Treated or Untreated Timber for Outhouse Door?

[JohnW2]

Hi folks,
I'm about to create a replacement door (non-standard size - and shape!) door for small outdoor brick-built outhouse.

Should I use pressure-treated timber or not? Even without treatment, I imagine that it should be reasonably well protected by paint etc., but I suppose that, during very wet periods, the bottom of it could find itself sitting in pool/'flood' of water.

If I used treated timber (perhaps just for the bottom rail), how would I set about painting it - i.e. what primer and what type of paint?

Thanks for your wisdom.
Kind Regards, John

 

[Wayners]

Either.
You can use a clear primer preserver If you want..
100s of years there was no pressure treated wood and it was fine.
Coverstain is a good primer but don't let it's get wet is the the advice.
Needs 4 days to cure this weather then
Zinsser all coat is good a good top coat.

That's one way.

 

[JohnW2]

Either.

Thanks.

You can use a clear primer preserver If you want.. ... 100s of years there was no pressure treated wood and it was fine.

True, but less than 100 years ago the nature and quality of readily available and affordable wood was much higher, wasn't it?

Coverstain is a good primer but don't let it's get wet is the the advice. ... Needs 4 days to cure this weather then .... Zinsser all coat is good a good top coat.

Are you talking about treated or untreated wood (or both) here?

As is always the case in these situations, it would be nice to know what you would do in my situation. Given what you've written, would you perhaps not bother with treated wood?

Kind Regards, John

That's one way.

 

[Wayners]

You want to paint the wood?
You could use Sadolin superdec satin without a primer.
You can use zinsser all coat without a primer.
I think using a primer is a better option though as can block knots and help the paint last.

So many options now with the different paints

 

[aveatry]

Keep an eye out on eBay or Facebook market place for upvc ones that have been removed to make way for an extention or somting. My shed door is an ex front door, how many people have multi point locking on a shed door

 

[JohnW2]

You want to paint the wood?

Yes, probably, not the least for aesthetic reasons, since there are various other bits of painted wood on/around the building. Mind you, if I used non-treated wood, it would presumably have to be 'protected' with something (paint/varnish/whatever) ??

You could use Sadolin superdec satin without a primer. ... You can use zinsser all coat without a primer. ... I think using a primer is a better option though as can block knots and help the paint last. ... So many options now with the different paints

Indeed - and it's those "so many options" that increase the need for mere mortals like myself to ask for practical advice

 

[JohnW2]

Keep an eye out on eBay or Facebook market place for upvc ones that have been removed to make way for an extention or somting. My shed door is an ex front door, how many people have multi point locking on a shed door

Yep, my initial thoughts were along those sort of lines - but, as I said both size and shape are pretty non-standard. I really want wood, but I'd love to be able to make one out of a (wooden) ex-front door, but have been having trouble finding a suitable one, so have been coming to the conclusion that it would be easier (and quicker) to construct one from scratch.

 

[Wayners]

Zinsser all coat would do you then.
Depending on the wood with knots you can decide if it's worth using an undercoat but it definitely helps and makes a better finish.

 

[JohnW2]

Yep, my initial thoughts were along those sort of lines - but, as I said both size and shape are pretty non-standard. I really want wood, but I'd love to be able to make one out of a (wooden) ex-front door, but have been having trouble finding a suitable one, so have been coming to the conclusion that it would be easier (and quicker) to construct one from scratch.

Following upon the comment made by @aveatry, I've done a bit more thinking.

The door I need will be about 705 mm wide. As far as I can make out, the great majority of 'narrow' wooden doors out there (both new and 'used') are about 762 mm wide, with outer stiles (the upper part will be glazed) each about 94 mm wide. By my calculation, that means that I would have to chop about 28.5 mm off each side, reducing the outer stiles (from ~94 mm) to about 65 mm. I initially thought that that might be 'pushing things' but, on reflection, think that I might get away with the ~65 mm outer stiles (without losing too much structural integrity). What do you think?

 

[aveatry]

I just waited and sooner or later a door was being sold near me that would fit with some tinkering. I have a side door and a shed door.
The shed door was too tall so i cut off the bottom rail, cut the door down and re attached the bottom rail. to hide the letter box as it was an ex front door i added a strip of 9mm upvc so it just looks like a rail at half way, also covered the arch glass light at the top wit white plastic.
lots of people are swapping their upvc doors for composite so uou should find one that is being sold off

 

[JohnW2]

I just waited and sooner or later a door was being sold near me that would fit with some tinkering. I have a side door and a shed door.
The shed door was too tall so i cut off the bottom rail, cut the door down and re attached the bottom rail. to hide the letter box as it was an ex front door i added a strip of 9mm upvc so it just looks like a rail at half way, also covered the arch glass light at the top wit white plastic.
lots of people are swapping their upvc doors for composite so uou should find one that is being sold off

Thanks.
As I said, I would want a wooden door, to match other bits on/around the building.

I can find countless wooden doors, both new and old (including 'thrown out'!) that are about 762 mm wide (or wider), but could have to wait a long time to find anything less wide than that (and I'm not very patient ).

My question is therefore, as before, as to whether we/you think that chopping the outer stiles down to about 65 mm would result in adequate structural integrity. To be clear, the below sketch shows very roughly what I would end up with (albeit an over-simplified sketch showing things 'rectangular', which they aren't!). I'm inclined to think that I would probably 'get away with it' - do you agree?

 

[aveatry]

65mm doesn't leave much. Espicually being outside and subject to a lot of expansion etc, I am not a carpenter but perhaps do awayvwithbthecglass or screw on some 6mm ply in the inside side

 

[JohnW2]

65mm doesn't leave much. Espicually being outside and subject to a lot of expansion etc,

That was obviously my concern, and the reason I asked the question.

However, I'm a bit reassured by the fact that the stiles on the existing door are actually almost exactly 65 mm (just very slightly less). I strongly suspect that the door, which has been fine until quite recently (and, even now, is not too bad - just a bit of 'rot') ), is very probably 'original' in which case it has been in-service and 'exposed to the elements' for well over 100 years ... and it is still essentially 'structurally sound', despite the rot. I've known the house myself for over 60 years, and I'm all but certain that the door has not been replaced in that time - so, even if it is not literally 'original', it's certainly been there for a very long time

I am not a carpenter but perhaps do awayvwithbthecglass or screw on some 6mm ply in the inside side

I can't (well, don't want to) get rid of the glass, since there would then be virtually no natural light in the building when the door was closed. However, there' nothing magic about the size of the glass at present,so I could easily 'make it small'by putting some timber around it(and thereby increasing the effective width of the stiles - e.g. as per sketch below. However, I'm far from convinced that that would be necessary, and nor am I sure how much structural improvement would result from screwing/gluing bits of timber onto the stiles in that fashion.

Given that the existing door, with ~65 mm stiles, has done OK for at least 60 years, quite probably well over 100 years, I'm rather tempted to go with that again - given that's the simplest option (just needs 'chopping down' a 762mm wide door! Do you think that would be foolish?

 

[aveatry]

I see your reasoning but as you know the new stuff will never equal the old stuff in terms of quality and resilience. But forgive me if you have known the house for 60 years I am guessing that long term viability from now on is not top of your list

 

[JohnW2]

I see your reasoning but as you know the new stuff will never equal the old stuff in terms of quality and resilience.

Indeed not. I made that point back in post #3. Mind you, assuming one can find a bit that is fairly straight, not twisted and not full of knots, the biggest issue with 'modern' wood seems to be that it rots much more readily/quickly than was the case in the past, rather than necessarily being structurally inferior?

But forgive me if you have known the house for 60 years I am guessing that long term viability from now on is not top of your list

Unfortunately not (I'm 76!) -even if I'm still around, I'll probably be past caring about the state of the door in just a decade's time, let alone later However, whoever ends up with the house next might have a much longer-term interest than I do, and I do like to do things 'fairly properly' (with the 'post-me' future in mind) when I can!

The house was built in the late 1880s, first occupied by my great-grandfather, with ownership (but not continuous occupation) remaining 'in my family' ever since. I suppose I must have first seen the house over 70 years ago, but my reference to "60 years" relates to when I was a teenager, and hence likely to have been aware of what was happening to it.

Returning to the door, I do not have to make any major up-front decisions. If I acquire a 762 mm wide door and chop the sides off it, I can then at least make some sort of judgement as to how 'wobbly/bendy' it seems to be ('now'), and only then make the decision as to whether or not to add some bits of wood to extend/'strengthen' the stiles.

Thanks for your time in giving consideration to my (as always, fairly endless!) mutterings!
Kind Regards, John