What material would you prefer for an outdoor bench?

[Ellen Benkin]

Much as I love wood, I'd go with some plastic or composite material just because of maintanence issues. No wood will last very long and I agree with those who mention vandalism.

[kevin nee]

What about JARRAH the use it in hot tubs

[Richard Wagner]

Teak but I can't afford it nor can I afford the saw blades that it would dull.

[Jim Matthews]

I built my garden bench with IPE over runs from a decking job.

Dirt cheap, durable and finishes beautifully.
I wouldn't want to invest my time on materials I dislike, threat of vandalism or not.

[Lloyd Kerry]

I'd use cedar. It weathers nicely and needs no finish. I hate PT wood, any time I'm building a deck with it, a splinter will fester in no time. I'm scared sh**less of those chemicals, especially when you think that people will be parking their butts there!

[curtis rosche]

buy some aluminum plate and take it to a person with a flow jet,,,,,

assuming vandalism like other have mentioned, metal can be rewelded easily. and pressure washed without damage. wood will wear away with pressure washers, and concrete will crumble with vandalism

[Rich Engelhardt]

It just occured to me that my late father in law built his picnic table out of Doug fir some years before I met my wife.
The picnic table was left outside year round and I don't recall it ever having anything on it to protect the wood.
I've been staining it the last 4 years or so and last year sanded it all down and gave it 5 coats of spar varnish.

We've been married for 31 years.
The table was there for a good 15 years prior to that.

No splinters, no warping.

[John Adank]

Not sure if it grows near you but Black Locust is a great wood for outdoor use. It was used years ago for fence posts on farms. It can last up to 100 years and is one of the heaviest and hardest woods in North America.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Not sure if it grows near you but Black Locust is a great wood for outdoor use. It was used years ago for fence posts on farms. It can last up to 100 years and is one of the heaviest and hardest woods in North America.

A black locust fence post will outlast two post holes.