Question about cedar

[Jon Farley]

I have agreed to help a local young man with his Eagle Scout project. He is constucting a nature trail and my job is to help him make some frames for signs which will identify trees along the trail. I intend to use red cedar and I plan to make the frames in a rail-and-stile design (much like a raised panel door). But, rather than a raised panel in the middle, there will be a sign sandwiched between two pieces of plexiglass.

My question is this: What, if any, treatment/finish do I need to apply to the cedar "frames" for this outdoor application? I have no experience working with cedar, so any and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

[Bob Smalser]

Nothing at all.

It'll weather to a perfect blend with the surrounding woods.

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/2594265/30531628.jpg

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/2594265/29955706.jpg

[Chris Padilla]

I'll second Mr. Smalser's experienced wisdom but I'll add: think about designing the signs with the thought that they will get rained on. Will rain 'sit' anywhere on the sign? Will rain seep into anywhere and 'sit' within the plexiglass?

As we know, water is the enemy of wood preservation so anything you can do to keep water from collecting or pooling on or within the sign will help it last that much longer.

Also, you probably want to use some plastic resin or poly glue. Instead of plexiglass, how about routing in the name of the tree into a wood panel? I think plexiglass will get dirty, perhaps condense moisture within its cavity, and cause the paper within to wither and brown or sog up. Make it all cedar and it should last a lot longer and probably look nicer, too.

Good luck...sounds like a fun project.

[Ian Barley]

I'm with Chris. The Cedar will do just fine because it is doing what it is meant to do in the place that it came from. It should give 15-20 years without missing a beat.

But the plexiglass is not in a place that it came from. If you use a sandwich the space between the sheets will spoil, Moisture dirt etc will find their way in there sooner or later. If Chris's routed suggestion is not practical I would suggest a single sheet of plexi, perhaps with a description etc printed on self adhesive vinyl - of the type used for sign writing etc. I suspect that it is not beyond the wit of the young man involved to find a local outlet that might be willing to supply FOC to a community minded project in exchange for a little recognition.