My tikis had termites!

[ Edited by: Jungle John 2015-02-28 23:36 ]

Termites are a bitch here in Florida. One reason when I was house-hunting I specified CBS, no wood frame homes for me. Only thing I can think of is that a lot of extermination companies have fumigation chambers to put furniture in in case of termite infestation. Insert furniture, gas it, leave it for a while (dunno how long....24 hrs or so??) and then take it out. I imagine you could have tikis fumigated also, but being outside they may need it more frequently and depending on the number you have, may be costly (hopefully you could pack more than one in the chamber at a time).....

howlinowl

john, based on the pic you posted i wonder if a plastic or tin covering over the tiki would help keep water out? Likey maybe a bucket lid cut to the right size and glued to the top. It looks like it's mostly rotting from the inside out. I'm sure water sealer slows the decay but even sealers aren't going to penetrate as deep as the rain will.

On 2015-02-14 20:25, Jungle John wrote:
They can put a man on the moon, but they can't make a decent 3 or 4 foot tiki within the price range of the average Joe penny-pincher. I'd say at $100, I'd expect a cool tall tiki to last a decade or longer, but so far no such animal exists.

You want a 3' tiki for a hundred dollars!? AND you want it to be quality wood that lasts?! I bet you want it to be good looking, too!
Good luck on that! If all the tikis you buy rot out, it's BECAUSE you're paying a hundred bucks for them. A carver who knows what he's doing doesn't use crap wood, but he also doesn't work for pennies.
You get what you pay for.

I know that the "asian-carved imported tikis" are not real popular on this site. But they may serve a purpose in your case. There is a vendor in Stuart, Florida who sells a bunch of imported stuff, mostly "key westie" type stuff....signs and stuff. He does have a few tikis. Some are painted, but the one I picked up for my "lanai" (backyard screened patio) was just stained one color. I think I remember paying around 50 bucks for "tiki fred" when I got him, not sure what they charge now. Pic of him below next to my kegerator.....

He does have a split in the back. If he splits in the front, I'll probably stain the crack and figure it adds to the character. He is under cover and sitting on concrete. I don't expect him to rot away too quickly, but I also don't expect him to last forever. If you get some of these, you may need to seal them and plan on having them fumigated. And replaced after a while. Guess it'd have to be figured in the cost of having tiki's outside.

howlinowl

Any wood can be used to carve - traditionally (in mosdern times) palm is used because it is plentiful, and easy to carve (notice how I didn't say durable!). Island natives used whatever wood was available - TIKIS were idols of great power that were worshiped and displayed with great consideration, not placed outside to look pretty. Modern people don't have the same considerations and stick their wood idols out in the rain and snow, exposed to bugs and worms, and place them in areas that are inappropriate for the material. Hoping they last 100 years is pure fantasy! There is a reason why you don't see tikis from a 100 years ago without consideration for their environment. If you want wood tikis to last outside keep them dry and elevated off the ground (so worms/bugs can't find them). I have several palm tikis outside that have lasted years (with some deterioration, but not bad). People often ask me "do your tikis do alright outside?" - "yes, of course" - "will they rot?" - "yes, of course" - "how do I keep them from rotting?" - "its simple, keep them inside".

If you are looking for good, durable tikis - look up PJC5150. He is carving cool/affordable tikis out of Cypress and Cedar. Those are you best options for wood tikis that are to be placed outside. OR do what the rest of us have done - pick up a chisel and get choppin!