External wooden moulding. Rot!

[krismusic]

Evening guys, I have been asked to replace a timber detail on a Georgian exterior. At first glance you would assume that it would be run in render until you notice that it is rotten and in fact wood. Does anyone have any bright ideas as to what timber would be best to get the profile run in? I was wondering about Cedar as I belive that is naturally rot resistant. I do not know how well it would machine though. Iroko has been suggested by my mill. Would this really be better than softwood? Any advice much appreciated.

 

[AndyT]

I'm not an expert in this, but do you know if the building is listed or not? If it is, you may not have a choice.
Afaik the original would most likely have been in oak, or possibly the sort of really good old growth Baltic pine that you can't get any more.

 

[krismusic]

Hi Andy. No the building is not listed. That would be worse than rot! I wondered about Oak but I do not have enough knowledge to know which hardwood is going to last longest if the paint system is neglected. I also suspect that a lot of hardwood these days is not much better than softwood from that point of veiw. Certainly not as good as the original timber thats for sure.

 

[jph]

Douglas fir if you go for softwood, but it is expensive.
Keruing a hardwood will be cheaper.
John

 

[tomatwark]

+1 for Douglas Fir