Recommended Materials for Outdoor Shutters?

[daillest]

I need to replace the shutters at my house. I was wondering what materials you guys would recommend for longevity? I plan on making them raised panel and they will be painted. I was thinking about using oak but I saw that routable pcv stuff at Lowes (Azek Brand) and tried it recently for some other outdoor trim. The PVC stuff was kind of a mess to work and the dust stuck to all my tools but it comes in pretty accurate square dimensions to start with. Anyone one have recommendations of a material to use?

[Stwood_]

I'd go with western red cedar. Thats what I use for all the outside trim on my house.
I made all the brick mold window trim out of it also

[fredhargis]

The only question I would have about the PVC stuff would be if you could paint it, paint sometimes doesn't want to stick to plastic. If you can it would be a good choice (machine it outdoors). If you use oak, I'd suggest it be white oak, but truthfully if you paint them ost wood would hold up, at east for some years. Just be sure to paint everything (front and back), and prime first with exterior paints.

[Admiral]

Cypress is also a fine choice, but you'll likely have to get it rough and dimension it yourself.  You can get 4/4 select for about $3 bd. ft., not a lot of waste in select.

[jteneyck]

Paint sticks great to Azek; just follow their recommendations.  The white shavings/dust really do go everywhere and stick to everything when cutting and especially routing it.  But other than that, it's easy to work with, glues well, and will never rot.  I'd strongly consider it for outdoor shutters.

John

[Cooler]

Douglas Fir is was the low cost decking choice for lumber before pressure treating was available.  If you can find it.

Bass Wood, if you can find it, will outperform white oak outdoors.

https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf1995/highl95a.pdf

Good for paint; not so good for staining:

http://www.woodmagazine.com/materials-gu.../basswood2

http://www.woodworkerssource.com/shop/ca...swood.html

[daillest]

Thanks everyone. I think I am going to go wit the Azek stuff. It will save me a lot of time milling down and sanding real wood but will add some time cleaning up the mess it makes. A bonus of the Azek stuff is I can get it from Lowes which is 2 minutes away and vs going to the lumber yard 30 minutes away and has bankers hours


Does anyone know if that Azek PVC stuff will dull bits and blades quicker then real wood?

Here is the info from them on painting it
"AZEK Trim products do not require paint for protection, but may be painted to achieve a custom color or to cover nail holes that have been filled. If you choose to paint, use 100% acrylic latex paint with an LRV of 55 or higher. Definition of LRV (Light Reflective Value): LRV is the amount of light reflected from a painted surface. Black has a reflectance value of Zero (0) and absorbs all light and heat. White has a reflectance value of nearly 100 and keeps a building light and cool. All colors fit between these two extremes. Light Reflective Values are given as a percentage. For example, a color with a LRV of 55 means it will reflect 55% of the light that falls on it. For darker colors (LRV of 54 of lower) use paints with heat reflective characteristics specifically formulated for use on vinyl/PVC products. These paints/coatings are designed to reduce excessive heat gain. WARNING: It is recommended that should you choose to paint a darker color (LRV of 54 or lower) all aforementioned installation steps should be followed. "

[fixtureman]

I cut PVC all the time and it is easier on bits than hard wood

[jteneyck]

Yes, Azek works nice and won't dull your tools any faster than wood.  Here are the porch columns I trimmed with Azek.  The flat panel used for the columns is MDO.  



This shot was taken about a year after they were painted.  It's now been 4 years, and the paint still looks good.



BTW, thick PVC pipe cement works great for gluing the stuff and is a lot cheaper than the product sold specifically for Azek, et al. 

John