Durawood Question


 
R

Richard in NS

TVWBB Wizard
Since I have never seen a grill with Durawood I am not sure they were sold in Canada or at least not on the East coast. Are they wood with a special coating or a plastic replica of wood? Just curious! Thanks.
 
Yah, they are solid gray colored and basically the same size/shape of the wood slats. I don't think they are really designed to mimic wood very much though. They seem to kind have a grain look to them, but it is really a stretch to call it Fake Wood.
 
I think of it as sort of a forerunner of Trex and other artificial decking material. You might assume it has special heat resistant characteristics, but if it does they aren't much help. It will melt fairly readily. Grills with these trays have a small metal "spacer" to keep the tray away from the firebox. Not as beautiful as wood, but less maintenance for sure. With the same style of slats as the older wooden ones, it still maintains that classic Weber look.
 
Roy-Parallax said:
Trex! What a great idea. I'd actually go with Fiberon, which is better than Trex. I still have some from the recent rebuilding of my deck. Could replace my durawood slats with that.
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I think Bruce did a grill using similar decking material and it looked pretty good. Go for it!
 
Yah, I have done two or three rehabs with composite decking. Actually COMPOSITE decking is small chunks of wood (sawdust) mixed in with the vinyl/plastic/polypropylene/whatever.

One thing to consider is that it is fairly heavy and has ridges on the bottom which makes it difficult to mount to the grill.
 
Can composite decking be machined (like with a CNC router), or would it melt? Can it be painted? Thinking of routing grooves and painting them to simulate slats, and machining across the ridges at the bottom to fit the Z-bars...someday. I'm exploring edge lit acrylic signs right now.
 
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Ed Pinnell said:
Can composite decking be machined (like with a CNC router), or would it melt? Can it be painted? Thinking of routing grooves and painting them to simulate slats, and machining across the ridges at the bottom to fit the Z-bars...someday. I'm exploring edge lit acrylic signs right now.
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Good questions. I would think you could run the composite on a planer and get rid of the ridges on the bottom of the boards. I am sure there are some kind of computerized routers that could cut grooves or designs in the top edge as well.
 
Bruce said:
Good questions. I would think you could run the composite on a planer and get rid of the ridges on the bottom of the boards. I am sure there are some kind of computerized routers that could cut grooves or designs in the top edge as well.
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@Bruce , I think anyone with a router and an edge guide could do something like this. You've made lid handles before, so there is no reason why you couldn't do something like this. It's probably not worth your time and trouble for a flip grill, though.
 
It seems like everyone struggles with spacing the slats, and if you could simulate the slats with a larger piece of wood, it would make life easier. I haven't checked the dimensions, but if you could replace 6 slats with 2 or 3 planks with grooves, all you would have to deal with is the 1 or 2 spaces between the large planks. Or just use the planks as is, but I'm seeing 15/16" as the thickness, so a router could plane the underside of just the ends to fit the Z-bar height.
 
Ed Pinnell said:
It seems like everyone struggles with spacing the slats, and if you could simulate the slats with a larger piece of wood, it would make life easier. I haven't checked the dimensions, but if you could replace 6 slats with 2 or 3 planks with grooves, all you would have to deal with is the 1 or 2 spaces between the large planks. Or just use the planks as is, but I'm seeing 15/16" as the thickness, so a router could plane the underside of just the ends to fit the Z-bar height.
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I like the look of wider slats.

20211105_073337.jpg
 
That's a beauty right there! The slats could even be random widths, too, for a uniquely custom look...but consistent spacing matters most, judging by the efforts I've seen expended here at TVWBB. Quarters and pennies as spacers, oh my!

Sadly, if you were to revisit that beauty a year or two after being out in the elements...we need something more durable.
 
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