Post #778689 by Prikli Pear on Wed, Aug 9, 2017 6:58 AM

I initially planned to go with Western red cedar for its decay-resistant properties, but found some nice ponderosa pine boards that were significantly cheaper and had a far nicer finish to them. Since these trim pieces are protected from the elements, for the most part, I went with the pine. That may prove to be a mistake in the long run, but I'm hoping several coats of spar urethane says otherwise. So, yeah, that pine is pretty soft. When the cuts start leaving a shredded edge along the top of the groove (unsightly, but easily sanded away) your router bit is getting dull and needs to be sharpened or replaced. Just FYI.

Still not sure what I'll do with the cladding I plan to add to the vertical posts. They're at the edge of the covered area and get a lot of sun exposure and rain splash. Cedar's probably the way to go there, but it'll probably be winter or spring before I get to that stage.