Material for mud kitchen

Wilsoncb

Williemakeit
Corporate Member
I’ve been asked to make an outdoor mud kitchen for my grandkids. It will be mostly 1x material so I don’t want to use treated lumber. Its always either way to wet, and will twist, or it’s dry…and twisted. I would like to use cedar, but the only thing I’m finding is fence pickets or fairly expensive 4/4 material at hardwood suppliers. I’m not sure if regular pine will last very long outdoors.

Suggestions for material to use or location in Triad for cedar?

1677183620243.jpeg
 

Wilsoncb

Williemakeit
Corporate Member
@demondeacon you are right, Lowes is not cheap. I decided to do a comparison of Lowes, Hardwood Store (Gibsonville) & Wall lumber. Looks like Aromatic Red Cedar is least expensive, but I'm still interested in other suggestions for either location or wood types that might work for outdoor application.

Note: HWS Wester Red Cedar they list cost for both BF and LF. I don't understand why the price comes out different.
LocationWoodSizeBF (or LF)Cost/BFTotal Cost
LowesCedar3/4x3.5x8
1.75​
$9.34​
$16.34​
HWSAromatic Red Cedar4/4x3.5x8
2.33​
$3.95​
$9.20​
HWSWestern Red Cedar7/8x3.5x8
2.04​
$4.95​
$10.10​
$/Bd. Ft.
HWSWestern Red Cedar7/8x3.5x8
8​
$1.65​
$13.20​
$/LF
WallAromatic Red Cedar4/4x3.5x8
2.33​
$3.35​
$7.81​
WallWestern Red Cedar4/4x3.5x8
2.33​
$5.75​
$13.40​
 

JNCarr

Joe
Corporate Member
Eucalyptus Grandis (HWS carries the "Red Grandis" tradename) is inexpensive (maybe a little more than aromatic cedar) and machines well.
I recently built a project out of it and really like it. I'd put it between sapele and Spanish cedar in hardness.
It's supposed to weather about like cedar although I understand it will gray. I stained and spar varnished it. We'll see in 3 years!
 

Billm0066

Bill
User
I would use treated pine. Your piece is 35" long so I would worry about twisting on something so small. Or you just have to spend more on white oak, cedar, or cypress. Anytime I work with deck boards or 1x I let it sit outside in the sun for a week or two to dry out some if the wood is too wet.
 

bphaynes

Parker
Corporate Member
WO has gotten so expensive that Sapele might be the best hardwood for outdoor use for the money (at least if you get it from Steve Wall). I would think regular pine would last several years, with treated pine definitely lasting longer. But for grandkids, how long will they really use it? I would think a few years would be good enough.
 

SabertoothBunny

SabertoothBunny
Corporate Member
If you want wood, white oak is probably the best option. I would recommend white oak for the framing but use the pvc boards for the top. Maybe the pvc for the while build if you can find the right sizes.
 

tri4sale

Daniel
Corporate Member
Treated on any place that touches the ground, non-treated 1x material and paint/stain it, or use 1x PVC material (not cheap)
 

John Jimenez

JJ
Corporate Member
I see a lot of cedar 1x for sale on FB market place for reasonable cost but I wouldn’t hesitate to use PT pine and use sikkens or Cabot to seal it up after 6 months. If you go with cedar or cypress then use some waterlox to seal it up. Send some pics when it’s done!
 

Wilsoncb

Williemakeit
Corporate Member
I looked at the cedar at Wall and none of it was even good enough to work with. Cypress looked good but more than I wanted to spend on this project. In the end I did what I said I wasn’t going to do…I used treated lumber. After sorting through the pile of wet, knot filled twisted boards, I was able to find some material that worked OK. The price was half other options, so I figured I could deal with it since all the pieces were shorter than 32”.
Here’s the end result.
 

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