What wood did you use for your porch?

   / What wood did you use for your porch? #21  
Ours is nearly all heart wood. For the porch, I pressure wash the decking first then allow it to dry before reapplying the oil. It has retained a deep, reddish brown tone. For the interior floors, I simply mop with Murphy's Oil Soap. I have only reapplied the oil once. It seems to hold up really well. We actually use lemon oil made by Old English on the other finished heart pine floors in our old house. We wipe it on using a wide duster mop. That works quite well also. We mop those floors with the Murphy's oil soap too. The floors look quite rich but dont have that super shiney country look that I think poly coated cedar does. Poly coated cedar reminds me of knotty pine from the 70s.
 
   / What wood did you use for your porch? #22  
Redwood for the 4x4 posts and railing.
 
   / What wood did you use for your porch? #23  
I would suggest looking into White Oak. From what I understand many trailer decks are made out of it. It is good for withstanding the elements, and extremely strong. Do not use Red Oak, as that is not as rot-resistant as White Oak. I have a 20 year old trailer that has sat outside in WI weather it's entire life that uses White Oak decking and it is just as strong as the day it was made (or so it seems at least). The wood is outlasting the metal.

Apitong is also used in trailer decking. I'm not familiar with that so I have no opinion on it.
 
   / What wood did you use for your porch?
  • Thread Starter
#24  
TheFarmerInAdell said:
I would suggest looking into White Oak. From what I understand many trailer decks are made out of it. It is good for withstanding the elements, and extremely strong. Do not use Red Oak, as that is not as rot-resistant as White Oak. I have a 20 year old trailer that has sat outside in WI weather it's entire life that uses White Oak decking and it is just as strong as the day it was made (or so it seems at least). The wood is outlasting the metal.

Apitong is also used in trailer decking. I'm not familiar with that so I have no opinion on it.
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I am indeed considering white oak. The existing porch lasted 60 years, made of T&G pine.
Due to lack of maintenance, the outer edges (~ 1 foot) are rotten - but the interior is still solid. Looking at the underside, interior, structure, and ground beneath the existing porch you can tell that moisture (aside from rain on the outer ~12") has never really been a problem.
I believe white oak, sealed properly and maintained, would last for many years.
 
   / What wood did you use for your porch? #26  
White oak, I think, would be great. And if you really want to have the best, both in stability of minimal wood movement and beautiful grain and figure (and are willing to pay a higher cost) go with quarter sawn white oak. That type of sawing is much more stable in terms of not cracking, warping or cupping. Plus it’s stunning in beauty.

As far as a finish, what are you thinking? Any film finish (like poly) will take a beating over time if sunlight hits it. I’m not sure of your conditions.
 
   / What wood did you use for your porch? #27  
Just read above article. I forgot about cypress. That’s another great choice. It’s readily available around here, and is affordable. So it seems choices are Ipe, White Oak, Eastern Red Cedar, or Cypress. The other choices are how to fasten it, and what finish to use, as both could affect the decision.

As far as redwood, it’s so expensive where I live, very hard to find, and I wonder if it’s really a good quality these days.
 
   / What wood did you use for your porch?
  • Thread Starter
#28  
HCJtractor said:
White oak, I think, would be great. And if you really want to have the best, both in stability of minimal wood movement and beautiful grain and figure (and are willing to pay a higher cost) go with quarter sawn white oak. That type of sawing is much more stable in terms of not cracking, warping or cupping. Plus itç—´ stunning in beauty.

As far as a finish, what are you thinking? Any film finish (like poly) will take a beating over time if sunlight hits it. I知 not sure of your conditions.
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Finish is a good question. The porch receives intense light/heat in the late afternoon - it faces WNW. It is almost impossible to sit on the porch in the summer until the sun goes below the tree tops.


ruffdog said:
Article about choosing rot resistant wood:

Choosing Rot Resistant Wood | The Craftsman Blog
Click to expand...

Excellent Link! Thanks!
 
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