Noted that you live in Stockholm. Vindö Byggvaror out on Värmdö has a planing mill and they manufacture their own range of 34mm thick spruce studs of excellent quality. These studs have sharp edges like planed timber and work excellently for finer outdoor carpentry. They also have a pressure impregnation facility where the corresponding 34mm pine studs are treated with NTR-A.
Good luck with the gate!
Good luck with the gate!
Would you like to elaborate?P PHPersson said:
Both are medium-hard softwoods with knot cores and resinous sap. Spruce is slightly softer than pine and more "flexible" (elastic), but due to its knot clusters between the branches, you'll often get more knot projections when you plane it.
Spruce is somewhat lighter than pine but can have more resin accumulation in certain areas. It can also tend to "sweat" from these accumulations.
My point with the post was that pine works just as well as spruce for a gate that is to be painted if that is easier to obtain.
It can even be better to the extent that if the spruce sweats resin under the paint, it will burst the surface layer.
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Diversearbetare
· Göteborg
· 11 228 posts
Spruce has a closed cell structure. Oiling only provides surface protection like a coat of paint. The oil cannot penetrate and impregnate.
Pine/Furu has an open cell structure. This allows it to be impregnated and oil-saturated. It also means that untreated pinewood absorbs moisture and other dirt.
Pine/Furu has an open cell structure. This allows it to be impregnated and oil-saturated. It also means that untreated pinewood absorbs moisture and other dirt.
I have experienced that sapwood of pine sometimes rots quickly, but I'm unsure if I've seen this in sawn timber or only in unsawn logs. It might have to do with the more open cell structure. However, I believe that modern drying facilities might sometimes fracture the cell structure in the wood being dried due to steam development at high temperatures.
I have a cabin from the 1860s that, as far as I know, has the original paneling, which is made from unedged pine boards containing both heartwood and sapwood. Substantial roof overhangs have probably helped protect it, but I believe it's common for old pine paneling to hold up well while people with newer houses frequently replace their paneling. I spoke with an old carpenter who agreed that pine might indeed be better. There are likely many reasons for frequent replacements today (modern fast-grown timber, spruce, perhaps drying procedures, paint systems, vanity, advertising from companies specializing in panel replacement). Probably, even a panel that appears to be in poor condition can serve its function for quite a while.
One problem is that Svenskt Trä pushes spruce for unclear reasons, and that spruce is mostly what's available in the builders' supply stores, while pine is mainly available as expensive moldings and similar products. Forest owners, however, are paid roughly the same price for pine and spruce, a fraction of what the sawn timber later costs. Pressure-treated wood is not much more expensive than spruce timber, but as mentioned, it's debatable whether it's good after being painted, which also applies to planed wood.
I have a cabin from the 1860s that, as far as I know, has the original paneling, which is made from unedged pine boards containing both heartwood and sapwood. Substantial roof overhangs have probably helped protect it, but I believe it's common for old pine paneling to hold up well while people with newer houses frequently replace their paneling. I spoke with an old carpenter who agreed that pine might indeed be better. There are likely many reasons for frequent replacements today (modern fast-grown timber, spruce, perhaps drying procedures, paint systems, vanity, advertising from companies specializing in panel replacement). Probably, even a panel that appears to be in poor condition can serve its function for quite a while.
One problem is that Svenskt Trä pushes spruce for unclear reasons, and that spruce is mostly what's available in the builders' supply stores, while pine is mainly available as expensive moldings and similar products. Forest owners, however, are paid roughly the same price for pine and spruce, a fraction of what the sawn timber later costs. Pressure-treated wood is not much more expensive than spruce timber, but as mentioned, it's debatable whether it's good after being painted, which also applies to planed wood.
In that case, you're right, but the thing is that heart-pine withstands moisture much better than spruce, i.e., it lasts longer. On the other hand, "bad" pine is sometimes even worse than spruce. You don't often see windows made of spruce. I would myself build the gate in fat heart-pine any day of the week and saturate it in oil before painting. But, of course, spruce also works fine.I Ibruks said:
I know you didn't ask me, but I strongly recommend linoljefärg for gates. Doesn't help the wood rot... adheres well to all sorts of surfaces too!E Ehrlemark said: