ORIGINAL: Villa
Hi w8ye
That is interesting that you have seen the older tables in use for a long time yet the ones at our field (also about the same age and built to the same design) have needed repairs every few years and many have been scrapped due to wood rot. In my original analysis of the problem, I noted that our tables were being rolled over weekly to move them for mowing of the grass, since two people usually were not available to carry them out of the way. That rolling then over put much more stress on the tables than normal use would. Our new design requires adding two wheels so one person can easily move the tables for mowing. Do you recall if the high longevity tables you have seen had wheels on them and were built with pressure treated lumber?
The first 5 were built of untreated yellow pine and were painted with outside house paint. They are not rotten yet but are put away inside 5 months of the year. The others have all been made of treated lumber and are unpainted and are left out all year. All these have wheels for the mowing duties.