or Jatoba. I do not want it to grey, so fir or cedar is out. It is for a hammock stand. My client already had one made in cedar, and it rotted after 5 years, due to lack of maintenance. (We are in Canada, where it get a lot of weathering) I want to use an oily wood. Teak is expensive – is there another alternative that would be cheaper? Also, whay is the best glue to use?
Thanks a lot!
Martin
Replies
Ipe, and perhaps most all woods, if left untreated will weather to a silver grey color. One way to prevent this is to treat the wood with some form of oil or wood preservative. These are not permanent fixes--you or your client will need to reapply the treatment every year or so.
Another option is to use spar varnish to seal the wood. I've used this on exterior doors and boats. It works, but again, it won't last forever outside.
Good luck
Paul
Hi Paul, thanks for the advice. I suspected that might be a response. My goal is to use a wood that is oily enough to not have to finish it, but I'm probably dreaming.
Thx again.
MLT
Martin,
I agree with Paul that all woods with eventually weather outside. Some just last longer then others (Ipe for example.) Also preventative treatment just extends the life and needs periodic maintenance.
As far as glue choices I have had good luck with Gorilla Glue and System Three epoxy when I have worked with Ipe.
Hope this helps
RP Custom Woodworks
White oak and black locust are both excellent outdoor woods. I launched a thread a couple years ago about black locust, and from the responses I got, it sounds like the stuff is nearly as indestructible as Ipe is. Note sure what kind of stresses a hammock stand has to take. White oak might work better? Really don't know.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Martin, I live on Long Island NY and have used Spanish cedar with great success. I have pieces that have sat outside , unfinished for 6 years and show absolutely no signs of aging. They do however turn silver gray, but you could try Cabot's Austrialian tree oil to maintain it's original color. My deck was made from mahogany and I have used it on that as well with very good results .
You might consider cypress, it's very rot resistant. It does weather to grey, so you'll need to apply a finish -- I'd use spar varnish myself -- and maintain it.
If it's to be on the ground, you might consider putting blocks on the bottom supports to keep it off the ground, screw them in after it's finished and tell your client he/she will have to replace them as needed to prevent the bottom support from rotting. If you opt for that, you might want to supply the client with several of them, pre-bored and pre-finished.
Our back door, (rift cut Doug fir or old growth SYP) which faces the morning sun, was a disaster when we bought our house. I stripped what was left of the finish, sanded it to about 120 or 150 grit (I've forgotten) and gave it a couple of coats of spar varnish (Minwax brand, IIRC) two years ago and haven't needed to do anything to it yet.
I'll probably pull it off, sand it to 150 again and refinish it sometime this spring or summer. All a part of regular maintenance.
Regards,
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