I'm looking to build my 1 year old son a picnic table for the backyard. What is the best wood choice?

Untreated pine - stained
Pressure treated wood

Pressure treated.

Untreated pine will be a warped mess in a year.

buy a Little Tykes...doesn't warp or rust and you can leave it outside...he can eat on it, make a mess with paints or glue and all you do it hose it off

our Little Tykes picnic table is 28 years old this coming Christmas and while it hasn't been outside the whole time it has served two generations of kids and relatives.

I'm worried about the pressure treated pine if it comes in contact with food. Could I avoid the warping with annual staining and sealing of the wood?

I would get the Little Tykes set, but those aren't as much fun to build.

You're worried abut pressure treated lumber and food contact but not the stain and sealant coming in contact w/ food?

Pressure treated wood is perfectly safe. It no longer uses arsenic as far as I know.

Basically, what Im staying is that I built my kids playset out of treated wood and will do the same for their picnic table. Its going to sit outside and leach most of the stuff off the exterior of it anyway. You'll be fine. Its not like they are chewing on the boards.

Little Tykes, safe, smooth, washable, won't warp, won't SPLINTER.

All you have to do is screw and I have heard from the general board that guys like to do that!

You want to cut boards...make a small scale shed for his outdoor toys and teach him to pick up after himself!

Your kid will be playing outside! That's great, kids need to spend more time outside and less time in front of the toob! At the end of the day when the kiddos sit at that picnic table for a snack, anything that might come off the wood will probably pale in comparison to everything else that has directly or indirectly come in contact with their mouths.

I think it is funny how many people are telling the OP not to build what he wants to build.

I think pressure treated will work fine. For little kids, making the table out of 2x4 makes it pretty darn heavy and overbuilt, but it might cost more to use/cut thinner lumber.

An alternative is pine - I would skip the stain and use an outdoor varnish. You could also use cedar, naturally weather resistant but would cost more.

PT Pine. you live in TX I assume? let it sit outside for a few days (or about 45 seconds if you live in S. Texas) and you can stain it. Done it plenty of times, always looks great.

If you are truly worried about any chemicals from the pressure treatment, just don't buy the wood from the bottom of the stack that is soaking wet.

Also, look at some 5/4 board for decking. make the frame from a couple 2x's, seats and table top from decking. Probably cost ya $30 bucks total. if you are worried about splinters, select quality boards first and then once it's done run a palm sander with a medium grit. Personally, i wouldn't worry about even doing that, but it'd take 5 minutes.

[This message has been edited by DwightSchrute (edited 8/31/2011 9:40a).]

I will maintain that a picnic table is an excellent little project. Wood is a fine material for a kids picnic table. Sand it down if you are worried about little johnny getting a splinter. If he does get a splinter, it is an excellent time to show him the wonders of Merthiolate and to have the 'quit being a little wuss" talk to the kid and the "quit being an overbearing nut" talk with mommy. Plus, on top of it, you build something yourself for your kids instead of spending money on something made in China.

I can't see a downside to any of this.

[This message has been edited by BrazosDog02 (edited 8/31/2011 10:54a).]

You could use pressure treated for the legs and support structure, while using artificial lumber (a.l.) for the eating surface. I made a deck about 5 years ago with the a.l. on the surface. It has a stain from rainwater, but no warping or other problems.

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man," Psalm 118:8.