Weather proofing a Pergola

jad66

Is it uncommon to build a pergola entirely out of pressure treated wood? I originally wanted to use redwood, but everyone in my area wants more $ than my budget allows for this project.

Also, if I do this, do I need to wait x amount of months prior to sealing or painting the wood ?
thanks for your time

Willie T

It's going to split, check, warp, and twist.. guaranteed.

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Willie T

12penny

How about western red cedar. #2 would be fine for a project like this.

Jack Olsen

Unless you can be sure you're dealing with ACQ-treated lumber, the answer is no. You shouldn't use the pressure-treated lumber anywhere kids might be able to touch it.

Children come in contact with arsenic residue from the hand to the mouth after playing on CCA pressure-treated wood playground equipment. The Environmental Working Group led the way in petitioning the CPSC. Their report titled Poisoned Playgrounds found that, “We know that arsenic in drinking water is dangerous for children, but what we found was that the arsenic in lumber is an even greater risk,” said EWG Analyst Renee Sharp, principal author of the report. “In less than two weeks, an average five-year-old playing on an arsenic-treated playset would exceed the lifetime cancer risk considered acceptable under federal pesticide law.”

http://www.cpsc.gov/phth/ccafact.html

ACQ information:

http://sutherlands.com/resources/article.php?id=13

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Jack Olsen

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jad66

I looked into cedar, but it's difficult to find and expensive in California...
but thank you

jad66

Thanks for the info...I appreciate it

Scuba_Dave

CCA for residential use stopped Dec 31st 2003

jad66

Douglas Fir is fairly plentiful in CA...is it a viable material for building a pergola? As long as it's sealed, stained or painted
thanks

Arey85

Yes, as long as your posts are Ground Contact Pressure Treated if they are sitting in concrete or in the dirt

kwikfishron

Fir is fine, you’ll have to pay more for S4S (Surfaced Four Sides) if you want it to look good.

Rafter tails are Fir. Bird blocks are Fir. 15 years ago I sided I doghouse in my yard with ½ Cedar Shingles and ½ DF Shingles (no treatments) to see how they would hold up. Today all is fine and you can't tell the two apart.

As Arey85 said make sure your post are treated.

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jad66

What specific treatments are recommended for weather proofing a douglas fir pergola?

thanks

Jack Olsen

Hey, I'm old. 2003 seems like it was a couple of weeks ago.

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Jack Olsen

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kwikfishron

First you have to decide what you want it to look like when you’re done. Paint or Stain? Either way you get what you pay for. Cabots has a wide variety of stains that are specific to different applications. Some of their products are comparatively priced to other brands and some are quite pricey, good stuff though. Same with paint a good quality primer and two coats of a good quality paint is the way to go if you want it to last. What’s a extra $10 a gal. when all you need is 1 or 2.

What ever you do I’d paint or stain all the parts first then put it all together. After it’s all up, just a little touch up and your done.

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stubits

Wow, I am really glad I saw this thread. I will be building a pergola shortly and was intending to stain it white. Since it's going to be white I didn't think it was necessary to splurge on cedar or redwood, and was just planning on using PT.

So, definitely a bad idea all around? Is PT OK for the posts or not even that? Is DF a good choice for everything else, as long as it is stained properly?

itsreallyconc

we're now using aspecto-coat for wood decks to ' re-stain ',,, not a stain but a hybrid-polymer modified cementitious coating w/fine aggregate for safety traction & durability,,, were using gulf synthetic's udf but they're having some mfg & dealer support issues,,, both are good ( 10 yr ) but we can get aspecto & they haven't lied to us yet

both work on trex, weathered & check'd straight lumber, AND seasoned p/t wood,,, either can be ordered online.

no financial interest in either !

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if you hear it from a guy in the apron store, be VERY suspicious the mtl/method will work,,, when it time to build something together, they won't answer phones NOR help
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