Is brazilian pine or parana pine ok to use for privacy fence pickets?
Question:I'm constructing a 6ft privacy fence and have found brazilian pine/parana pine fence pickets @ a VERY affordable price. The seller has assured me this is fine for my new fence. I cannot find anyone who has used this & have some questions. I want to make sure before I purchase & the seller is eager to make the sale but I would like some more info, 1st. Has anyone ever used this material for fence pickets? I can only find references to furniture construction. I don't want to get ripped off. If anyone has ANY info on brazilian pine, brazilian pine fence pickets or any horror stories when working with this material, please let me know. Also, I am planning to stain the wood & I don't want to work with a wood which does not take stain, easily. Thanks, in advance, for your help in this matter.
Answers:
Going off the information at woodbin.com it sounds like a nice easy wood to work with, but it sounds likely to be problematic outside. To quote: "Similar in strength and hardness to United States yellow pines . . . low in . . . decay resistance. . ." unless pine is pressure treated it tends to be quite beloved of insects and rot. Stain by itself won't seal the wood properly and it is difficult to keep a fence painted well enough to protect it from rot and bug damage.
Just my 2 cents, keep the change.
chris has your answer
I agree
The 2 woods you mention are most commonly used in furniture building for low to medium end furniture. It is straight easy to work with and rather inexpensive. However neither of them are truly suitable for outdoor use unless you plan on spending a lot of time in maintenance and upkeep on them. They will take stain but dont stain evenly as those species of pine vary in densities. If I were to stain them I wold first use a wood conditioner on them but for fence purposes you are looking at a substantial amount of time and money to get average results at best. If you need to keep costs to a minimum than I would suggest treated pine that you can get at any home improvement store for about $1.35 per 6ft. picket.
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