CoSci professor touts yellow pine on 'Your Livable Garden' program

Ben Bigelow

If you’re planning on installing an arbor or deck in your backyard, pressure treated southern yellow pine is a great choice, said Ben Bigelow, Texas A&M visiting assistant professor of construction science, during a guest [appearance] (http://yourlivablegarden.com/summer-hot-some-are-not/) on “Your Livable Garden,” a landscape architecture radio show.

Many people, said co-host Shawn Kelly, think untreated cedar posts will outlast treated pine.

“Cedar and redwood have naturally occurring chemicals in the wood that makes them decay and insect resistant,” said Bigelow, but moisture fluctuation with untreated wood makes it deteriorate more rapidly.

If, said Bigelow, someone is set on using cedar or redwood, then getting heartwood, which comes from the interior of a tree, is stronger and more resistant to decay.

But, he said, heartwood comes at a premium price.

Bigelow, who joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2011, earned a Ph.D. in education at Colorado State University, a Master of Science in Construction Management at Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Science in Construction Science at Texas A&M.

posted October 8, 2013