mdf outdoors?

[mummytojames]

does anyone know if i can build my own childrens cabin for outdoors useing mdf? if not could someone sugest a good wood thats cheapish and will be fine out doors
tia

MDF will split if it gets damp and eventually turn to sawdust, so on it's own it wont do the job. Will check with DH tomorrow, but I think the stuff you want is called marine ply - it is plyboard specially treated for damp conditions.

DH builds holiday homes, so hopefully will know the answer for you.

Right - apparently marine ply is really expensive so scrap that idea!

DH suggests building a timber frame construction (2" x 1" timbers should suffice) and clad that with roofing ply (which will be in metric - you want 9mm thickness). It normally comes in 8' x 4' sheets and will have been pre-treated, but DH recommends that you treat it again anyway. Any good external wood treatment, such as you would do a fence with.

HTH

thanks sug sorry would have got back to you sooner but havent been online will serch now for the prices of roofing ply
thanks again i dont know where my dp gets these ideas for building our own cabin for ds i swear it would have been easier to buy one

If you found the project difficult try e-nay, there are sometimes some wonderful Little Tykes stuff for the price of peanuts, but watch out for imposible postage HTH

You can get treated, green MDF for use outside I believe. You could also look at the stuff the Americans use to line bathroom walls. (not Aquapanel, something else - Wedi board I think).

A roll of roofing felt (£10) will give you several years protection to any crappy wood used on a playhouse roof though.

Buy a cheap shed and then paint & acessorise it

thanks all i looked at the price of the sheds for the same size as the cabin and they were exactly the same priceand dp thinks 400 pound is a waste of money when he can build it himself cheaper amd chandra i will check out e-nay now cheers all

Just be aware that the kiddy playhouses have different design features you might want compared to standard adult sheds - proportions of doors / windows / split levels, rounded edges to everything, non-toxic paints etc. etc.

Ref price - I know it sounds a lot but even doing even a simple little building from scratch can take a surprising amount of time. Sadly, I speak from experience... ask the wife.