Composite wood

[Jack Wood]

Hi, I've been thinking about making a garden arbor and I was wondering if anyone had used composite wood to build outdoor furniture and the like with it. It's really expensive compared to the normal stuff, and what's available at the homecenters is aimed at deck building, how versatile is it? Does it hold paint well, cut, etc? THANKS!

[Jamie Buxton]

I've built decks with Trex, and played some with forming it into other things. Here's some observations:

* It cuts and mills easily with standard woodworking tools. For instance, you can run it through a planer and get a nice shiny surface.
* Compared to wood of the same dimensions, it is quite flexible. It also sags over time.
* Standard wood glues don't bond to it. Perhaps there is a glue for plastic which will touch it, but I haven't found it. I'd plan on using screws to hold your furniture together.
* Neither latex nor oil-based paint stick to it.

But the good news is that it completely impervious to rain, snow, and sunlight. Compare that to wood!

[Chris Padilla]

This lumber is bascially plastic milk jugs from what I understand.

[Perry Schmidt]

It does color over a (short?) time to a gray - at least all of them that I've seen do. My brother-in-law was consider using it for his boat dock. We went looking at other docks built w/ it. Very nice looking, holds up really well, but all of them colored gray in a year or so.

[Jim Becker]

Composites, such as Trex, were designed to be used as surfaces on a sturdy wood joist base, but unless something has changed, they are not to be used for structural items. For this reason, do your research carefully. Traditional materials, such as white oak, mahogany, cypress and so forth may be safer and stronger for furniture.

[Ed Moehlenpah]

Actually, you may want to have "increased" joists for trex vs wood. We found that out the hard way with a deck we built the other year. Once we corrected
the joist problems, it's been fine. Trex sags, and it's very heavy compared to wood (e.g. redwood).
Ed

[Kelly C. Hanna]

OK, here's my rant on the subject...

I am on a one man campaign to stop any self respecting woodworker from using these recycled plastic/wood products. They are very expensive, very flexible and will not hold a finish that I know of. They require expensive connectors to prevent mushrooming and I understand that they are not to be used in any structural application.
Every chance I get I discourage their use on decks because of the flexibilty issue. I have walked on a deck with Trex here in Dallas framed 16" oc and wasn't happy with the bounciness I experienced (I am at 215 lbs these days).

A much better choice for any outdoor application is Ipe or other Ironwood types. Most are guaranteed for 25-40 years and most are impervious to water and insect damage. In comparison, no composite I know of is guaranteed for more than 15 years.
Rant mode off....:cool:

[Jack Wood]

:) Thanks for the info folks! Well I have decided to bite the bullet and buy redwood to do this with. The composite is just way to expensive and not much of a selection to boot! :(