Hello all ,
I’m trying to see if there is a good manufactured or imitation Douglas Fir product out there ?
I want it to have Douglas Fir grain and look good even close up .
I have a Douglas Fir Front Door ,and Window Sash’s and I’m trying to find some manufactured Wood to frame and vaneer a garage door to have a
Carriage or swing out door apperance.
Does anyone here know of a product like this I can use ?
Thank you ,
Bene
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Replies
Faux paint. (Called foo paint here) Find someone who does the fancy murals and designs, and they can make your garage doors look like anything you want.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Thanks FE but I'd rather have something with a little more depth .
I do know that Faux Painting can be very convincing but I'm hoping to do something a little more real .
Contact Paper???
Mr. T. MOTOL
"I think natural selection must have greatly rewarded the ability to reassure oneself in a crisis with complete bull$hit."
I'm Swiss!
I don't know if your kidding but I was thinking about a laminate flooring product and framing it with the real thing or something man made .I think there is laminate flooring now that can get wet right ?But I would still rather find something made for this type of work if it's out there ?
Mister T is ALWAYS joking!I would build it of doug fir myself. For an exteriopr application, I'd think that veneer would be harder to maintain than the real thing
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I'm with Piffin. You'll have more problems with laminates, veneer plywoods or solid veneers than you'd have with solid fir. Whichever you go with, you have to protect the exposed surface, but with manufactured products there is the additional problem of glue breakdown and delamination.
Solid fir is commonly used here in BC as an exterior trim. I've installed many fir doors and windows, and thousands of linear feet of door and window trim and fascia. It is considered to be suitable for exterior applications because of its resistance to rot and its dimensional stability. Provided you use vertical grain material and seal all sides of each piece, it will resist cupping, warping and raised-grain weathering.Lignum est bonum.
I resemble that remark!!!
Mr. T. MOTOL
"I think natural selection must have greatly rewarded the ability to reassure oneself in a crisis with complete bull$hit."
I'm Swiss!
Bene
I'm with John S, why not just use real doug fir? You can get it in veneer if you just want to veneer over some other substrate.
Doug
Thanks DU ,
Like I said to him it's the upkeep and the sun damage to the finish I'm worried about ,also I live in Pittsburgh PA I've never seen Doug Fir ply here .
I have seen tongue & groove porch ceiling in Fir here but never in a veneer plywood .
Why not use real Doug fir? You may even be able to get old growth for free from someone doing demo on an old building.
-- J.S.
Thank you JS ,
I was hoping to use something with less maintenance as the door faces west and gets direct afternoon sun and it's a pretty big area to keep varneshed .
Why not use real Doug fir? Finally getting around to responding to this one.
Exactly, the attachment is a 'few old beams', 2nd pix has some standing Dfir in the background.
OTOH, why fir, I try to go out of my way to get oak or walnut for doors, etc. Of course, if DF is what one prefers over oak, walnut, or maple, that is fine. DFir where I am is a 'weed', but a useful 'weed'. You should like my ceiling if you like DF grain <G>, it was only $64 MBF in 1972 for 2x6 decking.
Bene: As to the maintainence concern for solid DF, others have commented on its ability to withstand weather, esp with any finish. I have 2x14 and 2x12 exposed joists, rafters at the ends of the decks and house gables, still look good, last time painted was about 15 years ago (2nd pix). Lower deck support is painted with polyurethane (clear and paint), upper gable with latex.
View Image
View Image
Edited 9/21/2005 9:37 am ET by junkhound
Edited 9/21/2005 9:38 am ET by junkhound
Theres an old lumber yard here in NY called Constintines where I took saturday morning cabinet making classes years ago. They're one of the biggest veneer yards around and sell glue backed real wood veneers specifically for doors. Check em out.
Be on glue@#%!%!#$
ydna
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
Thanks Andy ,
What is that website address ?Though I think I'd rather use Fir ply if I went this direction .
Seems to me you're looking for the goose with the golden egg. Every suggestion that has been made, you shoot it down as "not what I want". Some of the answers have been real, some a little tongue-in-cheek, but we're tossing out a lot of ideas hoping one might lead to the solution. You just seem to be very hard to please.
You want the web site for Constantines? Try google.
So what that you haven't seen DF ply in your area. Have you tried any place other than Home Depot? You might start by calling a plywood specialty shop.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
FE,
I've been shooting down as you say the ideas so far because I haven't heard one that is what I was asking for ,maybe your right and it's not out there as of yet but I do very much appreciate all the replies and some of them have given me Ideas .
As to finding Fir around me I've looked for years and theres not much in my area Pittsburgh PA. Now if I was out west that would be a different story I've also been told even down south there's more Fir then around me ,but I can find wood from half way around the world right down the street at a local lumber yard .
I just felt there might be a product like I'm looking and hoping for out west somewhere where Fir is used more often ?I do thank all the replies.
Andy, If you come up with info on Constantines in NY, please let me know. I was told they closed NY few years back and a second brother (or such) opened on FLA, but he is much smaller, less knowledgable.
Don
Don
I think youre right. I just googled them.
Too bad. Was the oldest lumber yard in NY. I think it was in the Bronx. I went there every Sat morning to take all kinds of classes.
Oh well.The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides,
I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
Andy
Ad me to the list of mourners for Constantines...my mother had many books on refinishing that they put out in the 50's & 60's.
She was who taught me that you can go to the library & get a book to teach yourself how to do anything, & so I did.
Kate
Hey KAtie
Hows the house comin'? How many times have you heard "that" line" LOL
Be well
andyThe secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides,
I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
Andy -
When people ask me, as they often do, when my house will be 'done' I usually say "About 6 months after I die."
New Roof is almost done. You may think it sacrilege, but it has had asphalt for the last 100 or so years, so I went with fiberglass. The way the house sits, & the contour of the lot, you can't see it much from the street.
It's a (formerly) central chimney gambrel-roofed saltbox with a big shed dormer across the saltbox, & 4 small shed dormers in front, not at all aligned with the other windows. I mentioned earlier that it was moved in the 1890's & set on a high victorian basement, so it looks funny, very tall & narrow.
At the time of the move, it was gutted, the center chimney removed, as well as the original entry hall & stairs, fireplaces, feather-edge panelling - all gone.
I only know about the feather-edge because they thriftily reused it as subfloor, too well buried & dry-rotted to rescue. Maybe someday I'll recreate it? Hell, I'm only 63 - plenty of time!
Well, you asked...Thanks!
Kate
You asked too...sorry I forgot to send you the pictures. A couple in here are probably too big for you to open but I already uploaded them...sorry
Be well
andyThe secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides,
I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
Thank You! I love it!!! You really have yourself a project there. I'm so jealous of the fireplace...all my original woodwork is gone, but I do have 4 neo-colonial decorative fireplaces that are not bad enough to get rid of...just part of the history of the house.
My heat gun is the twin of yours...& I am painting the exterior just about that shade of red. I don't have any photos I can put on here (I'm online at work, during slow time, & these machines are not set up to do it,) but at some point I'll get my stepson to show me how at home.
Your roof is beautiful - wish I could have done that, but it just didn't make sense in my situation.
Summer beams, or exposed framing? All I have left that's really original is the frame, & it's massive. (A good thing, too, or there wouldn't be any house left!)
Kate
Great project, and nice pix. But a lot of people who might be interested won't find them here in "Fake Douglas Fir". This is worth its own thread in the photo gallery.
-- J.S.
We who build our own homes don't use the "d" word!
Thanks all ,
this post was my first here and you really get an education on this forum even beyond what you ask for ,it's great !
To all that feel I should just use real Doug Fir there's a number of reasons I'd rather not 1 is that my garage door gets a lot of sun ,from around 1:30 / 2:00 to 5:00 / 7:30 depending on the season with no trees or anything blocking it so it will take quite a solar beating witch I know will destroy what ever finish I use on it quickly and it's such a big area to keep refinishing . I don't have that kind of time or money quite frankly . 2 I can't find much Douglas Fir around here,
let alone in clear vertical grain .Don't get me wrong though I'd love to use the real thing , being I love the look of the real thing. I chose it to use because I have a Simpson Doug Fir Craftsman style Door which I've cleared with 10 coats of System Three Marine Spar Varnish.
And now I'm doing my sashes which just so happened to be Doug Fir also .
I originally picked Doug Fir for the front door because of the color which is somewhat like fresh cut cheery in color which matches my stone and won't change to much in sunlight and the tight close grain which I like over more rustic looking large grained woods .
What I' like to find is something along the lines of the man made decking material out there with the grain colors in it , in a doug Fir color but thinner dimensionally if you know what I mean ?
There very much may not be a product like this out there but I figured if it's out there someone here or from the Magazine would know about it ?I may be wrong on this but I think I once received a Constantines catalog that said they were changing their name to Rockler a few years back .
Don't know if that's the same Constantines or not .Andy that's quite a Garagemahal you got going there ,it's looks beautiful !
I'd love to see some finished pic's when your done ?It sounds like a lot of you are in the same boat as me forever seeing that light at the end of the building tunnel .
It just never seems to be getting any closer to me though .
Mike if we don't ever use the D-word what do we use when we are -"D-word"?
Never mind that ain't never gonna happen for me ?
Dam my Daddy said don't ever use never either !
Thanks again all ,ps : but still looking and hoping someone out there know's or has seen what I'm asking for.Bene
Haven't seen a miracle product for you, but I would use the best quality fir ply I could find.....and it would be a marine grade ply that I got from a supplier to the marine trades, or a specialty woods dealer who deals with marine joiners. That's just a phone call here, but if I struck out with my main supplier (I know I can get a good quality structural fir ply, but if you want VG panels...), I would sweet talk a wholesaler or get a local woodworker to lay up the VG veneer on marine ply. I don't think solid wood is the best solution for something like a garage door.Cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
I didn't know you could get VG veneer. I'd think it would be difficult to handle without splitting it. Most veneers and plywoods are made by turning logs in a giant lathe that takes a thin slice off the whole cylinder, sort of like unrolling a carpet.
How about this: Find a place where some lath and plaster walls need to be demoed. Scrape the plaster off and poke the remaining keys thru. Then run a belt sander over the lath. This gets rid of residual plaster, reveals the grain, and grinds off the heads of the lath nails. Carefully pull the lath, pick the best pieces, clean up the remaining surfaces, joint the edges, and glue them to your plywood. Sand, finish, and you're done.
If you use 3/8" ply and end up with about 1/4" of the lath left, the door would be quite solid but not excessively heavy.
Come to think of it, I've been demoing a lot of lath and plaster at home ..... ;-)
-- J.S.
John
I did a kitchen with VG Doug Fir, paid about $100 a sheet for the ply and the VG veneer was fairly cheep.
Doug
What you're talking about is rotary cutting....only used for low value/non-appearance grade products like construction plys, or common hardwood veneers.....like rotary oak, and rotary birch. Higher value logs are sliced so the grain looks more similar to sawn lumber....plain sliced, quarter sliced, or rift cut. That's how you get your VG fir veneer, which is not hard to find. Birch on the other hand is only ever rotary cut; sometimes architects etc. specify a different type of veneer, like plain sliced....causes problems because it doesn't exist in the usual marketplace.
Anyway, VG fir ply should not be a difficult thing to find.Cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
They had a agreat catalouge, but i tried to do business with them about ten years or so ago, and had a lot of bad attitude from everyone who ever answered the phone, making it too much work to deal with them, so I quit trying
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Piffen;
I think, in all honesty, that was around the time of the beginning of the end.
It is a shame. At one time, it was a very respected place with good selection - no EXCELLENT selection - of high quality materials. One of a kind. I don't remember what happened to the NYC store (that Andy went to). Maybe it was a fire? Maybe a falling out? Maybe some crazy guy from an island of the Eastern Coast that kept harassing the service reps? Something happened and they are alas kaput (sp?).
Anyone want to open a business?
Don
Bene, There is in fact a product that is what you're looking for. It's a faux fir veneer wrapped around an mdf type base. I saw it used recently in bathroom remodel. I asked them about it and was told it was more water resistant than natural wood. It seemed odd to me that they were using it Oregon where theres a ton of fir available. When I see someone from that crew again I'll ask them about it.
PDX,
thank you I'd really like to know what it's called ?
Have you ever seen a solid product like this out there in the west ?