Best Wood for Outdoor Furniture (living in Texas)?
Looking to build some outside furniture. Sofa, table, chairs. Living in Dallas, the sun and heat are excessive, so I need the wood to be tolerant of that sun/heat. As well as rain. What are some of the best wood options I should consider? Mesquite.
You should really think about building a house to live in first. :) -- WWBBJ: It is better to be interesting and wrong, than boring and right. I hate doing annual maintenance on outdoor furniture.
Buy/Use metal furniture.
Spray paint once every 10 years to keep them looking nice. Need new paint about same time you need new seat cushions as long as you keep the cushions in shade/storage when not being used.
Metal stuff also does not blow away when tornado visits. :-0)
YMMV -- If it was not for bad luck, I would not have no luck at all, Doom, despair, agony on me... - Albert King - Born Under a Bad Sign released 1967 Ipe comes in more sizes and is more available without knots or shakes or checks compared with Mesquite.
You just need some backup carbide tools to deal with the hardness and some human growth hormone if you ever want to move them! White Oak and Black Locust are also hard and weather resistant. Cypress and Cedar and Redwood are softer but hang in there in the elements well. -- I love the smell of sawdust in the morning. Kayu Batu (Red Balau) is very durable. I have a fence made from it. Brush on oil every 2 to 3 years if you want to keep the original color, or let it weather to a silver/grey like teak or cedar. They call it the 100 year fence. Pb Wilson were you taking to me or the Op?
Mesquite is a perfect wood for the op since it grows in Texas it's very stable and I do believe it's very durable outdoors.
Plus when the build is over all the cutoffs can go right into the barbecue or smoker. The op can enjoy some good eats as he sits in his new patio furniture. Ipe is nasty hard wood from South America if you do not have some Skills like Jack you will be in some big trouble just trying to cut a square end.
Good Luck I was mainly responding to the OP. Is there a good deal of mesquite being sawn up, even in Texas? I am asking legitimately because I do not quite know. I have seen a reasonable amount in my area over the past couple decades, but I've seen a bunch of it with particular defects like ring shake that cause people to cut around the gaps or saw out parts, joint and glue up blanks. Maybe the folks who get it around here did not have access to the good stuff. I am not sure. I do have a really nice, larger board of Mesquite in my racks that is waiting for the right project. I recall digging around the dealer's stock to find this particular one in such good shape. I do know that Ipe and several other similar woods fill up container after container at my nearest lumber dealer and they provide a ton of it for deck builds in the area. Most of it is solid, accurately prepped for decking and come in a lot of different sizes. Not trying to argue. Just offering an observation. I would love to see more Mesquite available. I am interested in building guitars (acoustics and electrics) and every so often folks toy with the idea of an all non-exotic wood instrument and Mesquite would be a great candidate for a rosewood substitute being as hard as it is. The fact that it's so dimensionally stable is a huge benefit too! -- I love the smell of sawdust in the morning. Hiya neighbor I am outside of Austin. I use a lot of cedar. While it is soft, it does hold up well to our weather and I like it when it grays out.
Aj- I was mainly responding to the OP. Is there a good deal of mesquite being sawn up, even in Texas? I m asking legitimately because I don t quite know. I have seen a reasonable amount in my area over the past couple decades, but I ve seen a bunch of it with particular defects like ring shake that cause people to cut around the gaps or saw out parts, joint and glue up blanks. Maybe the folks who get it around here didn t have access to the good stuff. I m not sure. I do have a really nice, larger board of Mesquite in my racks that is waiting for the right project. I recall digging around the dealer s stock to find this particular one in such good shape. I do know that Ipe and several other similar woods fill up container after container at my nearest lumber dealer and they provide a ton of it for deck builds in the area. Most of it is solid, accurately prepped for decking and come in a lot of different sizes. Not trying to argue. Just offering an observation. I would love to see more Mesquite available. I m interested in building guitars (acoustics and electrics) and every so often folks toy with the idea of an all non-exotic wood instrument and Mesquite would be a great candidate for a rosewood substitute being as hard as it is. The fact that it s so dimensionally stable is a huge benefit too! Your definitely right about the defects in Mesquite.
Where I live it's very expensive but I like working with it. I found the wood to be very predictable and very stable.
Since the op wanted wood to build chairs and tables I just do not see anyone taking on jointery or edges on a very difficult to work wood like Ipe.
For sure it's a great decking wood or picnic table style like Jack shows. ( Nice work Jack).
Another wood in the same category is called Apitong. It's nearly indestructible but so difficult to work it's only used for truck beds.
Good Luck
Thanks for the reply Not sure where you live in Texas but if on Eastern side, cypress should be fairly easy to find from Louisiana and it holds up great in the outdoors Best is going to be expensive. I personally have some left over Sapele for some arondock rockers I will use this year. It may not be best but with a little care it will be fine.... One really needs to find a budget and supplier that one can pick up all or parts with the options to buy more.... I own a power washer so up keep is not difficult but many after the 1st or 2nd season forget maintenance
I would recommend white oak. Relatively resistant to weather even unfinished, insect resistant, and will tolerate limited amounts of direct ground contact (chair legs, etc). Not too expensive and readily available, mils easily enough. If finished and if the finish is kept up with it will stay fairly smooth and keep any color to some extent. If left unfinished, it will silver in color and the surface will develop a "fuzz" from the grain raising over time. I've built a number of large adirondacks and side tables from white oak which sat outside uncovered in Houston and lasted 8-10 years before they finally got so rough that they held too much dirt and were catching fabric if sat on. Even then they were still structurally solid and a couple had been sitting out in the yard for most of that time around a fire pit with minimal rot just starting on the legs. Use a good waterproof glue and stainless screws. You will be able to reclaim the stainless screws later. -- No honey, that's not new, I've had that forever...... I spent part of the day yesterday making patterns for a few chairs and gliders. I have sapele and walnut on hand and will use this to sell a few or keep a few....prefer Ipe but one must use what is on hand...
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Any suggestions for furniture for a living room that's only 7 feet by 7 feet?
Round table for 4 in center with fire or coal bowl under the table. Mats on the floor & lounge pillows. T.V. wall mounted. shelf for small disk player & 2 speakers. A few nice prints on walls. A eating & relaxing cold weather room. 7 by 7 is very easy to heat. Or cool. If coal bowl is removed & water type cooler place under table for summer use. Japan stile is attractive.
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