"dpb" wrote in message
...
... If have the local mill option, just be careful if it's "oak" to
steer away from red oak--it does not weather well at all--white oak
will stand up well. Around here, anyway, Doug fir is at a premium
since it all comes from the West Coast. W/ the housing slump it
might not be as bad; I've not tried pricing recently.


Here in New Hampshire red oak lasts decades and white oak rots
quickly. I recently cut up a red oak trunk that has been lying on the
ground in the woods since the mid 90's. Roughly half the cross
sectional area is still too hard to stick a knife into. What rot there
is penetrated lengthwise much faster than across the grain.

Pressure treated Southern Yellow pine has nearly the same strength as
oak.
http://www.americantimberandsteel.co...d-fencing.html
Oak is stiff but it can be rather brittle.

jsw