Hello all, Was wondering what type of wood would be best suited for making an English Bench that would stay outside? I just got back from a trip to Scotland and Ireland and they had them everywhere. I have Norms plans and now I want to build some. Most were painted. so what wood do you recommend for this application? I lloked at Teak but ouch is it pricey. Gentleman at the lumber store strongly suggested I do not use poplar as it would decay even with pain on it, very quickly. Would white oak be ok? Cedar? Redwood? Your help is always appreciated.
Kenney66
Replies
Cedar, Rewood, White oak, Cypress All of them good for out of doors
good news,
what is recommended for a finish? Any thoughts. Marine varnish or something like that?
Kenney66
There is a good reason many benches are painted. Paint will outlive varnish by many times, since it has permanent UV blockers--pigments--that prevent the sun from breaking down the wood fibers and releasing the finish. The UV absorbers in clear finishes do themselves breakdown over the course of a year or two. Thus, clear finishes require continual maintenance--annual renewal coats and periodic refinishing.
Marine paints are quite good--the market is willing to pay for quality because the difference between good and mediocre becomes apparent quickly. Manufacturers respond by making high quality products with little compromise. When it stops raining again, I will apply the last coat of $50+ a quart paint to the deck of my boat. But even non-marine exterior enamels will hold up better than even the best marine varnish.
Of course with most of the recommended woods, the best solution is no finish at all, except perhaps to seal end grain against ground contact. They will weather to various attractive shades of grey and last for decades with only a regular cleaning.
By the way, there are well designed kits made to assemble teak benches that cost significantly less than the raw material can be purchased in retail quantities.
Several issues back (in FWW) they had an article on finishing outdoor furniture using an epoxy-based finish I believe? Supposedly super-durable. I'd dig that up if you want a clear finish. Sounded like a lot of work, but so is repeatedly refinishing it.
JH
What about Ipe. FWW just did an article about if for outdoor furniture use.
Ipe is very, very heavy, if that's a factor for any individual.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Ipe` also doesn't glue well, period. Some folks claim it has held up for a year or more, some longer. Since Ipe` is actually a variety of species, I believe the difference is that some sub-species glue better than others, but unless you know exactly the sub-species you have in hand, and do testing, you risk failed glue joints. I am aware of a huge job that failed and took out a shop along with it. Still looks terrible after 10 years.
Since Ipe` is not available in thicker timbers, the gluing becomes critical for making thick square typical of Garden benches.
Dave S
Thanks, Dave, I didn't know about the gluing problem, since my interest in Ipe is for our new deck. Better not be gluing things for that, eh? or there's another problem somewhere, LOL.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Spanish cedar is another alternative. I've used it on many outdoor projects and it holds up to the elements very well. The price is reasonable also.
Russ
http://www.homestead.com/jensenfinefurniture
The reason Teak is preferred is that it does not require any finishing, and will weather to a nice gray tone, with no splintering.
Factor in very conservative numbers for any kind of finishing, and you'll see that the Teak is the bargain in the long run.
Once you finish any outdoor item, you then commit yourself to frequent long term maintenance. These things have a way of piling up.
Dave S
http://www.acornwoodworks.com
Kenney,
In Britain iroko seems to be the cheapest and most widely availble "teak substitute". Many timber merchants carry it.
Iroko is durable if a little dull (usually a muddy brown).
ANother alternative is to make your bench parts in softwood then get them tanalised, if there's a facility near you. Tanalising uses unpleasant chemicals forced into the timber under pressure to preseve the wood (25 year guarantee usually) but leaves a green surface tinge that only goes away after about 3 years. The wood stays new-looking for about another 2 years then starts to go grey (unless you oil or varnish it).
Steve Schoene has the best advice about finishing "ordinary" wood. You either have to oil/varnish it every 6 months, paint it (less often) or just let it go grey whilst protecting the most vulnerable bits like end grain, screw holes and such.
All this based on building over a dozen wooden garden structures for the ladywife, over the years.
Lataxe
Edited 6/2/2006 6:29 pm ET by Lataxe
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