Best hardwood to use on a painted conservatory .

[chrs_666]

I am about to manufacture a conservatory on a grade 2 listed building to match the porch on the front of the property. The existing porch on the front is softwood painted with a large amount of detail i was going to use douglas fur to undertake this project as it is readily avalable cheap and easy to machine. However i have just been given the specification and it specified hardwood which timber would you guys recomend.

 

[RogerS]

Seems a shame to paint hardwood. Have you already quoted? Oak would be the logical choice and because it's being painted you could go for 'character' oak and fill the holes! Cheaper too.

 

[andersonec]

I am about to manufacture a conservatory on a grade 2 listed building to match the porch on the front of the property. The existing porch on the front is softwood painted with a large amount of detail i was going to use douglas fur to undertake this project as it is readily avalable cheap and easy to machine. However i have just been given the specification and it specified hardwood which timber would you guys recomend.

Without sounding like a stupid answer Chris, if it has to be painted hardwood then the cheapest one you can get.

With it being outside and painted, I would reckon Ash would be the most easily sourced and the cheapest option, it's strong and straight grained (sourced in Britain) and machines nicely, to get something like Oak without knots you are going to have to buy Grade 1 which can be costly.

Andy

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

+1 for cheap. Painted its hard to tell the difference between Oak and Ash. Maple takes paint well though, beech is another cheap option. Sapele and maranti are other cheap options (I think my spellings are wrong).

 

[Chrispy]

Ash is not classed as durable so don't use that, as for Oak traditionaly it's not painted the acid nature stops the paint holding I don't know if that still holds true with modern paints?
You need a durable hard wood thats good to paint, you will proberly end up with a tropical wood like Meranti, Luarn or Idigbo.
I think thats why tradional English Joinery is Softwood it paints better, Douglas fir would be my choice.

 

[RogerS]

Ash is not classed as durable so don't use that, as for Oak traditionaly it's not painted the acid nature stops the paint holding I don't know if that still holds true with modern paints?
....

Seal first with something like F&B Stain Block. Then carry on as normal.

 

[Jacob]

If you are painting it hardwood is pointless - redwood is better. It's cheaper, more durable, easier to work and takes and holds paint better than hardwood.

 

[chrs_666]

I haven't quoted for job, im just sending the bill. quite a few people have been round to quote but no one has (due to the amount of detail required) I have done lots of spec work for this client in the past and he is just happy someone will undertake this project I personally don't see any benefit in using hardwood as it is my opinion a properly treated and painted softwood will be just as durable. however its the clients perogative. I don't want something too hard like oak or maple lots of areas require hand carving i require a material which is relatively reasonably priced which is easy to machine and carve and remains stable to the elements this job is slightly outside my normal bread and butter hence the reason for advice but i do relish a challenge.

 

[awkwood]

Reclaimed yellow pine, would be ideal choice.
Brilliant for carving, will out last redwood when painted, very stable. ive worked on 150 year old windows that are still sound.
problem might be sourcing it in a large quantity

Ash, sycamore, beech, popular etc are not durable long term even when sealed and painted

 

[Chrispy]

Careful with yellow pine, there are two sorts sold as Southern yellow pine, Long leaf and short leaf only the long leaf is classed as durable a near substitute to Pitch pine.

 

[awkwood]

The reclaimed yellow pine i was meaning is very different to any timber i have found available now, its only available from resawn old beams. i will try to photograph a sample. its very different to pitch pine, which is not ideal to paint either.

 

[Jacob]

Reclaimed yellow pine, would be ideal choice.

Not readily available, but not suitable anyway as far as I know

..... ive worked on 150 year old windows that are still sound......

What makes you think they were made of yellow pine? A lot of furniture was, but it's a bit soft for joinery I would have thought.
Redwood is tops!
Trouble with reclaimed timber is either it's small stuff - so odd inconsistent sizes with nail, screws etc, or it's sawn from big structural stuff which was graded for structural and usually not good enough for joinery.

 

[ProShop]

Forget Oak imho, it doesn't take a paint that well, Sapeele is reasonably priced and takes a paint Ok. Meranti is similar although it suffers from to many soft patches in my experience (Poor mans mahogany it's called in these parts).
I'd definitely give beech a miss too. Personally I'd go and talked to them and suggest Douglas Fir or Scandinavian redwood firsts & seconds.

 

[adidat]

idigbo takes paint well and is pretty tough and cheap

adidat

 

[awkwood]

Trouble with reclaimed timber is either it's small stuff - so odd inconsistent sizes with nail, screws etc, or it's sawn from big structural stuff which was graded for structural and usually not good enough for joinery.

I agree with you, but some of the best softwood ive ever used also has come from resawn beams. I think it may be a local thing, as many years ago we were close to two large timber importing ports. There is a lot of georgian and victorian exterior joinery done in yellow pine, local to me. Sadly a lot has been replaced in the last 20 years

The best part for me is the fact that it is nearly all heartwood and doesnt contain sapwood in the same proprtions as modern day redwood. there is the occasional nail hole, but i would place these so they face the stone work and wont be seen,or fill them with two part filler as its going to be painted.

However its hardwood that was needed so idigbo, sapele, meranti, utile

 

[Lowlife]

You might want to consider Iroko, it's known as "Poor Man's Teak" for a reason, strong and very durable, and surprisingly cheap too, you should be able to get it for around 20% more than the cost of Douglas-fir.

Iroko was specified for parts of my boat, but wanting to save some money I thought I'd use D-f instead, until I made a price comparison and realised how little extra Iroko would cost me.

 

[MickCheese]

Can you paint Iroko easily?

Mick

 

[Lowlife]

I've never had any problems painting it, as when gluing it's best to degrease it with acetone first, then most paints seem to stick OK, polyurethanes in particular seem to work well.

Alternatively just oil it, it looks great and when it needs refinishing just wipe on a fresh coat.

 

[chrs_666]

I have had a bad experiance many years ago with iroko incidently this was on a painted conservotory too. i did not undertake the manufacture but did carry out the fit a lot of the detail sections on this conservotory did cup quite badly and required re making i agree it is good on cost and is very durable but i dont think i will go for that with this. Once bitten and all that. i have got a meeting with the client on monday so we will se what happens then im thinking back to my original plan Douglas fir if i am able or alternativley sapele or idigbo we will see. Cheers for your imput guys

 

[Shane]

If it were me I would use sapele to paint if hardwood is specified, it's fairly stable and takes paint well, Idigbo is slightly cheaper but you wont thank yourself for choosing it as it is horrible to machine. Iroko is slightly dearer than sapele but I find that better for clear/tinted finishes. I'm not a massive fan of oak as an exterior product, it's ok, but it does have a tendency to move a lot.