Shower corner stool

[Jared Cuneo]

Well, the teak top on my wife's shower stool gave out in less than 3 months from purchase and now I'm tasked with rebuilding the top.

It's basic structurally, but I'm worried about the finish. It seems the last one failed at the screw holes and it looks like water invaded several small cracks.

The WW on it was rather low quality, so I am hoping to get a little more life out of the one I'm going to build. I plan to use oak (exotics are too expensive down in south Florida), seal the hell out of it and hope for the best.

Any advise on getting more than 3 months out of this thing? It will endure 2-3 showers a day, and probably remain moist for a long time....

thanks for any help!

JC

[Chuck Lenz]

Personally I think oak would be a poor choice because it has so much open grain to it. Would something like Trex or a scrap piece of Corian work for you ? Corian you can get sink cutouts from cabinet shops or someone who professionally installs countertops.

[Kermit Hodges]

Use White Oak, not Red Oak. White has been used as ribs in boats for many many years. Red oak would be a bad choice. It rots way to fast.

[Jamie Buxton]

I wouldn't put any finish on it. Finish is going to fail eventually, and then you'll have an obvious and ugly situation. There will be patches where the wood is still protected, and patches where it isn't, and the contrast will be bad. Instead, pick a wood which survives wetting without any protection. The surface will get a little fuzzy, but otherwise it will be okay. White oak is okay around water. Red oak is not. Cypress is okay around water, and you should be able to find it in Florida. Use good joinery, or fasteners made of non-rusting material like stainless or bronze.

[Mike K Wenzloff]

The Teak bench for our walk-in shower has lasted 8 or so years and will last probably indefinitely.

The bench frame is M&T construction. I screwed the slats on using stainless steel screws. The screws go in the apron about 2". The holes are plugged. No sign of any movement. The bottom of the legs have a thick layer of rubber I epoxied on. The shower gets a lot of use.

I do allow it to dry thoroughly each year and use Teak oil. A decent saturation, allowed to dry over a week, buffing for a couple minutes a day and placed back in the shower.

White Oak is also a hardy wood in damp environments. But it is also porous. I think its main issue is going to be the lack of drying between damp cycles. Maybe not. Good luck.

Take care, Mike

[Jason White]

Perhaps some type of marine varnish used in the boating industry might help next time? I forget the brand names, but boating stores carry it.

JW

Well, the teak top on my wife's shower stool gave out in less than 3 months from purchase and now I'm tasked with rebuilding the top.

It's basic structurally, but I'm worried about the finish. It seems the last one failed at the screw holes and it looks like water invaded several small cracks.

The WW on it was rather low quality, so I am hoping to get a little more life out of the one I'm going to build. I plan to use oak (exotics are too expensive down in south Florida), seal the hell out of it and hope for the best.

Any advise on getting more than 3 months out of this thing? It will endure 2-3 showers a day, and probably remain moist for a long time....

thanks for any help!

JC

[David Wilson]

I'll second the recomendation on using White Oak but you don't want to use quarter sawn white oak. It tends to splinter which would not be good for a shower seat. Plain sawn white oak would be fine for your aplication.

[Jared Cuneo]

I'll look for some cypress, but barring that, white oak it is!

Thanks!!

JC