Is treated lumber bad for using to build picnic tables?
If you’re going to build anything that will be subjected to weather, treated lumber is the recommended product. Even if you paint or stain regular lumber, it will rot. You will need to use a specially formulated product to “stain” or finish your piece, like Thompson’s Waterproofing or similar. You will also need to reapply finish every few years depending on how much exposure to the elements the table gets. Lumber goes up almost monthly (and varies from area to area) so it’s hard to “gestimate” what your costs are going to be. Call Lowe’s or Home Depot lumber department and you can ask price over the phone.
