Adding privacy to your backyard

 

Adding privacy to your back yard can get pricey when you include the cost of building a privacy fence or buy shrubs that are large enough to give you what you need.  Many times, you can simply use vinyl pergola kit to create a private room in your landscape.  These kits can be put up in a snap, and if you really want to make a secluded nook, then it's really easy to grow a climbing plant on three sides to enclose the room.

It's Amazing What a Fence Will Do

I found this in This Old House magazine.

It's really amazing what an improvement that an arbor will make to a landscape...

Can I use a polyurethane finish for my outdoor pergola or arbor?

Question

: I just bought a brand new pergola kit from SimplyPergolas.com, and now I'm looking to add a finish to the wood.  I'm used to working with indoor furniture and woodworking and use polyurethane on most every project that I work on.  I'm wondering if polyurethan works for an outdoor project as well?

Answer

: That depends.  Read more at the blog of Simply Pergolas...

Which type of wood should I use for my pergola or arbor?

Which type of wood should I use for my pergola or arbor?

from the blog at Simply Pergolas

There are not too many domestic woods that are suitable for an outdoor project like this.  Here’s a list of domestic woods that you’ll be able to find for your pergola or arbor.

• Southern Yellow Pine - It’s cheap and readily available, but you’ll have to treat it for it to last more than a couple of seasons.  It also is bug food and has sap when not treated.  $3 per linear foot.
• Douglas Fir - This strong, northwestern softwood is stable and sap-free in clear, vertical-grain cuts. Less rot resistant than red cedar and redwood.  $29 per linear foot.
• Redwood - Premium western softwood that’s stable and sap-free. Clear grades like this are costly.  About $37.50 per linear foot
• Eastern White Cedar - It grows on the eastern half of the US.  It’s a stable and sap-free with small, tight knots. $27.50 per linear foot.
• Cypress - This is a tropical wood that grows in the US, and there aren’t many, it has a tan color and is related to redwood.  It is stable and sap-free. Can have small, tight knots.  $17.50 per linear foot.  This is a great wood, that has a middle range price.
• Western Red Cedar - A Pacific Northwest wood with superior rot and insect resistance. Stable and sap-free. $6.50 per linear foot.  This is a favorite of ours because of it’s value.  Dollar for dollar, you won’t find a better wood for performance and looks.

 

 

What Makes Shorea so Valuable?

From: Shorea.org

"The biggest attribute of shorea is undoubtedly the strength of the timber. It’s renowned for its excellent resistance to every day wear and tear. Shorea is extremely durable and tightly grained to produce a desirable density, even more so than teak which is traditionally seen to be the greater luxury and thus slightly more expensive.

The formidable strength of shorea puts it in good stead as the leading hardwood in the light construction industry. This is certainly helped by the fact that it remains unaffected by all variations in weather. A resistance to damp conditions makes shorea extremely competent at combating insect attacks and decay. While the timber isn’t completely free of the effects associated with excessive exposure to dampness, it certainly outlasts its nearest rivals. For example, certain shorea extracts have been obtained underground from European land after a century of being buried, and even after that lengthy exposure to the elements, the shorea has displayed no sign of decay."

The strength and weather resistant properties are what makes shorea a great wood for backyard structures like pergolas and arbors.  Many pergolas and arbors are being sold on the web today made from shorea, and the reviews are showing that this species has superior performance to that of cedar or treated pine.  The domestic woods just don't wear like shorea.

Which wood for my garden arbor or pergola?

The choice of wood is often the major choice for a garden arbor, pergola or gazebo.  Design is the main factor for many consumers, but for manufactures, they will usually only use one kind of wood.  So, where doe it shake out?  It shakes out with consumers being led to certain designs by the choice of wood, or being led to the choice of wood by the design that they like.  The typical choices are white cedar, red cedar, treated pine and more recently shorea, bangkirai and eucalyptus.

What is shorea wood?

Shorea is a tropical hardwood that is comparable to Teak.  It is resistant to bug infestation, is a very heavy wood. It is most commonly used in construction for framing and decking, but is also used in recent years for outdoor furniture.  It is a very brittle wood and can be prone to checking.  Some surface roughness may develop, especially at the end grain, but over a period of about one year, the natural weather process will stabilize.  Moderate checking in the grain is normal with exposure to the elements. If left untreated, Shorea weathers naturally to a silver gray.

Overall, Shorea makes for a good raw material to start your outdoor patio project such as a garden bench, patio arbor or pergola.