If you get pine, get Southern Yellow. If you get Lodge Pole or Ponderosa (or some of the other Western species grown in Oregon, WA, or Canada), you will get blue or black mildew in the grain of the wood and it will rot easily. Southern Yellow is not as suceptable.
I think I'll use heart cypress next time if I can find it for a good price. Ipe is tough as nails but isn't sustainably harvested.
