I need to replace the rotten wood on my steel framed garden bench but am unsure what type to use. I don't intend to paint it (as I've wasted too much time painting wood in the past and it still eventually goes rotten). So I'm looking for a maintenance free, or nearly, solution. I heard that treated oak is good and also recycled plastic imitation wood is okay. What would you recommend?

Also when I cut the ends I assume I'll need to treat the ends but what is the best treatment?

Thanks

Teak is also a good choice although it is getting hard to find these days owing to over logging in the past. I believe it has protected status now. Reclaimers may have stocks from old lab benches.

Richard

On 08/08/2020 11:12, wrote:
I need to replace the rotten wood on my steel framed garden bench but am unsure what type to use. I don't intend to paint it (as I've wasted too much time painting wood in the past and it still eventually goes rotten). So I'm looking for a maintenance free, or nearly, solution. I heard that treated oak is good and also recycled plastic imitation wood is okay. What would you recommend?

Also when I cut the ends I assume I'll need to treat the ends but what is the best treatment?

We've yet to find a wooden bench seat that looks good after a few years,
whether treated or not, but maybe the treatments aren't much good these
days. I guess certain tropical woods are better, but even these may need
some maintenance to keep them looking good.

Last year we went for a plastic "wooden" bench, and we are very pleased
with it. It's this one (although currently unavailable):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Olive-Grove-Maintenance-Effect-Polymer/dp/B07DXQTVQF/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

It is very sturdy and looks as good as new.

--

Jeff

On 08/08/2020 11:12, wrote:
I need to replace the rotten wood on my steel framed garden bench but
am unsure what type to use. I don't intend to paint it (as I've
wasted too much time painting wood in the past and it still
eventually goes rotten). So I'm looking for a maintenance free, or
nearly, solution. I heard that treated oak is good and also recycled
plastic imitation wood is okay. What would you recommend?

If you want it to last well untreated, then you need to use a species of
wood classed as "durable".

Common candidates include English oak, Teak, and Western Red Cedar.

Also when I cut the ends I assume I'll need to treat the ends but
what is the best treatment?

On Oak or Cedar you can oil or just leave them untreated - they will in
time acquire a silver finish.


--
Cheers,

John.

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On Sat, 8 Aug 2020 03:12:35 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

I heard that treated oak is good ...

Wouldn't have expected oak to need treatment for bench laths. Wood
only rots when the conditions are right for the fungus's etc. Too wet
or too dry and rot doesn't happen. Bench laths are suspended in the
open air so dry really well.

IMHO painting untreated wood is why it rots. The paint eventually
microscopically fails, lets water in but then can't get back out fast
enough.

Teak was the timber of choice for garden furniture but may well be
hard to come by and/or expensive these days. We have a bench with
teak laths, sister rescued some old teak bench tops... This has been
outside for decades and is perfectly sound, just superfical silver
surface weathering.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Jeff Layman wrote:
On 08/08/2020 11:12, wrote:
I need to replace the rotten wood on my steel framed garden bench but am
unsure what type to use. I don't intend to paint it (as I've wasted too
much time painting wood in the past and it still eventually goes
rotten). So I'm looking for a maintenance free, or nearly, solution. I
heard that treated oak is good and also recycled plastic imitation wood
is okay. What would you recommend?

Also when I cut the ends I assume I'll need to treat the ends but what
is the best treatment?

We've yet to find a wooden bench seat that looks good after a few years,
whether treated or not, but maybe the treatments aren't much good these
days. I guess certain tropical woods are better, but even these may need
some maintenance to keep them looking good.

Last year we went for a plastic "wooden" bench, and we are very pleased
with it. It's this one (although currently unavailable):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Olive-Grove-Maintenance-Effect-Polymer/dp/B07DXQTVQF/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

It is very sturdy and looks as good as new.


I was gonna say €œDont buy plastic€� as the plastic stuff Ive seen made
from recycled plastics has always warped and looked terrible in a short
space of time. The bench in the link above looks okay though...

Not sure that I would have one though. I kinda feel that garden furniture
*ought* to be biodegradable.

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

On Sat, 8 Aug 2020 03:12:35 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

I need to replace the rotten wood on my steel framed garden bench but am unsure what type to use

Iroko is cheaper than Teak and very long lasting, Iroko does not
require regular treatment with oil or varnish when used outdoors. It
is very difficult to work with tools as it tends to splinter easily,
and blunts tools very quickly.[

On 08/08/2020 11:12, wrote:
I need to replace the rotten wood on my steel framed garden bench but
am unsure what type to use. I don't intend to paint it (as I've
wasted too much time painting wood in the past and it still
eventually goes rotten). So I'm looking for a maintenance free, or
nearly, solution. I heard that treated oak is good and also recycled
plastic imitation wood is okay. What would you recommend?

If you don't mind the odd splinter and can get it then opepe is
virtually indestructible. My father made fences out of offcuts from the
dyestuffs industry in the 1970's and they were still fine 50 years
later. The only pieces that actually failed had been buried and even
they still had some structural integrity. The downsides are that you
have to treat it as a metalworking project. It is very brittle.

It is a rather bright orange to begin with but ages to a silver grey
like most of the reddish hardwoods. Iroko is probably a more commonly
available wood I'd point you at my favourite wood supplier website but
they have improved it so that you just get thrown at random advertisers
and there is no worthwhile content at all any more

Also when I cut the ends I assume I'll need to treat the ends but
what is the best treatment?

Teak oil or boiled linseed oil.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 08/08/2020 11:50, John Rumm wrote:
Common candidates include English oak, Teak, and Western Red Cedar.


Yes for heartwood of oak and wrc, I'd choose wrc but use slightly
thicker section as it is a less dense wood. You could look at sweet
chestnut but fixings need to be considered as it splits easily.

I recently built my log shed using wrc milled by a chap I know in
Petersfield as 4 x 2 weren't readily available earlier in the crisis.

On 08/08/2020 11:12, wrote:
I'm looking for a maintenance free, or nearly, solution. I heard that treated oak is good and also recycled plastic imitation wood is okay. What would you recommend?

Iroko, or plastic if you can get it in the right dimensions and it's not
Ikea*.



* A bendy wobbly thing.

I did a similar job and had this quote for some wood - cut to length:

I've given you prices for four different timbers, no problem to radius the
corners for you .

Softwood £21.00
Idigbo £47.00
Sapele £55.00
Iroko £64.00


I opted for the softwood and a can of Sadolin - It will see me out!

Peter Parry wrote:
On Sat, 8 Aug 2020 03:12:35 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

I need to replace the rotten wood on my steel framed garden bench but am unsure what type to use

Iroko is cheaper than Teak and very long lasting, Iroko does not
require regular treatment with oil or varnish when used outdoors. It
is very difficult to work with tools as it tends to splinter easily,
and blunts tools very quickly.[

Wierdly enough Lleylandii wood is long lasting outdoors, you might
find it quite difficult to source though!

--
Chris Green
·

On 08/08/2020 11:21, Tricky Dicky wrote:
Teak is also a good choice although it is getting hard to find these days owing to over logging in the past. I believe it has protected status now. Reclaimers may have stocks from old lab benches.

Richard


A lot of perfectly good wooden decking is being removed from Worthing
pier so that the RSJ's and other bits ot metal can be repaired
and painted.

There is a huge stack of new decking awaiting installation.

What they chopped out was left in a big heap and apart from a
bit of surface degredation and discolouration, the core of each
hardwood deck timber lokked like new where it had been cut through.

Hope it doesn't end up in landfill or on a log burner.

On Sat, 08 Aug 2020 11:57:36 +0000, Tim+ wrote:

Jeff Layman wrote:
On 08/08/2020 11:12, wrote:
I need to replace the rotten wood on my steel framed garden bench but
am unsure what type to use. I don't intend to paint it (as I've wasted
too much time painting wood in the past and it still eventually goes
rotten). So I'm looking for a maintenance free, or nearly, solution. I
heard that treated oak is good and also recycled plastic imitation
wood is okay. What would you recommend?

Also when I cut the ends I assume I'll need to treat the ends but what
is the best treatment?

We've yet to find a wooden bench seat that looks good after a few
years,
whether treated or not, but maybe the treatments aren't much good these
days. I guess certain tropical woods are better, but even these may
need some maintenance to keep them looking good.

Last year we went for a plastic "wooden" bench, and we are very pleased
with it. It's this one (although currently unavailable):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Olive-Grove...ct-Polymer/dp/
B07DXQTVQF/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

It is very sturdy and looks as good as new.


I was gonna say €œDont buy plastic€� as the plastic stuff Ive seen made
from recycled plastics has always warped and looked terrible in a short
space of time. The bench in the link above looks okay though...

Not sure that I would have one though. I kinda feel that garden
furniture *ought* to be biodegradable.

Tim

It's probably UV degradable.

I guess it depends on the look you are after and how much work you intend to
do.
One small seat I say said it was Mahogany, well it looked like it was too,
but as at School I used this wood for projects it was incredibly hard and
tended to have little bits split off.
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Tim+" wrote in message
...
Jeff Layman wrote:
On 08/08/2020 11:12, wrote:
I need to replace the rotten wood on my steel framed garden bench but am
unsure what type to use. I don't intend to paint it (as I've wasted too
much time painting wood in the past and it still eventually goes
rotten). So I'm looking for a maintenance free, or nearly, solution. I
heard that treated oak is good and also recycled plastic imitation wood
is okay. What would you recommend?

Also when I cut the ends I assume I'll need to treat the ends but what
is the best treatment?

We've yet to find a wooden bench seat that looks good after a few years,
whether treated or not, but maybe the treatments aren't much good these
days. I guess certain tropical woods are better, but even these may need
some maintenance to keep them looking good.

Last year we went for a plastic "wooden" bench, and we are very pleased
with it. It's this one (although currently unavailable):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Olive-Grove-Maintenance-Effect-Polymer/dp/B07DXQTVQF/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

It is very sturdy and looks as good as new.


I was gonna say "Don't buy plastic" as the plastic stuff I've seen made
from recycled plastics has always warped and looked terrible in a short
space of time. The bench in the link above looks okay though...

Not sure that I would have one though. I kinda feel that garden furniture
*ought* to be biodegradable.

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

I seem to recall the so called Mahogany one said it had the ends impregnated
with something and the rest needed to be oiled with some stuff.
These hard woods seem to be the thing, but they ain't cheap. Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"John Rumm" wrote in message
o.uk...
On 08/08/2020 11:12, wrote:
I need to replace the rotten wood on my steel framed garden bench but
am unsure what type to use. I don't intend to paint it (as I've
wasted too much time painting wood in the past and it still
eventually goes rotten). So I'm looking for a maintenance free, or
nearly, solution. I heard that treated oak is good and also recycled
plastic imitation wood is okay. What would you recommend?

If you want it to last well untreated, then you need to use a species of
wood classed as "durable".

Common candidates include English oak, Teak, and Western Red Cedar.

Also when I cut the ends I assume I'll need to treat the ends but
what is the best treatment?

On Oak or Cedar you can oil or just leave them untreated - they will in
time acquire a silver finish.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

"Brian Gaff \(Sofa\)" wrote:
I seem to recall the so called Mahogany one said it had the ends impregnated
with something and the rest needed to be oiled with some stuff.
These hard woods seem to be the thing, but they ain't cheap. Brian

However Mahogany although a 'hardwood' in the sense of being deciduous
isn't particularly hard I don't think. It's mainly used because it is
very beautiful/decorative.

--
Chris Green
·

was thinking very hard :
I heard that treated oak is good and also recycled plastic imitation wood is
okay. What would you recommend?

Last time I looked at recycled imitation plastic wood, I found it
surprisingly expensive for what it was and only available as ready made
furniture. Has that situation changed at all, is there a cheap source
of just material?

On 09/08/2020 11:35, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
was thinking very hard :
I heard that treated oak is good and also recycled plastic imitation
wood is okay. What would you recommend?

Last time I looked at recycled imitation plastic wood, I found it
surprisingly expensive for what it was and only available as ready made
furniture. Has that situation changed at all, is there a cheap source of
just material?
Used some when volunteering with the National Trust for a board walk. It
came from Liverpool area is only info I had.
It was far more expensive than real wood, and much heavier.
Had to allow for expansion when fixing so clearance holes for all fixing
screws.
After approx 10 years the material itself is absolutely fine with the
rough finish on the top still present and not slippery. Only maintenance
has been due to movement of the supporting framework in a very wet and
often flooded area.
I think the initial investment has more than paid off in reduced
maintenance costs especially in keeping a non-slip surface.

Thanks all for your helpful responses. I'm starting to think it might actually be more expensive to repair the bench with decent timber (and use the steel ends) than to buy a new hardwood one. Such a shame as it'd be a rewarding and easy little project and gain useful credit with SWMBO.

On Sunday, 9 August 2020 19:06:44 UTC+1, wrote:

Thanks all for your helpful responses. I'm starting to think it might actually be more expensive to repair the bench with decent timber (and use the steel ends) than to buy a new hardwood one.

It is, unless you find a tree to use, or some oak pallets.


NT

Such a shame as it'd be a rewarding and easy little project and gain useful credit with SWMBO.