Hello, I'm planning to make a timber garage door, which will be painted. Could someone please advise as to what kind of timber I'll need... Planed, treated, kiln-dried? Presumably not rough-sawn construction timber?
I'm guessing the answer is probably pressure-treated. But is that OK to paint over, and if so, what first coat should I use? Or would planed or kiln-dried be OK?
Thanks for any help with this.
Michael
It depends upon how long you want it to last. I built a pair of gates using pressure treated planed timber c 1981 and they still look as good as new. IIRC, we had to use an aluminium based primer because of the treatment.
These days I would use oak. IME it is not much more expensive than pressure treated softwood, but will long outlast it and it looks good without painting. Of course, it does attack iron, so you need to choose your fixings accordingly. However, for something that is going to need to last, like the gates I mentioned, I use boat building bronze ring barb nails anyway.
Colin Bignell
Can you get pressure-treated timber that has been planed rather than rough sawn?
You can even order it planed and cut to length before being treated, to ensure that the end grain is properly impregnated.
Colin Bignell
Wow! A counsel of perfection!
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