(18-06-2013, 02:45 PM)pwdrive Wrote: Nick, I'm not a paint man either....The point I was making is that it has to be well protected as window frame joints etc don't like water despite using a waterproof glue, some folk think of the word oak as English Oak, Stout Hearts, Rule Brittania, Indestructable, Elgar, It Will Last Forever etc, not so I'm afraid, oak exposed to permanent damp is not that durable, if reactive fittings are used it stains awful and will corrode the fittings.
French oak is better than English oak in my opinion, all the oak framing I was involved in was done using French oak, the French know how to grow oak very well and manage there oak timber stands accordingly, over here in the main the stands are left to neglect.
Yup - never, ever, use ordinary steel screws in oak - only use Brass, Phosphor Bronze or Stainless Steel (but only good quality SS).
The tannin in oak is acidic and reacts with ordinary steel forming black streaks...
A similar problem occurs with Red Cedar - I always use PB fixings there... (as do all high quality greenhouses).
Small story: I spoke a while back to a guy who worked on the restoration of the famous hammerbeam roof of Stirling Castle - they refused to have any Sassenach (in the English sense) oak in a Scottish castle, so used French oak instead - 350 trees in total:
http://www.carpenteroakandwoodland.com/c...e-scotland
FWIW, I've always used oak grown slowly in a cold climate - its denser and is more stable. Northern European oak (mainly Quercus Robur though best is Quercus Sessiliflora) seems a far better timber than North American oak (predominately Quercus Alba) - the European oak's rings are far closer together - its slower growing, denser and longer lasting - in addition, it show less movement.
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