Wood selection for outdoor bench
 

My lady has commissioned me to build a garden bench. She wants it painted
(white). It will rest near a lake in the Blue Ridge (VA). What wood do you
suggest the bench be made of?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Southern yellow pine.

Make sure the wood is not in contact with the ground, though. Get it up on
something impervious to water.

"Art Donaldson" wrote in message
...
My lady has commissioned me to build a garden bench. She wants it painted
(white). It will rest near a lake in the Blue Ridge (VA). What wood do
you
suggest the bench be made of?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

"Art Donaldson" wrote in message
...
My lady has commissioned me to build a garden bench. She wants it painted
(white). It will rest near a lake in the Blue Ridge (VA). What wood do
you
suggest the bench be made of?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

If you keep it painted, yellow pine is a good choice. Otherwise, the cheaper
of cypress or white oak. Put some feet on the bottom to avoid ground
contact as that is the first place moisture will get to. I used square
rubber feet on a couple of benches and tables. .

On Sat, 25 Dec 2004 14:54:21 -0500, "Art Donaldson"
wrote:

My lady has commissioned me to build a garden bench. She wants it painted
(white). It will rest near a lake in the Blue Ridge (VA). What wood do you
suggest the bench be made of?

Thanks in advance for your advice.


Outdoor woods: Teak, cypress, redwood, white oak, cedar, or
pressure-treated wood. Perhaps cypress or white oak would be a good
choice. Use stainless-steel fasteners.

Another trick is to soak the feet with a thinned solution of epoxy.
Once the epoxy has soaked into the bottoms of the feet, it will not rot due
to contact with the ground. Since the OP plans to paint the bench, there
won't be any issues with subsequent finishing.

Good Luck.


"George" george@least wrote in message
...
Southern yellow pine.

Make sure the wood is not in contact with the ground, though. Get it up
on
something impervious to water.

"Art Donaldson" wrote in message
...
My lady has commissioned me to build a garden bench. She wants it
painted
(white). It will rest near a lake in the Blue Ridge (VA). What wood do
you
suggest the bench be made of?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

On 12/27/2004 2:00 PM Baron wrote:

Another trick is to soak the feet with a thinned solution of epoxy.

What do you use to thin epoxy with?

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
KG6RCR
------------------------------------
Today's Deep Thought:

The nice part about living in a small town is that when you
don't know what you're doing, someone else does.
------------------------------------

"Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott" writes:

What do you use to thin epoxy with?

You don't, you buy the correct resin and hardener for the project.

BTW, white oak and epoxy don't seem to make a good marriage.

Lew

I use acetone but I suspect other ketones should work as well. Thin as
much as you need but keep in mind that the thinner it is, the more easily it
penetrates but the more applications you need since there will be less epoxy
with each application.

I have used this method quite successfully on teak and oak. The legs on
these pieces are still as solid as the day they were placed in different
gardens about five years ago. Both pieces, by the way, were finished with
Penofin. By making sure the epoxy did not leak into the visible sides of
the legs, there was no aesthetic problem. Since the OP intends to use
paint, it won't matter if the epoxy does appear on the sides.

I have found this method to be less expensive and more readily available
for me than using a specially formulated epoxy.

Good Luck.

"Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott"
et wrote in message
...
On 12/27/2004 2:00 PM Baron wrote:

Another trick is to soak the feet with a thinned solution of epoxy.

What do you use to thin epoxy with?

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
KG6RCR
------------------------------------
Today's Deep Thought:

The nice part about living in a small town is that when you
don't know what you're doing, someone else does.
------------------------------------

I would consider the tropical hardwoods like ipe or mangaris...very
impervious to rot...

david

Art Donaldson wrote:
My lady has commissioned me to build a garden bench. She wants it painted
(white). It will rest near a lake in the Blue Ridge (VA). What wood do you
suggest the bench be made of?

Thanks in advance for your advice.