Wood for English Outdoor bench?

[Josh Kandiko]

Hi all,

I have been pouring over searches about what wood to use for outdoor furniture, and I know that it gets asked a lot, but I don't seem to be coming up with a good answer. I know that teak, ipe, mahoganey are all very good for outdoor furniture (or at least, that's what Google tells me :)), and that cedars are also good, but as they are a soft wood, I don't want the furniture to break. I have read that red or black locust is a very good wood, but I haven't heard of it and am not sure if I can get it up here in Wisconsin. I also took a look at pressure treated pine, but have read that it splits rather easily. What about just regular pine? I don't want this project to be high maintenance (as it will be a gift), so the weathered look is what I am going for, but I don't want this to cost a fortune. Is there any other wood that I am not considering that is readily available and easy on the wallet? Or will any of the cheap cedars hold up well to regular wear and tear?

Thanks
Josh

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Readily available and in Wisconsin for outdoor furniture can be limiting. If I was going to build something for the outdoors, I would probably look at cedar. It is not no maintenance, however you only need to treat it about every other year. The application to a peice of furniture should not be all that difficult.

Green treated lumber would work, but as you said it splits easily. The only way to prevent the splitting is to pre-drill everything, but it still can split.

[David Wilson]

Josh
I have built some outdoor furniture out of white oak and it holds up very well. Don't use red oak and don't use quarter sawn white oak

[Jim Becker]

Dave's suggestion of White Oak (never use red oak for this application!) is a good one as it will weather similarly to teak, cedar and cypress to a nice silver/grey and stand up to the weather. Further, it should be readily available for a reasonable cost if you do a little research and shopping. For outdoor use, try to use material cut from the outside of the log where the grain is straight...as close to rift sawn as possible. This helps reduce flaking from repeated heat/cold and wet/dry cycles. (This is absolutely a must with cypress in my experience).

[Greg Heppeard]

Third vote for white oak...not only stands up to the outdoor conditions, but would probably be the traditional wood for the English bench.

[Ian Barley]

From your list of choices I would go with White Oak. I don't think you guys get Iroko over there (or if you do I think you call it another name) but it is a good Teak alternative)

[Jim W. White]

If price is a serious issue than you might want to consider White Ash to White Oak. Would still hold up reasonable well in outdoors application (although not as well as white oak which would be my first choice as well ) at about half the price in my area.

...Jim in Idaho

[Alan Turner]

Josh,
I have made a series of outdoor benches from Spanish Cedar, which holds up well, but is not inexpensive, and I don't know the availability in your area, but here it is an easy wood to find. Copper nails used as rivets work well, and do not stain the wood. One is on my website if you want to take a look.
I also built one from Paulownia, which is light but strong (for its weight) and I posted it here, about last Fall as I recall.

[Keith Christopher]

I vote for Cypress, expensive to be sure, but holds up well.

[joseph j shields]

Hey Josh,

I live in Cheeseland too:rolleyes:

Last summer I finished putting in my deck & used Ipe.

Ipe is great looking & will stand up to our winters.

One of the largest Ipe dist is here in Milwauke... http://www.ironwoods.com/default.asp

I've talked to them many time about my deck.... nice people.

They can point you to where you can buy Ipe.

I plan on building some outdoor benches out of Ipe, but, be warn, it is tough wood. Also, you should use poly glue for any glueing.

I know that Ipe will be more expensive than pine.... but for gift... it will be stunning if you use Ipe.

-jj

[Mike Cutler]

Ipe, Teak, Mahogany. That would be my order of preference. I know that these can last at least 13 New England years outside untreated, and uncared for. The Cypress didn't hold up so well.
If you make it out of Ipe tho' you may need a couple of friends to help move it. Ipe is heavy.

A tip to remember. Never Ever clean the "patina" ( Lichen, Moss, Miracle Grow stains..etc. ) off of SWMBO'd outdoor garden benches, unless specifically asked :eek:

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Here's my take....you want it to last a lifetime.....go with Ipe!

[Hoa Dinh]

White oak - reasonable priced, widely available. It's not just weather-proof. It is water-proof. You know what whiskey barrels are made of, don't you?

[Mike Hedges]

I have used cypress and spanish cedar both hold up well

[Josh Kandiko]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies. I just got off the phone with a manager from a door factory up in Oshkosh. He's been in the wood business for about 25 years and he suggested going with cedar. I thought cedar would be too soft but he said it should hold up. Is there any special type of cedar I should be looking for? The sizes I am looking for are 3 x 6" x 6' and 3 x 5" x 8' to get me started. I do have a planer and a jointer so if I can't find the right size, I can get them down to what I need. Will these sizes be hard to find in cedar?


Thanks
Josh

[Josh Kandiko]

Well,

It looks like the lumber yard I was going to use only has 2 by's, so I found another lumber yard that mills white oak. That will hopefully serve me well. I'll let you all know when I get the lumber. I don't need it kiln dried right, as it will be an outdoor project. Do I need to worry about it shrinking? Do I need to by the wood an inch larger to account for any shrinkage?

Thanks
Josh

[Jim Becker]

I don't need it kiln dried right, as it will be an outdoor project. Do I need to worry about it shrinking? Do I need to by the wood an inch larger to account for any shrinkage?
Josh, it doesn't have to be dried in a kiln but it needs to be dried before you make your project!! Air dried is just fine, but you shouldn't use green wood even outdoors...unless you want the thing to crack and check and fall apart very quickly...