I'm planning to make some benches for my yard that will sit directly on the grass. Should I go for pressure treated lumber or regular lumber? I'm also interested in staining the benches, so does that affect my wood choice? If I use pressure treated wood, do I still need to seal it? And since these are benches, I want to sand them - will sanding affect the pressure treated wood in any way? I checked the wiki but didn't find any information that answered my questions.
4 Answers
Ipe is a great option, but keep in mind it's pretty expensive and could be tricky for a newbie. Treated wood should work fine for your project and will last a few years, giving you time to improve your skills for future builds.
I might be too new to woodworking to fully understand this, but thanks for the input!
For outdoor projects, it's generally a good idea to use a penetrating oil finish on fully exposed wood. Avoid water-based finishes because they tend to peel. You can actually go with regular wood if you apply a few coats of penetrating oil; I often use white pine outdoors and reapply oil whenever water doesn't bead up anymore.
I would recommend using cedar if you want untreated wood; it holds up really well. If you're planning to stain, hemlock is a good option, too. Ipe is solid but can be pricier and harder to work with as a beginner. Common fir also works for benches as long as you treat it and make sure it's thick enough.
Stick with redwood or cedar for your benches. Treated wood isn't really intended for this kind of use, especially if you're looking to finish it nicely.
Yeah, Ipe looks nice, but for a beginner, treated wood could definitely be a better start.