White Ash – Most effective way to protect & repair cracks in outdoor environments?
jpf566
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hey everyone
I’ve got a step project & our weather has got the best of it, as you can see from the pics the stair treads have begun to crack. (I live in eastern Pennsylvania, I think the cracks were due to freezing) I understand White ash was not the best species for an outdoor project like this but this was all I was able to find that was dried and ready to go after calling many local Sawmills.
What would you recommend is the best thing to use to fill these cracks and then seal them so this hopefully doesn’t continue? After staining I put one or two coats of Olympic Waterguard which I picked up from Home depot, but these cracks showed up only months later
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I’m a noob with all this!
Replies
Do the cracks go all the way through?
Mikaol
Nope not yet! They don't seem very deep yet, which is why I want to get on top of this, especially before freezing temps roll around again
I would suggest you make a filler by mixing epoxy and sawdust. Sand and finish with the same Waterguard you used. It is more then likely that the cracks occurred because When you bought the wood, it was not in fact dry. or Not as dry as it got over the winter months. this wood has hopefully seen both extremes in RH. But it will probably move again.
I second the epoxy recommendation.
I'm from eastern PA (north of Philadelphia), and currently live about 70 miles south, in Annapolis, so I do appreciate the horrible outside condition for wood.
While Ash is not a great choice for the outdoors, it certainly is not the worst - my daughter keeps and Ash rocking chair outside (covered, 3-season, screened area), and the rocker has held-up well (though, a bit ugly).
My choice is a exterior polyurethane, but not from HD or a big box store - this stuff is all DIY grade. Contact General Finishes or go to the Deft (PPG) website - these are top-end products (Deft is not marketed to us DIY folks, and is formulated for commercial/industrial use).
“[Deleted]”
Those cracks look like the result of wood movement that is being resisted by your fasteners. The cracks will open and close with the seasons and force out anything you stuff in there, even epoxy, whether you coat it or not.
How are the treads fastened to the stringers?
Thanks for all the tips everyone! Going to get some Epoxy for the cracks and some industrial sealer.
Here's how the treads are fastened to the stringers.
Those look like checks to me. In a board that thick they won't affect the integrity. If you fill them that's no guarantee they won't continue to split or split in other places.
The angle support is not allowing the wood to move, which may or may not be part of the cause. I would remove the step & elongate the rear hole to allow for expansion/contraction.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled