Decent cheap wood to use for outside molding

[Stephen Saar]

Some of the outside molding around the windows in my house have started to rot away. I am looking for replace them, but I was curious what type of wood would be best for this purpose. These are pretty basic, just rectangles, probably around 3/4 " thickness or so, nothing special. I live in Atlanta, GA so moisture is always a problem, and I've never been crazy about pressure treated lumber. This is all going to be paint grade stuff. I was thinking about possibly oak, but I'm not sure what would be the best wood for this. I want something that will hold up better if any moisture does get to it, but I don't want to spend a ton for something like ipe. It looks like around here Ash, Basswood, Oak (Red and White), cypress, and poplar are all in the price range I'm looking for but I don't know enough about the woods to really say which one would be best for this purpose. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks.

-Stephen

[Frank Drew]

Stephen,

Of the woods you've listed, I'd definitely choose cypress for weather resistance and paintability. If available, I'd also consider redwood, mahogany, or cedar.

[joe milana]

Why not Western red cedar or even pvc.

[Danny Hamsley]

If you go with red oak, I am just south of you down I-75 in Perry and I have plenty.

[Erik Frederiksen]

And, if you go with redwood, make sure it is all heartwood. The sapwood does not hold up as well to moisture.

[Peter Quinn]

Paint grade? Look for extruded polyurethane trim boards like AZEC or KLEER TRIM. Not real cheap, but you will only have to do it once. There is no good cheap exterior trim wood left in this world. We humans done over populated and used it all up. Now its fast growth timber farm junk, expensive mahogany or cedar, finger joint cedar or pine which will always fail, or plastic. I choose plastic whenever possible. It mills well, though the dust is obnoxious and stinky, and it holds paint like a ..........(add your favorite expletive here). It doesn't absorb water, so it doesn't shed paint, and it loves latex which makes life easy. And for those in termite zones, termites don't eat plastic, and thats a plus too. It also glues well for boxed columns and such, and they have some simple molding profiles like brickmold or bed moldngs too. Bead board as well.

If you must have wood, medex might be another choice for square edge trim stock, though you are limited to 10' or so lengths, and full sheet are darn heavy. Google medex exterior MDF, or MDX.

Otherwise, the usual suspects. Cedar, cypress, clear grade vertical grain fir heart wood, mahogany, teak.....hey wait, none of those are cheap at all.

On second though cement board like HARDI plank might be a good choice too. Termites don't like that much either.

[Larry Frank]

I agree with the PVC for exterior trim. I tried it for the first time a few years ago and it looks as good today as it did when I put it up.

[Von Bickley]

I agree with the PVC for exterior trim. I tried it for the first time a few years ago and it looks as good today as it did when I put it up.

I agree with Larry......

[John R Green]

Hardie Trim. Available in 4/4 & 5/4. Little dusty but it won't need to be replaced. Best product is the Azek type material. Once you get over the sticker shock, you'll appreciate it's attributes. It will never need replacing either. Check out their websites.

[Mark Woodmark]

If you are painting it, why not solid PVC. It will never rot. Or a cement board product such as Hardie Plank

[Van Huskey]

Even when I just read the title all I could think was PVC, do it once, be done with it.

If not the best price/performance for you in ATL would probably be cypress.

[Ray McCullie]

Here is another idea if you really want to use wood, American White Elm.

"Romans hollowed out elm tress and used them for water pipes. Elm is a standby in dam and lock construction; due to its muddy color, it's most often used as a paint-grade hardwood for furniture and cabinetwork."

I don't know what the prices would be but it may be cheaper then Cypress and hold up just as well.

[Joe Kieve]

I'm just south of you in Newnan. Yep, pretty humid in the summer. I'd go with the PVC also. "It won't rip, ravel, tear, shrink, stink, smell, or bust."
Just my 2 cents.

joe

[dennis thompson]

I had the same problem & had AZEK trim installed,expensive but a solution which will last a lifetime. The builder who did it for me said he tries to only use AZEK in all his jobs as there is no good wood trim available anymore.
Dennis

[Bob Carreiro]

Hi Steve,

Vinyl is a good way to go, but can be expensive. Why not go with treated material? Moisture won't harm it, bugs keep away, and it'll last for 50 yrs!

I just built an exterior door surround - somewhat intricate - to match the building's architecture and used treated stuff for 95% of it. A 5/4 board (1" finished), x 6" X 8', cost less than 3 bucks at Lowe's! If you take your time going thru the material at the store, you can get some pretty clear boards that are easily machined to match your profiles.

good hunting,
Bob

[Neal Clayton]

vinyl will also eventually die a warped death in the sun, and it expands/contracts more than wood does, so it notoriously winds up trapping moisture where it has failed.

the pvc and concrete (hardi) stuff i don't dispute is a viable solution, but plastic, meh.

as for wood, in the area you're in, cypress.

[Peter Quinn]

Two other available options not yet mentioned are torrified lumber and timbersil. Torrified is cooked in a high temp kiln with almost no oxygen so it can't ignite, which changes the chemical structure of the woods sugars. It makes the wood nearly incapable of absorbing moisture, and rather dark as well, which might not be great for light paint colors. Apparently bugs don't care for it either. Usually poplar is the species sold for exterior, and it may also be called toasted, roasted, or a few other things. It smells like a campfire when worked. Check your local yard for more info if they carry it.

Timbersil is soaked in a liquid glass (silica) formulation then baked to form a glass like material throughout that protects the wood and resists moisture and bugs. It is KD so unlike pressure treat, which a warped sloppy wet mess suitable only for decking, timbersil can be painted, and glued, and treated like standard lumber. They use SYP for timbersil, I haven't used it but may try some soon. They have a good web site for more info.

[Jim Becker]

Why not go with treated material? Moisture won't harm it, bugs keep away, and it'll last for 50 yrs!

Treated lumber isn't good for any kind of "precision" work...it's sopping wet when you buy it and shrinks considerably over time. It also cannot be properly finished until it dries out after many months, if at all. And then there is the extra care you have to take while working with it for personal safety.

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OP, PVC like AZAK is about the best thing going, but it's not inexpensive. Of the woods you listed, cypress and white oak are decent choices for exterior use. Red oak is a no-no for exterior use as it will wick up moisture and rot quickly.

[Ben Davis]

The S4S or S2S exterior trim boards from WindsorOne are also a very viable solution if wood is a must. Be certain you prime all cut edges!!

[Peter Quinn]

The S4S or S2S exterior trim boards from WindsorOne are also a very viable solution if wood is a must. Be certain you prime all cut edges!!

Forgot about windsor one. They are the only FJ product I have personally used to date that hasn't failed miserably. I replaced a lot of splash boards on a colonial that had been eaten by a termite swarm with windsor one, primed the heck out of every cut, no problems after almost 10 years. Not my house, but I've been back to se the work. I have some on my own house that is almost 5 years old and is hanging in just fine. Not a bad option IMHO where wood product is a must.

[Bob Carreiro]

"Treated lumber isn't good for any kind of "precision" work...it's sopping wet when you buy it and shrinks considerably over time. It also cannot be properly finished until it dries out after many months, if at all. And then there is the extra care you have to take while working with it for personal safety." Jim Becker

I appreciate your post, Jim. I guess time will tell.

150663

150664

I blew 22 cal. nails into the brick for attachment along with lots of Liquid Nails on all mating surfaces to the brick, and used stainless screws per the treated materials' OEM's recommendations.

The top section backer is treated 3/4" ply with treated 2x's glued and screwed from behind for the build-out, with more treated 3/4" ply for the trianglure sections. The lower edge of the ply backing has a solid (treated) 3/4" x 2-1/2" glued and pocket-screwed from behind to hide the plywood edge (Oops - didn't use stainless for these!). Sitting above are treated 5/4" caps. (The crown, cove and rosetts are non-treated woods, although the rosets are inlaid into the treated 2x's.) The backers to the pilasters are treated 1x's, and the fluted pilasters are treated 2x's (the "half-round" profiled spacers between the rosetts and flutes are 3/4" treated blocks to facilitate installation). The pilaster shoes are treated 1x's.

After what you've said, I am hoping the gallon of Titebond II and 37 pounds of stainless screws I used is enough to minimize wood movement. I should add that the 2X materials were, as you said, sopping wet when I bought them, but I set them out in the sun on stickers for a week, some of which warped. I salvaged enough 1X material for the job, but for the 2X8's I used for the pilasters, the warps were so bad that I cut a series of 1" deep cross-cut kerfs behind the affected areas so they would bend back when fastened, and filled the edges after installation. Time will only tell if the wood moves beyond acceptable measure.

I can't say that I doubt what you have said about the instability of treated wood, but with the methods I used for the design and constrution make my eye-brow raise as to its validity. Only time will tell.

Thx for the post and I hope our original poster (and others) can benefit.