You could use treated wood for everything except the top. Cedar is quite durable and weathers well, so it would work for the top, and be safer than the treated lumber. You could make it so the top is easily replaced if the boards do weather too much for your liking (get splintery, etc). I think if it were me I'd use ceramic tile and epoxy grout if it was something I was using to cut and wash my harvest.

thanks squeeze, rhizo and Termater.... That MSDS was pretty interesting to read. Where do you get those? I suppose I can get one on the CWF-UV? I haven't seen one on the Olympic product, but the base is an alkyld [sp?] oil, with UV protection and mildew resistance added. I read that on the package. So if I use CWF-UV isn't that the same problem as the Olympic product? Well...I must say I am in a quandry. On one hand, I realize that the cedar has natural properties that make it resistant to weather and insects, but I also can see lots of weathered fences around that are in pretty bad shape that are cedar that have not been finished. I haven't noticed any that have been finished. It has been suggested to me that it is a waste of time and money and sweat to maintain a cedar fence because these products don't add any longevity to the fence. Not really seeing how that could be true?? Someone has suggested I just leave it alone and just pressure wash it every couple of years. I imagine the reason to do that would be if you wanted to keep the look of the cedar without it weathering too much, and not for any longevity added by doing that. On the other hand, it is really expensive to replace the fence and I would like to delay that as long as possible. I have seen wooden fences of unknown material that have been painted regulary and last a lot longer than 15 years. So the solids in the paint do keep the wood from rotting and deteriorating. If the semi transparent products and/or products that add UV protection give anywhere near the protection of paint, then I can't see how that couldn't help. It is pretty tempting to try one of these products that claim to keep your fence from deteriorating for 5 years. But the clear wood finish sounds good if it will maintain the color of the cedar, and is it much more nontoxic than the Olympic? I don't have a full understanding of these issues. The UV added sounds like it would offer me better protection, but is the ingredient they add for that much more toxic? I've been asking around, and I've been told that linseed oil has to be reapplied every year and that it will darken the wood more and more with each application. Some paint store personnel told me that using the linseed oil will actually increase mildewing of the wood and that is part of the reason for the blackening of the fence. Bill, are you saying that BOTH the CWF and the linseed oil will have this darkening effect? How long have you been using CWF, and how often do you apply Bill? In reading the directions on the website, it would appear you have to apply two coats. That would make it pretty expensive to do. My local hardware stores are offering it for $18.99 a gallon, which would bring the cost up to twice that if it requires 2 coats vs a product that requires one coat. Olympic Maximum is $24. a gallon and only requires one coat and supposedly keeps the fence for 5 years. Is the CWF when it has the UV protection in it still less toxic than the Olympic? If I went for the CWF without the UV, I would still have to apply two coats and how often does that have to be applied? Every year? Every two? My fence has galvanized nails, and it is strange that some panels and even some rails are in really good shape while others are awful and had to be replaced. One area that is good is beneath an overhanging limb of an evergreen tree. Some of the worst rails are where birds sit on them on the post and rail part of the fence. I was considering applying a product to certain panels of the fence and leaving much of it uncovered and see what difference it makes and then next year if I want to, I could coat the parts that I didn't do. I am considering doing the CWF either in the regular or UV formula, but that is going to cost me about $40 a gallon to do two coats. Adam

I think it comes down to the design of your fence and gate, but like dkv, I'd go with steel for a heavy gate. For light gates, such as pasture gates, we've use fir posts, but when we installed DS's entry gate we used steel powder-coated posts. The rest of his fencing is fir and electric braid. Our gate also has steel posts, but we had brick columns built around each fence post, with light fixture on top.....a little more dressy than DS's.

Alright I've decided against wood for this... I'd hate to have it crack/splinter down the road. If I go with PVC material it should only cost an extra $700 with a lifetime warranty compared to repainting every few years and/or replacing boards. I'm not sure about Azek... our local home depot sells 12" panels... by the time you buy all the panels and the trim pieces we're at around $250 per column. Plus I would have to cut each piece, do the miter cuts on the bases/tops, then glue/nail everything together. From what I can tell Azek only sells column wraps in 8" square... I need 10 or 12" I did find another company with great reviews... fypon column wraps. There 10" round size comes out to around $210 each shipping included. There 12" round size comes out to around $240 each shipping included. It's a little more than wood... but I talked to the wife last night and we would rather pay a little more for something that looks great than something we're going to have to keep up with each year.