I live just North of Balto Md and am looking for the most practical wood for a picnic table that will be used at an ocean front home. It will be used outside during the summer exposed to sunlight and salt air. I am told that redwood would cost an arm and a leg. (A guy at the local sawmill explained that they were burning it all out West.)
I have found Western Red Cedar locally and wonder if this is my best bet? 2 X 6, clear is $3.26 a linear foot and 1.89 a linear foot for knotty. I prefer to ignore the option of using pressure treated. Any thoughts?
Edited 7/11/2002 9:08:42 PM ET by ROYHATCH
Replies
Roy, you'll get some expert opinions about this (mine not being one), but sometimes I like to lay an early bet -- not sure cedar would hold up all that well. There might be some kind of cypress on the right-coast that would work better. It'll be interesting to see what other woods are recommended. We've had several "what wood to use" questions recently re: outdoor furniture, but I think yours is the first one that's specifically mentioned salt air exposure.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I don't know if this will help you out, but I do solid surface countertops also. Sometimes local fabricators have small pieces left over that they are willing to almost throw away. I made a table top for myself out of leftovers (terrible picture) but it great for dragging outside. It will stand up to any type of inclimate weather that you can think of. For my top, I made a simple take trestle type of legset out of 2x6 fir that is easily replaceable. If you are intrested, I'll give you a few hints for gluing up the top.
Solid Surface material is usually under the brand names of Corian, Avonite, or Swanstone. Check with your local resources for scraps.
B.
Western red cedar holds up well when exposed to conditions of the Pacific Ocean. Whether it will like the east coast is unknown -- I avoid it as much as possible and maybe they will attempt to do so as well. WRC will tend to go silver and you should expect some checking and some end split over time.
The guy from the lumber yard must have been from NYC originally. I understand that "THE WEST" to NYC natives is anything west of the Hudson. At this time of year, the fires are primarily in the inland high desert or in other arid environments. The burn in Arizona (Sholow sp??) was predominately Ponderosa Pine with probably some junipers and Lodgepole pine. If the redwoods were to burn, then you could expect Northern California to fall into the ocean because it is the roots of the redwoods that hold it together.
For what its worth, there are an awful lot of waterfront houses here on the wet coast sided, decked and roofed with Western Red Cedar, none of which get taken in for the winter. Also, every consumer oriented building supply store sells a WRC picnic table kit.
Another wood that is durable outdoors and a lot harder than Cedar is Mahogany, used on ships for centuries. Close to the same price as Cedar, too.
I would agree with you on the mahogany. We built a deck on the beach in hampton N.H. and used mahogany on the deck and all the porch trim. the wood comes with a wax finish on the ends to prevent splitting. I would reccomend you recut the ends and reseal with a clear sealer that you can use on the entire deck. I intend to make a lot of outdoor furnisher and exterior trim on my house with this wood.
We didn't burn it all and it is expensive even out here. However, an alternative that is being used more and more is Trex. Trex is made from recycled wood and plastic bags. Its about the same price but is just about impervious to the elements. However, if keeping cost down is an issue, you can use good old Douglas Fir and just apply several coats of UV protectant. A couple of annual refresher coats and it will last a long time. You could build two or three and still come in for less than the WRC or Mahogany.
Steve - in Northern California
Your responses were all appreciated and helpful. I still haven't bought the wood, however I think that I have decided on the WRC. Our house (although not at the seashore) is sided and roofed with cedar and shows no signs of deterioration after 17 years. Perhaps in a few years I will be able to make a report on the success, or failure, of this project. In the meantime, thanks.
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