There are several factors to consider, but the most important should be weather resistance. Cedar, Cypress, and Redwood are extremely weather-resistant compared to other woods. Because of this and the fact that they are relatively easy to find, these three are the most commonly used woods on the exterior of a home.
Redwood and Cedar. While pine is the best exterior softwood for the money, Redwood and Cedar are better exterior softwoods for stability. Redwood and Cedar are pinkish, with heart redwood being a darker pink than Western Red Cedar.
The best water resistant wood types & species. Iroko, Oak, Western Red Cedar, Cherry, Maple and heat-treated woods are just a few examples of timber that boast excellent dimensional stability and high resistance to shrinking and warping in the face of moisture.
Naturally resistant woods that are commercially available include black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), teak (Tectona grandis), ipe (Tabebuia spp.), California redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and bald cypress (Taxodium distichum). These have the highest resistance to rot over time.
Choose Rot Resistant Wood for Your Project
Well-known domestic examples include cedar, redwood, old-growth cypress, mulberry, yew, osage orange, and black locust. Tropical wood examples include ipe, lignumvitae, purpleheart, and old-growth teak.
Since it's widely available, fir can be useful for those running a slightly tighter budget. It's one of the cheapest woods for outdoor use. If you're a woodworker or DIY garden furniture maker, this species also works and machines well, in addition to holding finishes easily — whether a clear varnish, stain or paint.
Teak. Teak is the most highly recommended material for wooden outdoor furniture among designers, not only due to its resilience in any season but also because of its style and soft, grained finish. This miraculous material produces its own oils, making it unique in comparison to other types of natural woods.
Characteristics of balsa wood make it a unique hardwood albeit, when weight for weight basis is excluded, it is the weakest of all commercial species.
Cedar wood projects typically last more than 20 years without splitting, rotting, or warping. White oak and teak are also long lasting woods that are resistant to decay, twisting, cracking, or warping.
Redwood – It's one of the lightest and most durable woods used for building. It's one of the many reasons why Redwood is such a popular building material. Heartwood redwood grades are the most durable. Cedar – At just 19.7 to 23 pounds per square foot (dry) Cedar is one of the lightest woods.
Class 1 durability timber is the highest level of natural durability a species of wood can have. In above-ground settings, it is expected to last more than 40 years, and in-ground it has an average life expectancy of more than 25 years.
Pressure-treated wood can be painted using a brush, roller, or sprayer. Before painting, the wood must be dry both on the surface and internally. A high-quality, water-based exterior latex paint, along with a corresponding primer, is the best paint to use on pressure-treated wood.
But building code dictates where you can use treated wood in applications — usually where there is risk of excessive moisture. Generally speaking, any wood used in outdoor projects should be pressure-treated. Wood details in your interior design (like cabinetry or furniture) do not need the same level of treatment.
Cedar wood may last over 20 years when used in outdoor structures, such as decks, pergolas, gazebos, or furniture. It can last between 15 and 20 years when used for constructing a fence or support posts.
Pine tar is one of the best protective products for any wood surface. It creates a breathable wood surface. One of its benefits is that it won't trap moisture. We recommend mixing authentic pine tar with purified linseed oil.
This scale measures and ranks the relative hardness of wood. Hickory is the hardest, commercially available common wood. Next in line are pecan, hard maple and white oak. Hardwood includes wood like hickory, oak, mahogany, maple and walnut.
Pine. Pine wood is probably the cheapest wood that you can get on a consumer level, but it is also one of the best wood options when high strength and low cost are needed. Pine wood is sourced from the dozens of different pine species that grow natively around the world.
Most experts are of the opinion that the Australian Buloke, which is an ironwood tree, provides the hardest wood in the world, with a Janka hardness rating of 5,060 lbf. Others argue that Quebracho (which translates to 'ax-breaker' in Spanish) is the tree with the hardest wood in the world.
When comparing the hardness of Pine Vs. Oak, White Oak has a Janka rating of 1360 while northern Red Oak is slightly softer with a rating of 1290. Heart Pine is one of the strongest softwoods with a rating of 1225, while Eastern White Pine is an extraordinarily soft wood with a rating of 380.
Wood products
Lignum vitae is hard and durable, and is also the densest wood traded (average dried density: ~79 lb/ft3 or ~1,260 kg/m3); it will easily sink in water.