Best wood choice for water

[Thomas Syrotchen]

Well, I've got a "water table" on the honey do list coming up soon. For those that don't have children a water table is essentially 4 legs that hold up a large tub filled with water. Set it in the backyard and let the kids go to town. I'm thinking of using red cedar to build it out of as it will likely be wet a lot. Obviously I don't want to use pressure treated woods with the kids using it. Any other suggestion on a wood species to use that will see a lot of water.

[Doug Shepard]

Ipe. The downside is that it weighs a ton and it's a bear to work. But it holds up to the elements extremely well.

[Stephen Musial]

Second the Ipe. Find a local deck builder and see if you can buy some offcuts.

[Nate Carey]

Cypress - less costly and much easier to work than exotic decking lumber, glues easily, holds fasteners well, and can be painted or not. Cypress has been used in boat building for centuries. Popular for exposed millwork, outdoor furniture, window boxes, etc.

[Lee Schierer]

This might be heresy on a woodworking forum, but why not use one of the plactic composite materials. They are water proof, don't splinter, can be worked like wood and should hold up pretty well.

[Thomas Syrotchen]

Thanks for all the suggestions. While your probably technically correct Lee that a plastic would be the better choice, I'm talking off my engineering hat and putting on the I have a woodworking addiction that needs to be filled hat. I've convinced the wife that we can do better than the $350 version for less than the $100 version online, so if I go plastic I'll loose the eye pleasing value of wood and may loose credibility.

Wow, I was watching Jeff Foxworthy the other day and he talks about being trained, when his wife says I'm hot and he gets up and turns on the fan. I think I just realized I've been trained.

[Frank Hagan]

Cypress might be available near you; another wood in the south is southern yellow pine ... I know its a common building wood, but it is used in decking on boats, and is fairly rot resistant, inexpensive, and works well. If SYP isn't available there, another option is Douglas fir (another wood used extensively for boat decks).

[Todd Burch]

Let me see. I've never heard of a water table, but all the other parameters lead me to my choice below:

1) It's for the kids, which means they'll be tired of it in a month
2) Sounds temporary anyways
3) Wife wants it now, so no need to fret over choice of materials too much.

I would get however-many pine 2X4's from the Borg to use for legs and not give it another thought.

Todd

[Thomas Syrotchen]

Todd,
Water table is for the kids, and I would have thought they had grown tired of it too. However, my wife is tired of cleaning up the bathroom everyday and this has been going on for 3 months. My daughter loves water so I think the time will not be wasted.
I was actually quite surprised at how reasonable cypress is here.

[Nate Carey]

Thomas, and the price of cypress in Texas is?

[Mike Cruz]

I might be showing my ignorance here, but, what is wrong with PT wood? Kids swing sets, play sets, tree house/forts, park benches, and your deck are probably all made with it. Kids eat dirt, worms, and food that fell on the floor. The wood under what they are playing in shouln't be a big issue...IMO.

[Nate Carey]

Mike, from the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for one of the more benign types of pressure treated lumber...

* * * Section 4 - First Aid Measures * * *
First Aid: Eyes
Immediately flush eyes with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes. Seek immediate medical attention.
First Aid: Skin
For skin contact, wash immediately with soap and water. Continue flushing skin with water for 15 minutes.
irritation persists, get medical attention. If wood splinters are injected under the skin, get medical attention
immediately.
First Aid: Ingestion
If the material is swallowed, get immediate medical attention or advice -- Do not induce vomiting.
First Aid: Inhalation
If dusts are inhaled, remove person to fresh air. If not breathing, give artificial respiration, preferably mouth-to-mouth.
If breathing is difficult, have trained personnel give oxygen to the victim.
First Aid: Notes to Physician
Respiratory ailments and pre-existing skin conditions may be aggravated by exposure to wood dust.

[Mike Cruz]

Wow, sounds like this stuff is so toxic no one should touch it...not even adults...even look at it. Heck I'm not going to HD anymore...I might beathe it!

Ok, that is a bit extreme, but do you (forum members in general) allow your kids on decks, playgrounds, swing sets, etc?

I understand that making a bed or dining room table out of PT lumber may be a bit negligent, but outdoor structures?

I'm not trying to be argumentative or callous. Just wondering why, if it is SO bad, why any of us even use it for anything outdoors...for kids or for us? And yes, we DO use it. Some may not, but most of us do. Even if you use Epay (sorry about the spelling) or Trex, the 6 X 6's are still PT...

[Nate Carey]

Mike, the choice is yours and mine to make...plenty of it for sale...

...I use PT structural components below deck in some of the larger boats I build. And when machining PT lumber I take precautions inline with the manufacturer's warnings...

[Barry Rhoads]

Good grief! There is an MSDS for everything. The Federal Government has one for grass....as in mowing the lawn grass. I suppose no one drinks from the garden hose anymore?