Best Wood for Outdoors

[Neeranam]

I'm building a shed and looking for some nice wood for the outside walls. I saw some very nice Canadian pine wood yesterday which was 150 for 2.5m, 5/6 inches wide.

Does pine wood last long?

I know nothing about wood and treatment and termites in tropical heat. Does all wood need to be treated? If so, does anyone know how to do it? Maybe it is treated already, I never thought of asking.

[wayned]

Termites are a real problem.Yyou would be better off using sherwood siding planks or gypsum panels. Neither one is expensive but sherwood looks nicer and is available in different colors which are not painted on but molded into the panels.

[Crossy]

+1 ^^^

I would imagine any softwood would last about 5 minutes outdoors (or even indoors)

Much of our outdoor 'wood' is Shera. Product details here http://www.mahaphant.com/en/our-products/product-shera.jsp , the wood that's not shera is teak or mai daeng (Burmese ironwood).

Our shed is a teak carcase with rendered block infill, looks pretty good

[Neeranam]

OK, thanks - I'll check out the sherawood.

[Neeranam]

They also had a cheaper wood that they called 'smart wood'. Thin wood with a plastic coating.

How do you treat the 'mai daeng'?

I suppose the frame, that's not exposed to the weather needs treating too.?

[jaapfries]

They also had a cheaper wood that they called 'smart wood'. Thin wood with a plastic coating.

How do you treat the 'mai daeng'?

I suppose the frame, that's not exposed to the weather needs treating too.?

Mai-Deang and/or Mai-Teang are not simply just "hard-woods", but extremely hard woods ! In fact; these two timbers are so heavy that they are the only timber-species 'known to man' which, when thrown into water, will NOT float, but actually sink !

These timbers are also not on the list of delicacies of our friendly-neighborhood termites; it's simply too hard for them.

Of course; this timber is very hard to work with, since it IS almost like steel !

Pinewood is very easy to work with; but it would not last very long in Thailand; iow: total waste of money & effort.

Sherawood is a "cement-board" product, which has a 'woodgrain' design stamped into one side and, once installed & undercoated, finish with a WOOD-STAIN product and you would swear it was the real McCoy.

I remember when this product forst came-out in NZ and everybiody was flabbergasted: you almost had to go "nose-to-nose" to establish it wasn't real wood !

Best way to build a shed ? Use Light-Steel framing (Studs & Dwangs) line the outside with Shera and the inside with Gib. This also gives you a cavity wall, where it's ideal to run any 'services' AND allows one to stuff the rest with insulation, if needed.

[Neeranam]

They also had a cheaper wood that they called 'smart wood'. Thin wood with a plastic coating.

How do you treat the 'mai daeng'?

I suppose the frame, that's not exposed to the weather needs treating too.?

Mai-Deang and/or Mai-Teang are not simply just "hard-woods", but extremely hard woods ! In fact; these two timbers are so heavy that they are the only timber-species 'known to man' which, when thrown into water, will NOT float, but actually sink !

These timbers are also not on the list of delicacies of our friendly-neighborhood termites; it's simply too hard for them.

Of course; this timber is very hard to work with, since it IS almost like steel !

Pinewood is very easy to work with; but it would not last very long in Thailand; iow: total waste of money & effort.

Sherawood is a "cement-board" product, which has a 'woodgrain' design stamped into one side and, once installed & undercoated, finish with a WOOD-STAIN product and you would swear it was the real McCoy.

I remember when this product forst came-out in NZ and everybiody was flabbergasted: you almost had to go "nose-to-nose" to establish it wasn't real wood !

Best way to build a shed ? Use Light-Steel framing (Studs & Dwangs) line the outside with Shera and the inside with Gib. This also gives you a cavity wall, where it's ideal to run any 'services' AND allows one to stuff the rest with insulation, if needed.

Thanks.

Yes, it sure is hard, I've had to drill hoes for all the screws and even nails.

[MichaelJohn]

Just a quick comment from experience - anything made of wood will be eaten and quickly (expect Teak .........)

I have been amazed how things like post to secure taps to or steaks to hold up plants just disappear in a matter of weeks :-(

Teak makes the job expensive as it's very expensive hence why you see most things made from conwood these days. Although nor as authentic as proper wood when painted it does the job.