What Wood Rots The Least?

[Geoff_S]

I have got to make a frame over which I need to stretch some garden net to protect a pond. It's simple enough, 2 frames 3m x 1m and I should think 50mm x 25mm for the timber..

So it's something that I can easily make and replace from time to time, but what is the best wood to use that will be most resistant to rotting and has no risk of poisoning the pond?

Cheers

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Western red cedar and European oak would be good candidates. Tanalised wood would be cheaper, but it's impregnated with chemicals to resist decay. I'm not sure how much I'd concern myself with regard to the chemicals poisoning the pond. I suspect tanalised material would be unlikely to have a negative effect of much consequence, given the likely volume of wood required for the job - quite small the sound of it. Slainte.

 

[AndyT]

Picking up on Richard's suggestion, the cheapest source of suitable section preservative-treated wood is tile battening. Indeed, if you are lucky/cheeky you may be able to find short offcuts from someone else's roofing job which would be plenty big enough for your purposes.

 

[marcros]

What about accoya?

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Accoya is unbelievably expensive, it would be complete overkill to use it for this kind of project. Tiling batten is a very good suggestion in my view. Compromise between cost and practicality. Another alternative might be to rip strips of a suitable WBP ply but it would look ugly compared to tiling batten and it still might delaminate in a few seasons.

I made a guinea pig run out of OSB and chicken wire which is now on its 6th season and that's going strong. it was only the 11mm board and I reinforced the corners but that sucker sits directly on the ground the entire summer, rain or shine. I didn't expect it to last longer than a year so was pleasantly surprised.

 

[skeetstar]

I'm not sure it rots the least, but elm is certainly good in watery environments. Nelsons ships were oak above the waterline, and elm below it. When the old London Bridge was removed to the colonies, it was found that the pilings in the silt of the Thames were elm, and they had been ther for hundreds of years.
Might be overkill for your project though.

 

[AndyT]

Another option which might be suitable is to make the framework from plastic piping. Overflow pipe of about 19mm diameter is cheap and you can permanently fix corner joints with solvent weld to make something quite rigid. Or a hoop of the blue water supply pipe.
If that's too small you could use 32mm waste pipe which is easy to find.
It would be very rot resistant and light to handle. If the white colour is a problem, you can get multi surface paint which works on plastic.

 

[Mike Jordan]

I have made a similar frame to cover my pond, mine is made of Iroko with mortise and tenon joints glued with epoxy glue. The oily nature the wood makes normal glues ineffective. The netting is the black stuff sold at garden centres to cover fruit trees. The timber section is 22 mm X 60mm and the netting is secured using a 9 mm wide groove in the outside 22mm edge with a loose bead which is screwed in place to trap the netting. It's been in use for about four years and the local heron has now given up goldfish. No finish of any kind has been used nor is any needed.
Mike.

 

[Mike Jordan]

If you look under "garden water mill" there is a photo of the net in use.
Mike.

 

[Geoff_S]

Thanks for all the replies.

Andy, the pipe is a good idea, the only problem being when I try to fix and tauten the net, it distorts the pipe. I thought of putting a brace piece in the middle of the 3m length but I want the whole setup to be as "invisible" as possible. Thanks for the idea though

 

[Geoff_S]

If you look under "garden water mill" there is a photo of the net in use.
Mike.

I like the sound of this Mike, especially the technique of fitting the net. I've tried staples in the past but have never got the finished item to look neat, the net always crumples.

I have put "garden water mill" into the search box but cannot see anything relevant. I am assuming I use the search box?

 

[Mike Jordan]

I thought it would! It's definitely on my profile as the most visited item. There are also two videos on YouTube but I'm not sure the net shows up on those.

 

[dzj]

They say a Black Locust fence post will outlive the hole it was put in.

 

[Mike Jordan]

Success! here is one shot of the method of fixing the netting. Its very easy to get the tension right.

 

[Geoff_S]

Success! here is one shot of the method of fixing the netting. Its very easy to get the tension right.

Lovely! Thanks for taking the time on that Mike

 

[Rob_Mc]

The timber durability chart below shows the relative rot resistance of most timber types. Hopefully it will help guide your decision.

http://www.woodworkersuk.co.uk/images/1 ... -chart.jpg

 

[Bodgers]

I can vouch for Opepe (which is class one in that diagram).

Not expensive and it is basically indestructible outside.

Only drawback is that it is orange. Fades to silver/grey untreated though...

 

[memzey]

That’s surprising. I would have thought of iroko as being in the “very durable” quadrant.

 

[Mike Jordan]

You're right, that's where it belongs in my book. I think the chart may have some reference to being in permenant contact with the ground.

 

[Geoff_S]

I can vouch for Opepe (which is class one in that diagram).

Not expensive and it is basically indestructible outside.

Only drawback is that it is orange. Fades to silver/grey untreated though...

How long does that take?