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I have seen stations refurbished less than 10 years where the new benches had to be replaced because they were already falling apart after that time outdoors...

I have seen stations refurbished less than 10 years where the new benches had to be replaced because they were already falling apart after that time outdoors... On my commute they are fitting new cladding to hide a brick wall on an outdoor, not covered, platform. All the studwork is standard timber screwed into the wall. Any water ingress and this will rot quickly. Oh well.

mattlondon 3y ago
Might be pressure treated timber - looks largely the same as untreated wood from a distance and can last a long time in damp conditions. Many sheds and timber fences are pressure treated and last well - sure they wont last a lifetime or whatever, but will probably not rot "quickly"
- yetanotherloser 3y ago
  There are also some heat treated modified timbers now which don't look like pressure treated sheds or fences but which are supposed to last well.
bluGill 3y ago
All buildings - including stations should have maintenance schedules. There are things to do hourly (or when open), every 2 hours, 4 hours, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. In addition you have 5, 10, and 30 year remodel cycles. Of course you always have someone do urgent maintenance - if a pipe breaks you fix it now. However replacing that pipe might leave a poorly patched wall until the next 10 year cycle when the fix is made invisible. You have to empty trash, clean the floors, and other similar things several times per day. Every year you replace filters and do a deep cleaning. (check the documentation for equipment - sometimes this might be a 1 month cycle not 1 year!) You also do a full inspection of everything, touch up paint, and patch anything else. This should be very routine, and thus always cost the same (inflation adjusted). Every 5 years you repaint. You also replace carpet where overly stained. That is touch up the cosmetics in a more in depth way. However this is a small cost. Every 10 years you have to do significant work in the bathrooms (While toilets can last for centuries they start to look bad when you try in a commercial setting). If there is a kitchen it also needs significant work. Avoid moving major things, but this is a higher cost. You should probably be replacing benches on this schedule. Every 30 years you do a major remodel. Here is where you update everything at sometimes high cost. Add elevators if you don't have them. Expand the station footprint if it is too small (you need more stains). Move where the doors are. Change the station approaches. Add more bathrooms. This will be expensive.

mattlondon 3y ago

Might be pressure treated timber - looks largely the same as untreated wood from a distance and can last a long time in damp conditions. Many sheds and timber fences are pressure treated and last well - sure they wont last a lifetime or whatever, but will probably not rot "quickly"

yetanotherloser 3y ago
There are also some heat treated modified timbers now which don't look like pressure treated sheds or fences but which are supposed to last well.

bluGill 3y ago

All buildings - including stations should have maintenance schedules. There are things to do hourly (or when open), every 2 hours, 4 hours, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. In addition you have 5, 10, and 30 year remodel cycles. Of course you always have someone do urgent maintenance - if a pipe breaks you fix it now. However replacing that pipe might leave a poorly patched wall until the next 10 year cycle when the fix is made invisible. You have to empty trash, clean the floors, and other similar things several times per day. Every year you replace filters and do a deep cleaning. (check the documentation for equipment - sometimes this might be a 1 month cycle not 1 year!) You also do a full inspection of everything, touch up paint, and patch anything else. This should be very routine, and thus always cost the same (inflation adjusted). Every 5 years you repaint. You also replace carpet where overly stained. That is touch up the cosmetics in a more in depth way. However this is a small cost. Every 10 years you have to do significant work in the bathrooms (While toilets can last for centuries they start to look bad when you try in a commercial setting). If there is a kitchen it also needs significant work. Avoid moving major things, but this is a higher cost. You should probably be replacing benches on this schedule. Every 30 years you do a major remodel. Here is where you update everything at sometimes high cost. Add elevators if you don't have them. Expand the station footprint if it is too small (you need more stains). Move where the doors are. Change the station approaches. Add more bathrooms. This will be expensive.