wood types

as flashback bob always says, use whatever you might build a boat from.....

i just got some mahogany decking for 1.75 a linear foot, with stuff on craigslist going for a buck less (if i wanted to travel and coordinate a day to do it).

mahogany and cedar (as well as the BGE cypress) will go naturally silver grey if not sealed pr protected. looks great in an ideal world, but food stains are an issue. we have a teak dining set (outdoor), and as much as i like it, the wood goes grey very quickly, needs gentle refinishing if you want to keep its color, and yet takes in stains (think lobster butter) too easily. i'm considering sealing it, but options for sealing teak are few.

not so for mahogany and other exterior grade finish woods.

please ignore pressure treated, which has virtually no value when used as a finish wood, and i think synthetics are as prone to staining from food (oils) as well. they (synths) are also quite a bit less dense and not at all structural. they also tend to be fat and ugly in proportion (to make them a little stronger), and are 5/4x6. the old 1x4 is so much nicer in scale.

cedar is affordable, especially considering its longevity and ability to be refinished if necessary, repaired, worked with...

check out a good old-fashioned lumber yard and ask about wood decking options.

here's a pic of the mahogany steps (treated but not quite 'sealed' with Australian Timber Oil').



still have more to do (deck over the concrete upper surface), but the wood looks great and was pretty affordable even with the extra dollar per linear foo premium from my 'needing it today'. that's 75 linear feet (yielded about 7x3 feet), paid about $130. ...coulda gotten it for half that off craigslist, which i'll do for the deck. it's tough, too. i had my sons go up and down them in their football cleats. no issue. try to make sure it is sustainably harvested, but the politics of that are another issue.

(ps, that cr^ppy corrugated aluminum gutter at top, on the second tread, is on the way out too! hahaha sorry. it's the architect in me, can't help pointing out the issues with it...)

pre-primed wood...

that exterior spackle is new for me. i usually use a wood filler that works a little different, but the guy recommended that exterior spackle. meh. >shrugs< it's ok, but yeah, looks like drywall

needs sanding, primer (white) and paint

Nice project - I like doing stuff like that and especially like working with nice wood. I like the contrast of the plugs.

There is an artichoke (architect ) on a weekend radio show that says all gutters are good for is to rot your facial board. He promotes (key word $) a product that disperses the water in a spray like fashion coming off the roof so you don't end up with a trench around the house. I think it is called rainhandler and looks like a venetian blind. But I don't like water pouring on me from the roof while going into the house.