What wood for shutters that will take abuse from the elements?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I am afraid I'm going to have to replace some shutters on my house. These are fully functional shutters nearly 2" thick and take the heat of the sun all day, and during hurricanes they take all sorts of abuse. These are very old-school shutters, hung on pintles and large iron strap hinges. They weigh a ton, as they are 2" thick, 35" wide, and 56" tall. Current shutters are old growth heart pine.

Whatever wood I use will have to be ordered and shipped by boat, so I'm open to all schools of thought. I would like the wood to be:

• Rot resistant
• Termite resistant
• Able to withstand direct tropical sun
• Strong enough to fend off flying debris.

The above is the perfect scenario and I realize there's no perfect wood. I DO NOT want to use treated because I have yet to find treated lumber that wasn't just absolute rubbish as far as growth rings per inch, moisture, knots, etc. I want these to be built like furniture.

Here is my short list:

• Western Red Cedar
• Atlantic White Cedar
• Douglas Fir
• Redwood (Probably the hardest to get, as I will be trying to source from the east coast for the lowest shipping cost)
• Spruce (but that would require some sort of deal, as vertical grain spruce is outrageously expensive)
• Port Orford Cedar- again would require a deal, but the stuff is awesome for boatbuilding, so I'd order a big bulk and build a boat with some of it.

I want to get a wood that I can order some extra of for building surfboards and boats. I'm open to any suggestions. Remember- I really want to keep the shutters lightweight, which is why Cumuru and Ipe are out. The shutters put a lot of strain on the pintles.

What do you guys use and why?

[Malcolm McLeod]

Take a look at bald cypress. I made shutters for my house from it. They're only 6 yrs old and no hurricanes in Dallas yet, so can't speak to their mechanical durability. But, they have weathered very well, cypress is rot resistant (due to cyprocene(??) content) and it is plentiful, so priced reasonably. ....Not sure about insects?

Edit: Not much surfing in Dallas area either, so you're on your own there!

[Mark Wooden]

+1 on cypress.

[John R Green]

Please post pic's of shutters to be replaced.

[Frederick Skelly]

+2 on cypress - IIRC, that's what the old plantation homes along the gulf used.

[Robert Hayward]

What is wrong with replacing with the same wood ? Not old growth, but Southern Yellow Pine. Tough wood that can take the elements.

[Jeff Bartley]

Spanish cedar would be in the running were I in your shoes. It works well by machine or hand and will fill your shop with the most wonderful aroma!

Will the shutters be painted?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Shutters will be painted. I will get pics when the sun comes up. As for southern yellow pine, most of what is sold today is just so fast grown that there are few rings per inch and it is more prone to warping.

[Ron Kurzius]

I made 50 shutters for a house that was built in 1936, they were eastern white pine that was red lead primed. These were on an up scale home and maintained during their life. I explored all the options available and went with vertical grain fir.

I would have liked to use pine because it is so easy to work with but around here new pine seems to last about 5-10 years.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Here are the shutters. Yes, my house is purple and white- it's the Caribbean, okay? That will change to a traditional red and white. The prior owner painted it that color without consulting the historical preservation society. Also the door is going to be mahogany. The previous owner built that door and he is not a woodworker. He did not believe in varnishing. The doors have been left raw since they were made in around 1997. I'm amazed. If it wasn't that he used construction pine with knots filled with wood filler, I would have varnished them. There was no need as I knew all along they were going to go. The center is redwood and that will be salvaged and made into a surfboard. I only have had the home 2 years and other things were higher priority.

image.jpgimage.jpg

[Bill Adamsen]

My sister has a place on Camanoe, one of the islands off Tortola in the BVI. It is "basic" by local standards (no AC) but as a former plantation, exudes charm. When planning is possible, they choose teak delivered from plantations in Indonesia, which is fairly insect resistant. Shorter planning window jobs are "catch as catch can" scenario, with predictable results (termites). I was intrigued by Jeff's suggestion of Spanish Cedar ... which from the description one might think was commonly available. A locally sourced material would be the most authentic and economically sustainable, and Spanish Cedar sounds like a suitable material. Good luck!

[Malcolm Schweizer]

My sister has a place on Camanoe, one of the islands off Tortola in the BVI. It is "basic" by local standards (no AC) but as a former plantation, exudes charm. When planning is possible, they choose teak delivered from plantations in Indonesia, which is fairly insect resistant. Shorter planning window jobs are "catch as catch can" scenario, with predictable results (termites). I was intrigued by Jeff's suggestion of Spanish Cedar ... which from the description one might think was commonly available. A locally sourced material would be the most authentic and economically sustainable, and Spanish Cedar sounds like a suitable material. Good luck!

I'm just a few miles away from your sister! Teak is out of the question at $25+/bft. Spanish Cedar would be wonderful to work with. I love that smell. It's not available locally. The only woods I can get locally in stock are mahogany, ipe, cumaru, and cypress, but the Cumuru and Cypress are only available in tongue and groove with a "V" edge at the join, and the ipe is very expensive and only avaialble in decking. Mahogany is too expensive and also I would just hate to paint mahogany. (Not going to deal with varnishing every 6 months for sure!)

Thanks for all the feedback- I'm really leaning towards cedar. Spanish cedar would be pretty fun to work with. Western Red would probably be more affordable.

[lowell holmes]

White oak is a good outdoor wood. I have a threshold made of white oak that is 7-8 years old. It is on an unprotected door. It is as solid as the day I put it in.
There is no finish on the wood.

[Jamie Buxton]

Here on the West Coast, Western Red Cedar is a better choice than Redwood for high-class construction. Some lumberyards stock WRC from British Columbia which is old-growth, clear, and usually rift sawn. The redwood which is available is pretty cheesy stuff -- second-growth, with wide growth rings, and limited resistance to insects and fungi. The last time I bought this kind of WRC, it was around $8 per bdft in small retail quantities.

[Mike Wilkins]

Another vote for Cypress. I built the shutters for my home last year, painted with 2 coats of exterior paint. The original shutters were made of Pine and were installed when my house was built in 1985. So the Cypress should last as long or longer.
And it ticks all the requirements you are looking for.