9
votes
How is playground wood treated?
The equipment in your picture may be coated with a couple coats of an oil-based, penetrating stain. Or it may be just bare wood. Cedar and redwood, for example, stand up to weather very well on their ...
- 1,446
9
votes
Accepted
What caused these screws to loosen so much (and how to prevent it)?
The fact that the table was made from untreated, big box store 2X stock pretty much answers your question. That wood is almost certainly what is known in the trade as SPF (meaning, spruce, pine or ...
- 1,401
8
votes
How is playground wood treated?
Much construction of playground equipment uses pressure-treated softwood (wood from conifer trees).
Current treatment of choice is ACQ (alkaline copper quaternary) but there is also CA (copper azole), ...
- 2,119
7
votes
Shellac over paint, outdoors
Shellac doesn't do well with water, that's your starting point here. It's also relatively brittle and with the expected movement in the wood you're likely to see problems with cracking.
Bonding to ...
- 64.6k
7
votes
Used motor oil on treated pine
but rather whether this is inferior treatment to another treatment option that is still affordable and won't require more maintenance over the coming years.
It's certainly something that people do -- ...
- 9,558
6
votes
Accepted
Best wood species for direct soil contact?
What is the best wood species for direct soil contact?
The Forrest Products Laboratory has a lot of information on wood durability.
Here is a chart from one of their reports titled "Above and in-...
- 586
6
votes
Accepted
Shellac over paint, outdoors
My question is, how should I expect a fairly thick shellac finish (over paint) to behave outdoors over time? It will be exposed to sunlight, a wide range of temperatures, and plenty of rain, snow, and ...
- 12.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Treehouse plans call for a 4x10 beam. Can I sandwich a pair of 2x10 and secure them with glue and screws?
Preamble: I'm not an engineer. Opinions here represent received wisdom from years as a carpenter. If you need the absolute truth, consult a professional engineer and get a stamp on your plans.
There ...
- 3,841
5
votes
Why keep gaps in siding of outdoor furniture project?
Can anyone tell if eliminating the gaps between the boards on the siding might somehow hurt the integrity of this patio prep cart?
Yes there could be a pronounced effect without specific steps being ...
- 64.6k
5
votes
Why keep gaps in siding of outdoor furniture project?
What I would like to do is implement some Tudor house design features since he just bought a Tudor home to start his family in.
For those unfamiliar with the Tudor style of house (as I was), here's ...
- 12.1k
4
votes
Accepted
Is the mineral oil sold for constipation the same type of mineral oil used for cutting boards?
Are they the same thing?
Check the label.
You're asking about two unspecified products, so it's hard to say definitively whether they're both exactly the same thing or not. Mineral oil sold for ...
- 9,558
3
votes
Accepted
What should be done to treat decorative wood for outdoor use?
Cherry is not a durable species* as I presume you know, so a protective finish becomes a must to ensure a long life if using it outdoors.
Since you obviously don't have a problem with a fully ...
- 64.6k
3
votes
Longterm protection for outdoor painted bird feeder (bird safe & environmentally friendly)?
The paint you're planning on using is already rated for exterior use. I can't speak to its quality but if used as per the manufacturer's guidelines you should get their expected service life which is ...
- 64.6k
3
votes
Waterproofing Wood With Left Over Polyurethane (Aesthetics irrelevant to project)
Interior varnish used outdoors will certainly work to protect wood in the short term, but I don't think it's the right way to go here.
One reason is that a film finish like varnish will tend to ...
- 64.6k
3
votes
Lumber Dimensions for Brachiation Ladder (Monkey Bars)
First, my flat answer:
For a 12' span backyard monkey bar set I'd use four clear (no knots) 2x8's - two each side. Use threaded pipe flanges screwed to the inner (hidden) face of the inner 2x8's (in ...
- 96
3
votes
Reuse planks of an old garden house
It's highly unlikely that the wood was pressure treated for a "dry" use like sheathing. And, it would be very unusual to use an after market preservative in that setting, beyond the ...
- 1,401
2
votes
Shellac over paint, outdoors
I've wondered this and done some experimentation myself. Shellac is the most beautiful finish, IMO, and non-toxic, natural, has character, etc--so of course I would like to use it. The answer is not ...
2
votes
Shellac over paint, outdoors
Shellac is perhaps the worst choice for the outdoor use. If you ever set a wet glass on shellac finished furniture, you'll notice a white ring. Water softens shellac and overtime it will wear away ...
- 209
2
votes
How do I stop cracking noises from my pergola?
Usually this noise is created due to thermal expansion. The roofing screws for polycarbonate sheeting should have a big enough flexible washer so that you can pre drill a hole in the sheeting around ...
- 41
2
votes
Refinishing teak patio table
A few years ago I had the chance to refinish a beautiful teak deck chair. Teak gets that grey color with age, and when you refinish it, a little of that grey actually looks beautiful.
I think you ...
- 356
2
votes
Accepted
outdoor preservative
Thanks to @Graphus (see comments) I found my answer on this site at Ideal outdoor preservative for a wooden ornament
Answering here so the question comes off the unanswered queue and no longer ...
- 153
2
votes
Accepted
Outdoor gate build - should I treat cut surfaces (half-lap joints) before gluing together?
When using pressure-treated wood for exterior construction treating any cut surfaces is considered good practice, but that's generally for nailed/screwed construction where even inside a joint water ...
- 64.6k
2
votes
Accepted
Can preservative-treated Douglas fir safely be used indoors (after planing the outer layer off)
Normally the answer to this is a "we can't say" as already indicated in the Comments, however, with the intended use I think one can say yes in this case. Given that the manufacturers of ...
- 64.6k
2
votes
using two different types of woods for outdoor pergola
I see absolutely no reason not to do this.
There are some rare circumstances where the different expansion/contraction rates of different woods can cause issues (i.e. a checkerboard end-grain cutting ...
- 5,500
2
votes
Used motor oil on treated pine
You don't say where beach house is, maybe in California? 100% this is illegal there :)
Used motor oil provides long service for untreated wood used as posts set in soil. Usually only used on farms and ...
- 2,119
2
votes
Can I span across 22' without support for an outdoor pergola?
I actually built a trellis that had an approx. 22' span using 2"x12"x12'treated lumber. It consisted of two thicknesses joined together with one face centering the 12' piece with 5' pieces ...
- 8,274
2
votes
Treehouse plans call for a 4x10 beam. Can I sandwich a pair of 2x10 and secure them with glue and screws?
A standard dimensional 4x is 3.5" wide. Two 2x side by side will only be 3" wide (1.5" each). The traditional solution for this when framing door/window headers is to sandwich a layer ...
- 6,336
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