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What type of wood takes the longest to rot?

Cedar, redwood, cypress and other naturally rot-resistant woods are often hailed as the premier choice when building outside structures like decks, arbors or saunas. ... Naturally Rot-Resistant Species: Redwood. American mahogany. Cypress. Western red cedar. Pacific yew. Teak. Black walnut. White oak. More items...

cabinlife.com - Help Your Rot-Resistant Lumber Last Longer - Cabin Life
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What kind of wood is used for shed doors?
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Western Red Cedar Lumber Association

The cedar used to build this deck is naturally resistant to rot, but it still needs a varnish clearcoat with UV protection every 1–2 years. Typically, darker tint stains provide more UV resistance. Cedar, redwood, cypress and other naturally rot-resistant woods are often hailed as the premier choice when building outside structures like decks, arbors or saunas. They have beautiful color and grain, are often aromatic, and their chemical structure can make them immune to insect and fungal pests. However, naturally resistant wood species are not guaranteed to last any longer than pressure- or green-treated lumber. Here are some ways to help ensure your natural, beautiful and expensive wood lasts for decades, not years.

Buy Heartwood

Key point: Any of these woods, whether teak, oak, cypress, cedar or redwood, is not uniformly rot-resistant. The outer wood, called sapwood, often has minimal or non-existent rot-resistance properties. The darker heartwood has the good stuff in it – organic materials commonly referred to as extractives. With today’s increased demand for wood and more sensitive harvesting practices, much of the lumber now available is actually a mix of sapwood and heartwood. If you want wood that’s truly rot-resistant, you’ll have to pony up; heartwood can cost four times more than standard grade.

Not Maintenance-Free

I can still remember the luster of my new split-rail cedar fence. It looked fabulous, smelled like heaven … and within a year had faded to a dull gray fence that smelled like nothing much at all. Without preservative, rot-resistant woods are not going to hold up to sunlight and rain, regardless of quality. At a minimum, apply a varnish clearcoat with UV resistance every 1–2 years. In many cases, the sun’s UV rays will still come through the clearcoat and break down the colors of the wood, bleaching the pretty red and browns into a dull gray. To combat this, apply an oil-based, UV-resistant stain.

See also: Designing for a Low-Maintenance Home

Watch the Ends

Natural woods can have a distinct advantage over pressure-treated wood, which is typically only treated on the outside (this is why pressure-treated lumber is sometimes observed to have “rotted from the inside out”). Heartwoods of natural rot-resistant species are uniform in their resistance. However, the ends of the boards can be particularly vulnerable to stress from drying and moisture; dabbing the ends with sealer can further extend the life of your boards.

Beat Mother Nature to the Punch

The best part? These products not only beautify natural wood, but also provide low-maintenance, long-lasting protection against sun and rain.

Naturally Rot-Resistant Species:

Redwood

American mahogany

Cypress

Western red cedar

Pacific yew

Teak

Black walnut

White oak

Juniper

See also: The Complete Guide to Log Cabin Finishes

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Do nails hold better than screws?

Nails are a favorite for large jobs in construction because they're cheaper than screws and offer shear strength — or the ability to withstand shear pressure, where two surfaces slide past each other. But screws offer superior tensile strength over nails.

fastenmaster.com - When to Use Nails vs Screws? - Comparison Guide - FastenMaster

Because screws are much eas­i­er to remove than nails (you just adjust your pow­er drill to reverse), they come in handy on tem­po­rary projects that might need adjust­ing lat­er on. Nails bring a few ben­e­fits to your project, but it depends on what kind of project you’re up to. Nails are a favorite for large jobs in con­struc­tion because they’re cheap­er than screws and offer shear strength — or the abil­i­ty to with­stand shear pres­sure, where two sur­faces slide past each other. But screws offer supe­ri­or ten­sile strength over nails. ​“This makes screws bet­ter for projects when joined pieces are under ten­sion or bear­ing weight, like porch rail­ings or kitchen cab­i­netry. Anoth­er ben­e­fit of screws is their resis­tance to with­draw­al pres­sure, or the ten­den­cy of sur­faces to pull apart,” says Bob Vila.

Where Should I Use Nails vs. Screws?

There are a few ways to decide which fas­ten­er to use on your job. We’ll help you break that down, depend­ing on which type of project you’re work­ing on.

Exterior Jobs

Nails are a pop­u­lar selec­tion for roof­ing, sid­ing and sheath­ing projects. The amount of fas­ten­ers that are need­ed in these projects makes nails a more attrac­tive choice because they offer a low­er price point.

Decking Applications

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