heymikey

Hi there everyone. I'm new to this forum and was just wondering if anyone could give me a little advice on something.
I live in Japan (and just to let you know it is very humid here in the summer) and am going to be building a small wood deck out of pine 2x4's and 2x6's. The deck will get a lot of sun during the morning and early afternoon. We also get a lot of rain in the spring and snow in the winter. Can anyone recommend a good wood preservative for such a job? Also (and more importantly) I have heard that when applying the preservative you should leave the underside of the deck boards untreated in order to give any water that might get into the wood a way to get out..??? Is this true?? Another thing, the wood I'll be buying is sanded quite smooth, should I roughen it up a bit so that it might suck up the preservative better??
Thank you so much for your time and help.

jerry

The best finish for pine used outdoors is a good primer and paint.

regards

Jerry

rusty baker

Unless it's treated, pine is not really the best choice for outdoors.

GeorgeC

WOOD PRESERVATIVE LIST will give you some ideas.

You will really need to find out what is available in your area of Japan. I am sure that there will be differences in what is available because of government regulations and what commercial products are stocked.

What part of Japan are you in? Many years I spent time in Okinawa and some around Yokota AB and Tachikawa.

George

heymikey

Thank you all for your input. The search provided by GeorgeC was a lot or help. To answer your question I live in Ishikawa Ken on the west side of Japan. As for pine not being the best for outdoors,, It's about the only thing affordable over here. It's all imported from Canada. It would cost three or four times as much to buy the only other thing available. That being Japanese ceder.