"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 23:03:29 +0100, "Mike" wrote:

paint ?

Poor at preserving timber (it's just a skin - penetrate that and it rots
just the same).

Then ensure it doesn't. In any case the paint on some of the frames on the
farmhouse I am doing up looks like it's been there a very long time indeed
without attention.



It's also horrible environmentally - most paints, and
pretty much all of the external ones, are either toxic resins, toxic
pigments, or full of solvents.

Modern ones quite possibly. If you make your own then far less so.


Personally I like to use larch, if I'm not using oak. Pick the right
board and the stuff's damn near pure plastic resin anyway.

True. Though there are non-temperate zone woods which do the trick as well.