Wood Selection for Outdoor Deck Cabinet

[quadrcr87]

Looking for a recommendation on wood to use for an outdoor cabinet. It will be on a covered deck but still exposed to sun, rain, etc. Cedar is an obvious option but it's pretty soft. I considered treated lumber, but I hate working with it and I don't think it would meet the finish quality I am going for. I know there is a lot of species that do well outdoors, but I need something readily available from a local South Carolina lumber yard. Cost is a consideration, but I have not set a budget for the project yet. Teak? Cypress? Redwood? Ipe?

The cabinet will serve as a cooking station for a pizza oven and Blackstone grill. I plan to have some storage below for the propane tank and accessories. I am also considering adding drawers. The countertop will either be stone or stainless steel. There will be casters installed to allow it to move around for cleaning the deck.

Replacing this IKEA table.

 

[Ericmacc]

How about southern yellow pine?

 

[slow84lx]

Cypress, white oak, redwood, teak, Ipe are all good choices. Cost & availability will be the thing.

 

[Copymutt]

What ever you choose treat it w/ One Time Wood once or boiled linseed oil every 2 seasons.

 

[PCustoms]

Cypress, white oak, redwood, teak, Ipe are all good choices. Cost & availability will be the thing.

Any of these

Call lumberyard to see what they have.

Be prepared to open wallet. W i d e

 

[quadrcr87]

Thanks for feedback guys. Any preference between those or should I base it on cost and availability?

I do have a decent lumber yard near me so I will stop in and see what they have. I haven't completed a design yet to determine true cost, but I know it won't be cheap. I would like to keep the cabinet w/ the top around $1,000 but I don't know if that is feasible yet.

Local place in Mauldin, SC

Lumber Supplier | Greenville, SC | th' Lumber Yard, Inc

th' Lumber Yard, Inc. in Greenville, SC can be reached at 864-277-8880.

www.lumberyardinc.com

 

[larry4406]

Spendy, and might not be easy to find, but IPE looks great.

 

[PCustoms]

Thanks for feedback guys. Any preference between those or should I base it on cost and availability?

I do have a decent lumber yard need me so I will stop in and see what they have. I haven't completed a design yet to determine true cost, but I know it won't be cheap. I would like to keep the cabinet w/ the top around $1,000 but I don't know if that is feasible yet.

Local place in Mauldin, SC

Lumber Supplier | Greenville, SC | th' Lumber Yard, Inc

th' Lumber Yard, Inc. in Greenville, SC can be reached at 864-277-8880.

www.lumberyardinc.com

I haven't work d with cypress, teak and ipe have a bit of a learning curve (and are likely the most $$) and personally would look out of place on that deck.

White oak would work IMHO

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Any of your list would work for me EXCEPT treated. Don't even think about it.

My boys and I built a cedar Adirondack bench for my wife many years ago and it has held up well. Copymutt is correct. It has to be cleaned and resealed about every 2 years.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I made this cabinet to keep set up at a seasonal camp site. Used cedar off the rack from HD and picked up a slab of bluestone from a local quarry. Made it in 2020 and gave it to my son in 22 who just gave it back to me. He didn't take care of it but a little clean up and I think it will be good as new. I wouldn't hesitate to use cedar again, low maintenance for a decent price.

 

[johnre]

Teak, Ipe, Meranti, or Cumaru, for no-finish-needed, no-periodic-care, durability, and very long life. Most of them will turn a light grey but not rot with age. They are all pretty expensive, but you did say $1000 budget.

Cedar if you are willing to finish it every couple of years. This is much lower cost, but it will likewise last if you keep at it refinishing. It's not as durable as those already listed, however.

One I've heard is good at a reasonable price is Black Locust; I've not tried it yet but it is native to your region, so it may be more available to you than me.

You can look them all up here: https://www.wood-database.com/wood-filter/

 

[RTM]

Ipe is hard on tools, high minerals in the wood I think is to blame. Easily bought in a decking store in 1x4 format, not sure about structural sizes.
I bought a cypress Adirondack, it lasted about 30 years. It started to grey, and the wife painted it, then it needed paint every few years. Finally rotted out.
White oak is a great outdoor choice, but pricey, especially if you buy S4S. Second only to ipe in dent resistance.
Redwood is popular here in the west, is a bit more dent resistant than cedar, and if you wanna go a bit rustic, fence boards can be a bit cheaper than S4S.
Love cedar, especially if left to age to it’s natural silver, but very soft, structural sizes get pricey quick, but again fence boards for the exterior can look good.

Black locust and Osage orange are rumored to be forever woods, but hard to get in many parts of the US. No experience with either, but probably hard as hell.

Lots of local to you woods may be good too, but no real clues.

This may help once you get your heart set on something.

Woodfinder: Find Sources of Lumber, Veneer and Sawmill Services

woodfinder.com

 

[LOW1]

There is a place for synthetic decking material and this may be it. You can make an outdoor cooking table as fine as you want but between cooking spills and the elements it will deteriorate regardless of how much maintenance you do.

 

[redragoon]

Thanks for feedback guys. Any preference between those or should I base it on cost and availability?

I do have a decent lumber yard near me so I will stop in and see what they have. I haven't completed a design yet to determine true cost, but I know it won't be cheap. I would like to keep the cabinet w/ the top around $1,000 but I don't know if that is feasible yet.

Local place in Mauldin, SC

Lumber Supplier | Greenville, SC | th' Lumber Yard, Inc

th' Lumber Yard, Inc. in Greenville, SC can be reached at 864-277-8880.

www.lumberyardinc.com

I'm used them before for Cherry wood. Good shop. Will sometimes give you cutoffs from their winter furnace barrel.
The local woodworker's guild also has a materials shop for members.

There's another mill south of Simpsonville on Hwy 418 that processes lots of logs.
Have to speak to them directly, though.
Arrow Straight
201 Nash View Dr, Fountain Inn, SC 29644

 

[southalabama]

Unless you find old growth heart cypress I’d strike it from my list. Some newer growth cypress simply doesn’t hold up.

 

[quadrcr87]

I made this cabinet to keep set up at a seasonal camp site. Used cedar off the rack from HD and picked up a slab of bluestone from a local quarry. Made it in 2020 and gave it to my son in 22 who just gave it back to me. He didn't take care of it but a little clean up and I think it will be good as new. I wouldn't hesitate to use cedar again, low maintenance for a decent price.

That cabinet looks great. It is similar to what I am looking to build, and I really like the stone top. Getting cedar from the lumber yard is likely my plan forward.

Just catching back up with this thread as my focus has been on flagstone in the yard. Lots of great feedback from GJ as usual. Now I just need the temps to drop below 90* and find some motivation to build it.

 

[jessesandy]

Can't go wrong with white oak.
Nature / the weather can't touch it.
Ships sailed the world made out of oak.
What's the availability in your neck of the woods?

 

[dscheidt]

Unless you find old growth heart cypress I’d strike it from my list. Some newer growth cypress simply doesn’t hold up.

Cedar is the same way, as are most of the north american 'rot resistant' species. It's slow grown heart wood that is, plantation grown stuff is not.

 

[daytonworktrucks]

What ever you choose treat it w/ One Time Wood once or boiled linseed oil every 2 seasons.

What's the benefit of boiled linseed oil if it would be extra work done the road? Also, since his cabinet is going to be outside could he simply burn the wood to preserve it?

 

[Copymutt]

Boiled linseed is the easiest, quickest finish to apply of all treatments. Theres no sanding, scraping, priming unless the sun has damaged the wood. The Japanese treatment of burning wood to preserve it would be interesting here, but I think the soot would be problematic.