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Joined: Jan 2004
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Campfire Outfitter
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2004
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I’m going to build an open air pavilion on a property of ours in northern Idaho. It’ll have six 10”-12” diameter posts holding up a single pitch roof 12’ high in front and 9’ in back. Dimensions roughly 10’x20’. The poles will not be in the ground but on top of sonotubes.
I have an abundance of red cedar, douglas fir, and ponderosa pine growing on the place.
Which would you use and why?
Black Cows Matter!
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Joined: Sep 2011
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 45,145 |
How old are you and how long do you intend it to last. If you don't care much, go with whatever suits your mood. If I wanted it last for a long ass time I'd be going with the cedar, especially if I had access to it on my property and didn't have to pay for it. Good luck with it and ...........................pics or it never happened.
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
member of the cabal of dysfunctional squirrels?
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Joined: Mar 2017
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2017
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Seems like any of those would work just fine?
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Joined: Nov 2002
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 21,743 |
How old are you and how long do you intend it to last. If you don't care much, go with whatever suits your mood. If I wanted it last for a long ass time I'd be going with the cedar, especially if I had access to it on my property and didn't have to pay for it. Good luck with it and ...........................pics or it never happened. Agree
"The Church can and should help modern society by tirelessly insisting that the work of women in the home be recognized and respected by all in its irreplaceable value." Apostolic Exhortation On The Family, Pope John Paul II
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312 |
Sounds fun!
Not the pine, unless your ponderosa pine behaves differently than what we have around here. Cedar is much more rot-resistant than fir (or pine) which may not be real relevant in Idaho and not in ground contact. I’m not familiar with building structures with red cedar so I don’t have any sense of its mechanical properties. I’ve just decked with it. The cedar we have around here is generally weaker than fir. Hard to imagine that mattering with a big thick post, though, unless you have really high winds or something.
I dunno. I’ve built a bunch of buildings with fir. Hard to go wrong there. Take the bark off or you’ll get bugs under it.
Be aware it’s possible to develop a severe allergy to cedar sawdust. I know, I did it. I have a dead one I can see out my kitchen window I could cut down and process in a half-hour if it was any other wood. I’m scared to death of it, grin. If you start getting goopy eyes and bumps on your lips after working with it, STOP WORKING WITH IT.
The CENTER will hold.
Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two
FÜCK PUTIN!
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,896 Likes: 1 |
Go with the cedar. Bug proof and rot resistant.
"...why, land is the only thing in the world worth working for, worth fighting for, worth dying for,... because it is the only thing that lasts."
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Joined: Sep 2011
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 60,833 Likes: 9 |
Yes,, the cedar, water seal?
These premises insured by a Sheltie in Training ,--- and Cooey.o "May the Good Lord take a likin' to you"
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Joined: Aug 2017
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Joined: Jun 2004
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 34,227 Likes: 2 |
Cedar, just make sure they are solid. Large diameter Cedar can often times get soft and even hollow in the center.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Give a man a welfare check, a forty ounce malt liquor, a crack pipe, an Obama phone, free health insurance. and some Air Jordan's and he votes Democrat for a lifetime.
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Joined: Dec 2017
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2017
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Sounds like a great project. I hope you post some pictures of it.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 4,702
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2006
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No way on the pine. I'd go Red Fir and save the cedar for the market someday. Cedar prices were crazy high a few years ago. Either Cedar of RF will outlast you so no problems with longevity.
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Joined: May 2004
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 56,138 Likes: 2 |
I am..........disturbed.
Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain
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Joined: Dec 2014
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2014
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Cedar, first last and always...do not treat it...go back to sleep Wabi.
Well this is a fine pickle we're in, should'a listened to Joe McCarthy and George Orwell I guess.
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Joined: Sep 2012
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2012
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Cedar if you'll stay there for a while .
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 56,138 Likes: 2
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 56,138 Likes: 2 |
Funny thing about the OP, goes back to earlier times. I always had a knack for woodcraft, and a short time after I retired a hurricane wandered by. All the sudden I had about 1,600 board feet of cedar salvaged from the yard. Been very useful for many things.
Rubbing shoulders with other folks along the way I realized that most, even some of the pros, do not realize the worth of some trees and simple dispose of them by fire or a trip to the landfill. Use your Googlefoo and check the value of a few local trees, such as Cedar, Camphor, Magnolia, Hickory to name a few.
I am..........disturbed.
Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain
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Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 4,576
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2017
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Funny thing about the OP, goes back to earlier times. I always had a knack for woodcraft, and a short time after I retired a hurricane wandered by. All the sudden I had about 1,600 board feet of cedar salvaged from the yard. Been very useful for many things.
Rubbing shoulders with other folks along the way I realized that most, even some of the pros, do not realize the worth of some trees and simple dispose of them by fire or a trip to the landfill. Use your Googlefoo and check the value of a few local trees, such as Cedar, Camphor, Magnolia, Hickory to name a few. Your own sawmill would make it easier to cash in on all that lumber too. You're right, allot of excellent wood goes to waste.
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Joined: May 2016
Posts: 60,401 Likes: 9
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 60,401 Likes: 9 |
No way on the pine. I'd go Red Fir and save the cedar for the market someday. Cedar prices were crazy high a few years ago. Either Cedar of RF will outlast you so no problems with longevity. Yep
I am MAGA.
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,304 Likes: 3
Campfire Outfitter
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OP
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,304 Likes: 3 |
Okay, I just tossed the pine into the mix because I have more of those and they’re easier to get to. Figured they’d be the first to be cut (pun intended) from consideration.
I will never be marketing the cedars so I’m not worried about their potential value as far as that goes. I kinda figured that would be the favored wood.
My plan is to drop however many trees I need this summer/fall, cut the logs to approximate lengths and stow them away under a roof till next spring.
Any thoughts or suggestions on this project will be greatly appreciated.
Black Cows Matter!
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Ponderosa Pine (yellow pine) makes nice siding if you want board and batten type siding. Working in the sawmill and dealing with railroad ties made out of Ponderosa Pine nearly killed me it is so heavy.
After you have your poles selected and cut, I would peel them, it would help them to dry.
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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If there is no contact with the ground, it really doesn't matter much. Cedar that size is likely to have less limbs and be straighter. My house is built mostly of lodgepole pine (with a few pieces of spruce and some white fir here and there). Been here for 33 years and has not rotted away yet. Have had an issue with ants from time to time. I figure it has to make it ten more years and I won't care anymore! GD
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