How to paint outdoor timber post?

Question

Hi everyone

I have purchased timber post 90 mm from bumning to do an outdoor pregola.

The post is rough to touch and fit in color with cladding wall in behind

Planning to paint it with merbau color which is similar to the cladding.

What materials i had to use? I prefer to make it smoother too , it will cover a woodfire pizza oven

I will appreciate any advice

MitchellMc · Answer

Hi @Ajay1,

Your roof looks fine, but we normally run the ridges of the sheeting from front to back. You should construct the frame with a fall to it so water runs off in one direction. I've added a rendering of your pergola below to illustrate.

For a chimney, you'd need to consult with the manufacturer to determine what suitable roofing materials it can be installed into. I would think it might need to be a Zinc steel sheeting rather than polycarbonate.

Mitchell

Ajay1 · Answer

Thank you Mitchell for your recommendation.

I have checked the post for structural work, i am sanding today and will use the stain that you recommend

i have put temporary roof bought from bunning , but i did not like how it looks.

is there any suggestion what material for roof im which i can make an access or hole in middle for a chimmeny ?

kind regards

Ajay

MitchellMc · Answer

Hi @Ajay1,

You can sand the treated pine posts to make them smoother, but because they’re treated timber you need to wear proper PPE while doing it. Use a P2 respirator (not just a basic dust mask), safety glasses, gloves and long sleeves. Start with around 80–120 grit sandpaper to remove the rough surface, then finish with 180 grit if you want a smoother feel. Make sure you brush or wipe all the dust off before applying any coating.

To get a Merbau look, use an exterior timber stain in a Merbau colour rather than paint. A semi-transparent decking or exterior wood stain will soak into the pine and give you a similar tone to the cladding, although it won’t look identical because pine has a different grain pattern to real Merbau. Apply two coats and make sure the timber is dry before staining, as freshly treated pine can be too wet to absorb stain properly.

One important thing to be aware of is that those sleepers (and possibly the posts) are for landscaping or non-structural work, rather than structural-grade posts for building pergolas. Many of these are not stress-graded for load-bearing use and some may be CCA-treated (arsenic-based treatment), which isn’t ideal for a structure like a pergola, especially one covering a woodfired pizza oven. For a pergola, you generally want structural, stress-graded timber (for example, posts stamped with a grading like F7 or MGP10 and rated H3/H4 for the correct exposure). It would be worth checking the stamp on the timber to confirm it’s structural grade before proceeding.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell