Outdoor furniture....

[pslamp32]

Can I use pressure treated wood for outdoor furniture? I need to make a chaise and a couple of tables for the deck. I'd use cedar but I never see 2 by or 4 by at the borg. It seems like if it's okay for decking it'd be okay for furniture. Am I off base? Thanks.

 

[skysharks]

Sure you can, I do it all the time. Be sure to use water proof glue if called for.
Also try and use the boards that are the dryest of the stack.

 

[JackLeg]

Yep, you can use PT, BUT, be careful about breathing the dust. We switched to cypress some time ago and have been totally satisfied, and our customers have also.

Cypress is readily available from Ivey and some other sawyers on here. It dries quickly and holds up well. Takes finish well also.

My 2 cents worth.

 

[McRabbet]

Peter, I agree with Reggie -- go with cypress if you can -- I haven't priced it here in the Mtns, but I know that Greenville Hardwoods has it, but they may have a minimum order of 100 BF. How much furniture are you going to make? Ivey is a great source, but he is nearly 800 miles away round trip. Check the sources under Where Are on the main menu bar and I'm sure you can find some. It is vastly superior to PT lumber from the BORG. As an alternative, you could consider white oak, which will last for many years, too.

 

[nelsone]

You can definitely use PT, but you would be better off using cedar or cypress. I've used all of them. Painting PT is a PITA! Cypress and cedar are also much lighter, which is nice when you need to move it!

 

[alleng]

pt lumber is great for sill plates,between the blocks and rim and floor joists. other than that i HATE the stuff

 

[DaveO]

Another thought is to use KDAT (kiln dried after treatment) treated pine lumber. It's cost effective, very rot resistant, can be painted or finished right away without the dry time. It also offers much less movement in service as it dries (it's already dried for outdoor use).
You might need to look beyond the BORG for wood, any decent lumber yard should have what you are needing

Dave

 

[striker]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it wasn't good idea to use PT where the possibility of skin contact existed. I.e. around pools, maybe furniture.

I might be thinking of the old days when it had arsenic and other good stuff in it.

Stephen

 

[DaveO]

Back when PT lumber used CCA compounds containing arsenate, the Government deemed that it wasn't safe, and did away with it. The current treatment compounds ACQ are supposed to be much safer as they don't contain any arsenate, only a extremely high level of copper. That lumber should be safe for human contact, but the copper is very corrosive to metal fasteners and requires the use of specially coated fasteners or ideally stainless steel which are very costly.
Now it won't poison us, it will just fall down and crush us :roll:

Dave

 

[dancam]

Peter,

I like McRabits suggestion of white oak. It is very stable for outside use and the Asheville Craigslist has a listing for white oak over in Marion for $1/bdft (great price).

Here's the listing.
http://asheville.craigslist.org/mat/609121251.html

Dan C.

 

[striker]

Thanks for the update Dave. I admit I haven't paid much attention to it in recent years but I thought the bad stuff was removed.

It makes perfect sense - they took copper compounds out of marine bottom paint years back because it was destroying marine life. So now we try copper in treated wood. In ten years we'll see what the fallout from that is I guess.

Stephen