Gutterboard - red cedar a good choice?

[Tim Watts]

Hi,

I'm looking at doing the gutterboards this autumn.

I've heard that cedar is a substantially rot resistant wood that may be a good choice. Though I'm not sure if that was red or white cedar.

Seems that red cedar is fairly available (certainly online) and I'd need lots of 1x6" PAR for my job (exact size isn't critical).

So - is red as rot-proof as I'm led to believe?

And is it necessary to coat it with anything before it goes up? (The face might get a coat of something for prettiness purposes before I refit the gutter).

The red is about the same price as wood-finish uPVC and I'd rather have wood as it lends itself to screwing things to!

The soffits are very well sheltered so they might get done in something cheaper.

Cheers

Tim

[Rick Hughes]

Western Red Cedar is good material ... but expensive. Pressure treated softwood will be cheaper.

I just did a big external job in "Thermowood" ... another option if you want longevity.

[Tim Watts]

Hi Rick,

Thanks for that. I don;t mind the red cedar expense as it isn;t any worse (by my research) than uPVC (in non white) and I'd like that to last for a looong time as demounting it is more of a PITA.

But all options are open on the soffits as they won't get it in the neck from the elements (so much) and they are easy to maintain (mine will be going up with SS screws for easy maintenance and access behind).

Thanks - I'll have a look at that too.

Cheers

Tim

[Martin Bonner]

Careful with the SS screws. If you use the Screwfix ones, they snap as soon as you try to unscrew them.

[PeterC]

Yes, the Turbo SS - I've several screwless heads from various jobs.