Another woodworking question.

[N80]

My wife wants a trellis gate on the side of our house leading into the back yard. A simplified version like the one pictured below (but without the column cap molding).



It will have a gate in the middle and will need to be about 6 feet wide. It will be painted white. Posts will be 4x4 held in ground with something like this so that it can be removed if needed:



This is probably a stupid question, but what type of lumber should I use? The posts will obviously be treated but should all the rest be treated even if it will be painted? If so, what do you paint treated lumber with and how long does it need to dry before painting?

 

[jerrybob]

Cedar or redwood will last a long time. Good luck with your project.

 

[N80]

Cedar or redwood will last a long time. Good luck with your project.

Yep, but quite out of my price range.

 

[jerrybob]

Yep, but quite out of my price range.

Treated lumber?

 

[mark02tj]

Cedar or redwood will last a long time. Good luck with your project.

Yep, but quite out of my price range.

Home Depot carries cedar 4x4's for about $15 each (last time I looked - which has been a while). I use them as corner posts in my raised beds.

Also, if you have a Menards close to you, they also have cedar that's fairly well priced.

 

[N80]

Interesting. I'll look into the cedar.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Check around; you might have a Mom & Pop saw mill close by. Sometimes you can save a lot of money this way. The lumber is usually rough, so you will need a planer or not...if you like the rough look.

 

[Qapla]

Pressure treated can be painted just like any other wood. You will find that once you build with it and let it sit outside for a few days/weeks it will be dry enough to paint. Any good exterior paint will work.

They do make PT that is "ground contact" rated you might want to use for the uprights.

 

[Gunny]

For outdoor projects like that, I've had much better luck with solid color exterior stain rather than paint, goes a lot longer before it needs to be re-coated. It works very well over PT wood, since it allows the wood to "breathe" as opposed to paint.

With the drive in base that you're planning on using, I'd also put some type of cap or roof structure on it to give it more stability, the good thing is that if you use that base, then you don't have to worry about the ground contact rating.

 

[oosik]

My house is PanAbode - meaning its 100% cedar. I've found the best, longest lasting exterior treatment has been semi-translucent oil stain. The product I used is made by Cabot and purchased at Lowes.