Need timber for walltop bench

KHUGY · 03-03-2011 2:07pm #1

Hi,
I don't know much about wood but the job i'm working on is fairly straight forward, I have built a small stone wall at the end of the decking in the garden. This wall is to be used as a bench also. It is made up of two L shaped walls leading onto the walkway.

The wall is 1ft wide approx by 23ft long in total (The breakdown is 1x8' length 2x 4' lengths and 1x7' length)

So my questions are what types of wood would be best suited for this outdoor use and since it probably won't be treated already what would be the best way to do this (it will most likely be varnished once complete)

After reading some of the other threads I know its probably a bit out there but before i go marching off to the sawmills i would like to have some kind of idea of what i'm looking for. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

fergal.b · 03-03-2011 3:28pm

Hi, teak would be good and just oil it once a year. Its an oily wood to start with so varnish won't stick well to it.

Most of the hardwood's will do mahogany,iroko,oak, etc and should last a long time.
Best of luck.

slowburner · 03-03-2011 9:39pm

Many hardwoods are not durable outdoors though, Ash, Beech, Maple, Birch to name but a few. Western Red Cedar and Larch are fairly durable outdoors. If the wall is in a sunny spot, you can let it (the wood, that is) develop its own silvery patina by not doing anything. The woods fergal.b mentioned will go a nice colour if left in the sun and rain. Even pressure treated Spruce will do this in the right conditions.

KHUGY · 07-03-2011 4:41pm

Fergal/Slowburner,
Thanks for the replies. Going with your advice i rang around a few places today and i'm having problems finding a hardwood in those dimensions. The only timber that i could find is a lebonese cedar.
I looked this up and its a softwood, other info i found on it said that it was a brittle wood (although guy from the sawmill i rang reckoned that this wood be an ideal wood for outdoor use).
Also when i say i'm having problems its the 14" width that nobody seems to stock.
Any experience using this cedar?

jack of all · 07-03-2011 6:38pm

Sourcing 14" wide board is definitely going to be problematic as will be problems with splitting and cupping as such a wide board will. Why not use 3 narrow strips of 3- 4" boards to form "strip seating" like you'd often see in dressing rooms etc. Easier to source and fix to 2x 1 hardwood battens spaced every 18" or so. With a gap between the 3- 4" strips you'll allow water to drain off, although the gaps will allow dust and dirt to accumulate which can promote algae growth- best to powerwash gently to remove this periodically. Use stainless steel screws for fixing, screw and pellet fix with a matching hardwood pellet. Use a polyurethane glue externally. Oil all end grain with a white spirit/ boiled linseed oil.

KHUGY · 07-03-2011 8:32pm

Thanks Jack,
Had thought of using the strips but i built the wall around my decking and its more a decorative piece so one solid piece of timber would be nice this would then double up as a bench if required.
Someone had also told me before about gluing strips of wood together to make a solid plank to the specs i require but i'm not too sure how that would turn out.
The other option would be to get some kind of stone capping but i really have my heart set on the solid piece of timber.
Will keep on looking, anyone know of a place where i might be able to get it?

Mahatma coat · 08-03-2011 10:52am

to mediate cupping and splitting Y'd really need to use a piece of HWD about 65 - 70mm thick

jack of all · 08-03-2011 11:05am

If you want to go with a wide board you could rout stress relieving grooves, say 10x 10mm , 3 or 4 across the width, on the underside of the board, this will help the boards to resist the tendency to cup.

Need timber for walltop bench

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