Weather resistance of maple

[Kodi Crescent]

Hi,

I'm considering this swing for my daughter:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D42N3CF/ref=psdc_7432792011_t3_B00NU9VMAK#customerReviews

The description claims that the maple for the seat is "UV and weather resistant".  I know nothing about maple or using anything but pressure treated wood outside.  If I were to get this for her, would I need to do anything to maintain it long term?

Thanks!

 

[tjbnwi]

I don't consider maple as a great outdoor wood. My guess is the finish has a UV protection rating. Figure on refinishing it every couple of years. As long as you treat it as the finish fails it should last a long time.

Tom

 

[Alanbach]

I agree with tjbnwi. Also, what part of the country do you live in? If you have rough winters I would consider hanging it in a way that makes it easily removable. Then you can just take it inside during the winter / rainy months. This should extend its life considerably.

 

[semenza]

Yes, it must have poly or some other finish making it "resistant" .

Seth

 

[Cheese]

The rope will be fine for extended exposure...the maple not so much. I'd gin up a simple quick disconnect under the maple seat to allow the seat to be brought indoors when inclement weather hits.

 

[DeformedTree]

As has been mentioned, it's most certainly sealed with a few layers of something.

That said, various woods have lived exposed to elements since the dawn of time.  Pioneers for instance built there building out of almost anything. These buildings have been exposed for hundreds of years.  As long as you are ok with the wood turning grey, almost anything can be left exposed. The key is it stays dry or is able to dry out.

Non PT wood is doomed when its in dirt, or in a position where it can't dry out on all sides.  A nice smoothly sanded bit of wood hanging from a rope probably would be fine for a long time.

 

[Birdhunter]

Try Ipe. It’s a great outdoor wood. My Ipe benches have been outside with no finish for years and are still unaffected except for turning gray. You do have to treat the ends with a sealer immediately after cutting to prevent splitting. A lot of weather resistant woods can trigger allergic reactions so use with caution. Ipe is an extremely hard wood so plan on predrilling holes for fasteners and t,asking time on cutting operations.

 

[Kevin D.]

I don't consider maple as a great outdoor wood. My guess is the finish has a UV protection rating. Figure on refinishing it every couple of years. As long as you treat it as the finish fails it should last a long time.

Tom

Ditto to that.

 

[HarveyWildes]

Try Ipe. It’s a great outdoor wood. My Ipe benches have been outside with no finish for years and are still unaffected except for turning gray. You do have to treat the ends with a sealer immediately after cutting to prevent splitting. A lot of weather resistant woods can trigger allergic reactions so use with caution. Ipe is an extremely hard wood so plan on predrilling holes for fasteners and t,asking time on cutting operations.

Ipe is also a high silica wood, and will dull cutting tools faster than other woods.

 

[leakyroof]

I would have more faith in it if it was painted versus a film finish.  As a reference, I have a fairly old Wood 2 person Glider that I got from my next door neighbors when they were moving. I'm pretty sure all the wood that's original is poplar or something similar and inexpensive for the maker. The only way it's survived all these years living outside year-round is with constant vigil on my part and good paint. And I've still replaced rotted sections from time to time with outdoor rated wood species in place of what ever it came with.  It does have a Vinyl Cover for the Winter, but that's it.  Maple as noted by others would never be my first or even second choice for an outdoor item.

 

[jeh]

+1 on constant vigil