Hello, I've been asked to make a ballustrade to go on top of concrete 1m high, with posts 8x8cm, and 2x5cm balusters. I am told green douglas is good for this use, but am concerned with splitting when dry. Is green oak better suited for exterior use, if then painted / stained, would it split less when drying? Any advice would be good. as it's for a friend.Many thanks
wood for exterior
- Thread starter adzm124
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Lee Brubaker
Established Member
If Hemlock is available it is an excellent exterior wood, easy to machine & takes finish well. I used it for an outside stair railing about 8 years ago. At that time I laid on 4 coats of exterior acrylic paint. 5 years later, no sign of wood rot & due to the paint looking dirty put on another two coats. The railing still looks new 3 years later(now).
Lee
Lee
MikeG.
Established Member
adzm124,
whatever wood you use outdoors will move, and green oak will certainly do this.....if you are using any sort of detail, or going for a very clinical or clean look, I would avoid oak. It looks magnificent if you are wanting a chunky mediaeval or agricultural look and where you can tolerate splits and twists......there is nothing whatever you can do to avoid these.
What is this balustrade protecting? The reason I ask is that if there is a drop on the other side and you are trying to get a fixing into the edge of a concrete slab, you are going to need a pretty fancy detail to make this strong enough. There is of course a stipulated strength for these things (measured in newtons of horizontal force)....but I can't remember it off hand. You will certainly help your cause if there is a return on the ballustrading (in other words, if it isn't in just one straight run, but has some 90 degree bends in it).
I really worry that you might be thinking of screwing and pluggin a plate to the edge of the concrete, and that the handrail is in a straight run......it won't take long for that to turn very dangerous indeed!
Mike
whatever wood you use outdoors will move, and green oak will certainly do this.....if you are using any sort of detail, or going for a very clinical or clean look, I would avoid oak. It looks magnificent if you are wanting a chunky mediaeval or agricultural look and where you can tolerate splits and twists......there is nothing whatever you can do to avoid these.
What is this balustrade protecting? The reason I ask is that if there is a drop on the other side and you are trying to get a fixing into the edge of a concrete slab, you are going to need a pretty fancy detail to make this strong enough. There is of course a stipulated strength for these things (measured in newtons of horizontal force)....but I can't remember it off hand. You will certainly help your cause if there is a return on the ballustrading (in other words, if it isn't in just one straight run, but has some 90 degree bends in it).
I really worry that you might be thinking of screwing and pluggin a plate to the edge of the concrete, and that the handrail is in a straight run......it won't take long for that to turn very dangerous indeed!
Mike
Old joiner
Established Member
I agree with lugo35. I would use iroko without a second thought.
If this balustrade is exterior, & guarding a drop exceeding 600mm, the top of the balustrade must be 1100mm minimum above floor. You will find this requirment in section K of the building regs.
Regards
JohnB
If this balustrade is exterior, & guarding a drop exceeding 600mm, the top of the balustrade must be 1100mm minimum above floor. You will find this requirment in section K of the building regs.
Regards
JohnB
Hello and thanks for the replies. Where I am there's not a huge choice in woods. Green oak, green douglas, dried and green ash and green acacia, and larch. There is a return of a meter at 90º, and yes, a drop of more than 600mm, so thanks for the building regs.
MikeG.
Established Member
adzm124":pz62njk5 said:
That is a strange collection of available wood!!! Give us a clue.....which continent do you live on? I can't think where oak, ash and acacia would grow together.......
Obviously the building regs don't apply if you live outside the UK.
Mike
I live in southern France, nothing exotic! Acacia is found all around here, it's a bit of a pest in my garden, but nice yellow colour wood when green. Damn sharp spikes though. Oak and chestnut readily available, but finding dried in 8x8 is expensive, do you have any experience using larch? What would you use in the uk? Iroko is just too pricey, and very hard to find here within costs.
Adam
Adam
MikeG.
Established Member
I've not used it myself, but have specified it a few times for cladding the outside of buildings.....it is very durable.
I don't know how well it planes up, or takes a finish, but judging by this from Wikipedia:
Larch is a wood valued in for its tough, waterproof and durable qualities; top quality knot-free timber is in great demand for building yachts and other small boats, for exterior cladding of buildings and interior panelling. The timber is resistant to rot when in contact with the ground, and is suitable for use as posts and in fencing. The hybrid Dunkeld Larch is widely grown as a timber crop in northern Europe, valued for its fast growth and disease resistance.
.........it sounds ideal for the job you are proposing.
Funny to think that Acacia is the favourite food of giraffes and elephants! Those thorns, which can go straight through a truck tyre, present no problems for the insides of their mouths, including their tongues. Indeed.......they go straight through the digestive system and lie waiting in the dung for the next car tyre that drives over them!!
Mike
I don't know how well it planes up, or takes a finish, but judging by this from Wikipedia:
Larch is a wood valued in for its tough, waterproof and durable qualities; top quality knot-free timber is in great demand for building yachts and other small boats, for exterior cladding of buildings and interior panelling. The timber is resistant to rot when in contact with the ground, and is suitable for use as posts and in fencing. The hybrid Dunkeld Larch is widely grown as a timber crop in northern Europe, valued for its fast growth and disease resistance.
.........it sounds ideal for the job you are proposing.
Funny to think that Acacia is the favourite food of giraffes and elephants! Those thorns, which can go straight through a truck tyre, present no problems for the insides of their mouths, including their tongues. Indeed.......they go straight through the digestive system and lie waiting in the dung for the next car tyre that drives over them!!
Mike
Thanks for that mike. I'll go and price the larch, it's called Melèze here! Interesting about the elephant poo. The amount of times clearing the garden with bladed strimmer and clearing the cuttings and stabbing through the gloves - OW! Followed by expletives. Must get chainmail gloves.
Adam
Adam
