Which wood?

[Ken Higginbotham]

I need to replace the slats on a couple outdoor benches and was wondering which wood holds up best in the weather?

[Mark Boyette]

teak first but very pricy... or mahogany, redwood if you have adaquate support.

[Cody Colston]

I need to replace the slats on a couple outdoor benches and was wondering which wood holds up best in the weather?

Lots of choices, depending on your budget.

Teak
Mahogany
White Oak
Cypress
Cedar
Ipe

That's the ones I can think of right away.

[Ken Higginbotham]

Cool. There isn't much of it. Probably 13 - 14, 36" x 2" sq slats per bench and there are two benches so I'll price teak and mahogany. What would be a good outdoor finish?

[John Thompson]

You didn't mention what wood the benches are Ken. I would probably use white oak unless if you are painting or unless the grain is just a pure mis-match with the existing using a non-paint finish. White oak is good enough for pier and dock poles and wooden ship beams as it is very resistive to decay but.... it would depend on what you already have if I were in your shoes.

Teak... red-wood and cypress are also great for weather.

Good luck...

[Ken Higginbotham]

Thanks John,

I went by ATL Hardwoods last week and picked up some poplar and a price list (See attachment). With teak at $40/bf I'll probably do mahogany.

These are the powder coated metal frame end type benches with wood slats. Kind of like this one:

http://www.plasti-tek.com/images/PARK_BENCHES/PA-Bench.jpg