I built a very large picnic table last year made exclusively out of PT 2x6s last year. Not to be outdone, my son built one of his own vision. He used PT 4X4s for the legs, rest of the lumber is white pine with water sealer.
2X10s for the top, and 2X12s for the seats, 2X6 framing members. It looks awesome.My question is regarding longevity, is this going to be a problem down the road for his picnic table regarding use of non-PT lumber? He did use water sealer on it.
Pressure treated is *never* recommended for picnic table tops, or bench seats...
Instead use cedar, redwood, or other more compatible with people and health solutions, and leave the PT wood to the deck!
So your son's is the better solution... but not the best one...
Reason I asked about longevity is I have a rather large front porch. I noticed after a couple of years, I have to re-apply water sealer to its deck as it appears to be drying out after that time period. Due soon again.
I may go to using pine 2X12s for the seats on my bench as I've replaced some of those PT 2X6s more than once due to excessive curving up or down. Oddly, the top doesn't have that problem. Well, not really. The top has 3 rails, the seats only have 2.
Gotta agree with cedar/redwood, if you can afford that. They haven't sold the older version of PT lumber around here for more than a couple of years. My bench is only a year old. As far as health concerns, I throw a large heavy, woven painter's tarp over it when actually used. Has no paint on it.
I do these as often as anually, but usually bi-yearly. Not difficult, fortunately.
At least with the last one I built, the cedar was not much more than PT. Prices vary a lot with season, year, and sales, so YMMV, of course. I'm really happy with the cedar that I used over the years, it seems better than PT wood.
But a few mustard and ketchup stains, right?
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