"BigWallop" wrote in message
om...

"PCPaul" wrote in message
om...
I've been tasked with making a garden gate for Xmas... a half-height one,
along the lines of a picket fence with rounded tops.

The gate is between two hedges, so there's no existing fence or wood to
match up to. What wood is best to use to make a fairly resilient gate
without breaking the bank and without needing re-varnishing every couple
of years?

Pine isn't too sturdy unless you keep redoing it. Pressure treated pine
is better but it's going to be machined, exposed wood so the colours will
be all over the place.

So what's left? Ash? Oak (green or dried)? Poplar? anything else?


Old wooden pallet base runners. The timber is strong enough to dress and
machine. It lasts for ages without much maintenance. It's cheap. Have a
look around your local DIY store or timber merchant for old broken
pallets.

That's what our little garden divider fences are made from. :-)

I made a full length 30ft x 4ft high garden fence with old pallets around 20
years ago and it looks still as solid as the day it was made. Not sure what
pallets are made with but its strong stuff.