Leo, I have found the following product to be excellent in full sun in the Los Angeles area: http://structuralplastics.com/cart/index.php/… I bought some of these grid top pieces about 1997 and they are almost indistinguishable today. The material is like what they make milk crates from. It makes for easy sliding around of flats. The only thing I didn't care for were the tube legs (I use cinder blocks) but they would probably be fine on a flat paved surface. These tops need to be evenly supported or they can warp but in my experience the warping is not a permanent problem. Highly recommended. PS Leo, I could not see if you were answering someone's question? Dylan Hannon Los Angeles CA On 3 February 2012 17:01, Leo A. Martin <leo@possi.org> wrote: > Wood doesn't last long in the intense California and Arizona sun unless > painted every year or two. That entails moving everything off the wood to > someplace else.... > > I have seen benches made from chain link fencing stretched and secured > over wood. It not only lasts a long time but allows water and air to pass > through. Salvaged chain link is often available for much less money. > > Leo Martin > Phoenix Arizona USA > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > -- Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making. — John Milton, *Areopagitica: A speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England*, 1644