Hey guys,
We’re working on replacing a ….pergola/arbor for a customer. The old one was comprised of 4 6×12’s on the first level with 4×12’s on the upper level. The 4×12’s had a rim board/fascia board on the end tying them together.
The 6×12’s are about 12′ long each. The 4×12’s are about 16′ long each. Using dimensional lumber (# 1’s), it’s still about impossible to get those straight, defect free (customer wishes), crack free, etc….etc…
This WILL be exposed to the elements (rain, wind, sun, etc) and will be painted. Does anyone build these with any engineered lumber (glulams, lvls, psl, etc)? If so, which do you prefer? Does the fact that they’re completely exposed to the weather eliminate one or more of the engineered choices?
For cosmetic purposes, the customer does not want that fascia/rim board on the ends of the upper level. They are ok with going to a smaller size (4×8 instead of 4×12) on top. However, we are worried about cupping, twisting, warping, etc over time.
Thanks in advance,
James
Edited 5/11/2007 8:51 am ET by jja28
Replies
I know from this forum that there are glulams that are rated for exterior use, but I've never seen one in my area. Your best bet is to talk to your local lumberyard and see what they can bring in for you and what your options are.
I've heard the same as diesel. Where you are in No Cal, fur might be an option. Talk to your lumber yard, they'll know what is available and out west, you should have some good options.
Here's a link to a thread about a treated glulam from Rosboro that I used last year.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=78359.5
Hey guys,Thanks for the input. Like you guys have said, I've also heard of people doing it, but I personally haven't done it or seen it done. I guess out here, 99% of the people go with Douglas Fir.I'll check with our lumberyard and see what they say. I have a feeling though that the response will be... "douglas fir #1 is your best choice unless you're willing to spend $$$$$ on something engineered". Either way, I'll see if they can tell me what the options are out of their yard and get some prices hopefully.Framer, I looked at that other thread your posted, thank you. I'm checking out the Rosboro site as we speak. James
jja28,
Might check into treated parralam material.
I used some on a job and currently have 3- 4" x 12" x 20" sitting in my bone yard.
Mine came from TJ.
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
You can get glulams built up from pressure treated lumber. Also PSLs are available as "wolmanized."
Hey guys,Just an update to a question I asked a couple weeks ago. Well I asked our salesman at our lumberyard. He had 2 choices:1) Port Orford Cedar...which at the time of morning I stopped in..he didn't have a price in his catalog. Said he'd have to call in after 8 am to get a price. However, he did say it was a 3-4 week wait..so that puts that out of the question right off the bat.2) Weyerhaeuser's Wolmanized Treated Paralam (as Tuolumne mentioned). Those he could get in a couple days. Prices were as follows:6x12's were $33/foot
4x10's were $19/footWe wanted 4x8 instead of 4x10's, but they don't have a 4x8. Next size down was a 4x6, but that could not be used as a beam. They could only be used for posts/columns.Pricing for the Treated Paralms would have been roughly:4 6"x12"x12' = 48' x $33 = $1,584
7 4"x10"x16' = 112' x $19 = $2,128Total roughly $3,700I mentioned this to our customer, after I kept getting a "vibe" he thought things would be better if we went with an engineered product, versus Douglas Fir. He about "choked" when I told him how much materials were by the foot. They're great customers, but sometimes customers don't realize how much materials actually cost, and they think upgrades are cheap.Anyways...we ended up going with Douglas Fir #1.Imagine that....lolIn case anyone's interested, here's a link to the Treated Paralams:http://www.ilevel.com/exterior/e_ParallamPSL_treated.aspx
jja28,
Darn , and here I sit with 3-4 x 12 x 20' in my bone yard, treated Parralam just looking for a decent home.
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
I've only seen it once here in WI, but on a deck the beams were green treated 4x12 PSL.
In reading this thread, I was surprized to find that they do make engineered products for exterior use. That being said, IMO fir would be a better choice. A Pergola should show some nice joinery, and I think engineered products look,,, well,,,crappy.
Just one guys opinion