I am currently building a new house. The house is all brick but features a large front porch with two wood posts and a large front gable roof centered on the front door. In this gable there will be two large post on the porch with a kings truss framed in the center. I will also have a metal shop that [bleep] close to the house with a small wrap around porch that will also have three to four matching post in it as well.

I am currently researching what to use for this wood. I have decided on either 10x10 or 12 x 12 posts. My options in my area are Cedar, which will cost me about $6500. Fir which will cost me $4200. Or Pine that has been rough sawed and lightly sanded for $2100. Prices are for 12 x 12.

The cedar is very hard to come by right now so I may be limited to 10x10 if I choose that. I have price the big chain local lumber yards and a specialty shop that sells mostly items for timber framed homes.

According to the guy I talked with the pine boards in his opinion would be just as good as the cedar. The rough sawed cut that was lightly sanded with 60 grit sand paper would look the best for what I wanted them for. All of the boards are dried lumber but have not been chemically treated. They will all need staining or sealing of some kind.

I do not have much knowledge about wood as in which lasts the longest and what and what is not worth the money. The specialty shop also offers other kinds of finishing for the wood to make it look like reclaimed wood.

I would welcome any opinions. Here is link to the finishes.

https://www.midwesttimbersupply.com/custom-textures-and-finishes/

Cedar would be the longest lasting, by far. Cedar would be my choice.

doug fir......

If there's no ground contact, and you keep up with a bit of finishing maintenance ( a good oil base sealer ) every so often (it will vary with your location, exposure to the elements etc) don't see why pine won't last well past your lifetime.

Whew !!!!,.... and I have a bridge for sale. Cheap.

Douglas Fir..

Cedar has gotten very pricy around here because Clr VG Redwood is unaffordable, that's putting upward pressure on the cedar mkt

Put metal post in and face with cedar 1x10. Nobody will notice

Saddlesore has it right!
Even when kiln-dried, timbers the size you want will still check and shrink.
A goof friend did a timber framed section of his new house, had a local supplier do the kiln-drying, moisture meter read okay................while sitting on horses in a heated shop, you could hear the timbers crack. He used a new system of machined fasteners that were interlocking. One year after assembly, there were fairly large gaps between the joints. While the fasteners kept things from moving, the shrinkage was pretty unsightly.

You must always remember, even though wood is cut and "killed", it is still alive and will shrink and expand. Saddlesores recommendation is spot on, and is the only method I will use. It simply works. I've been doing Finish Carpentry and High-End Architectural Woodworking for forty two years.

Aren't you in SW MO?

If you want a wrapped post, don't call it Timberframe. I've always considered that the lazy man's way to get "exposed beams" which are nothing more than decoration and pretty easy to see exactly what they are.

If you want a true Timberframe entry, you can get it in any wood you want if you have the deep pockets for it, but Doug Fir has always been the preferred material cut FOHC (Free of Heart Center) and closely followed by Southern Yellow Pine, which closely follows Doug fir for dimensional strength and stability. I sold Timberframe homes for a while and erected several so I know a little bit about them....

Most Timberframe homes use an oil over the wood to seal it and reapply every few years to keep them sealed. One I remember being most popular was Deck Pro Oil and you can just spray it on with a garden sprayer if you like. Keep in mind no matter what you use, unless you get RF Dried Timbers you are probably going to get some checking over time. This is usually not a problem and is considered normal to the aging process. If it is a true Timberframe with mortise and tenon joints and dowels, the frame itself will remain strong and stable for longer than you will be alive.. To keep the checking to a minimum, try to get your frame cut and installed during low humidity swing times of year. Winter or early Spring are best... Also, be sure to contract with a company that sources their logs from very large old growth Doug fir. These will tend to check and twist much less but very few mills these days are set up to cut large logs any more.

Do some research and check out Timberframe companies before committing to a frame of any type would be my best recommendation...

Do carpenter bees attack these things?

Any wood kept reasonably dry will last virtually forever. Any spots where the roof fails the wood will rot quickly. Then the differences between species make big differences in the rate of rot.

I have no idea what your relative humidity range is, but if you are in Missouri, guessing from your linked supplier, you should be good with any of them if properly engineered and used.The wood exposed to weather needs to be protected, especially where two pieces of wood or other material join and might trap water. wood only rots in a fairly narrow moisture content range centered around 20% or so, which is pretty wet.

Good points... but is there still a source for FOHC? That would take about a 30" log minimum and be inefficient. I bet that would be pricey!

It's been my experience that raw butt / sawed ends are prone to 'wick' water and start to rot well before planed surfaces if not sealed well.

Yes, there is at least one mill here in Oregon that still cuts old growth logs, but most of the big timber these days comes out of Canada in the Crown Forests. Large FOHC wood is still available any time you want it as long as you're willing to pay for it...

Bob

Doug fur.


Osky

Yes, there is at least one mill here in Oregon that still cuts old growth logs, but most of the big timber these days comes out of Canada in the Crown Forests. Large FOHC wood is still available any time you want it as long as you're willing to pay for it...

Bob

That is why saw logs are kept in water if they aren't going to be cut immediately, and the ends are sealed with paint or some other type of sealer at the mill so the log will dry slower and cut down on the checking and also to keep them sealed on the ends while being stored. Sealing the open end grain after installation of weather exposed wood is critical to it's longevity, but that isn't news to anyone who works with this stuff...

Pretty, but high maintenance.

We did a timber framed roof over our slider this year. Douglas fir. Had to wait a couple months for the timbers but very happy with it.

We bought 3 pillars some years ago and got cedar and just put some sealer type of stuff on every few years.

It is on the south side of the house and gets sun all the time.

I can mill you beams cheaper than that. Pick up is in Idaho. We ju had a big wind storm come through. I am cutting trees up tomorrow and then will mill into beams/posts. Those are crazy prices for fir and pine.

bingo

The "easy button" would be steel posts wrapped with what ever flavor of wood you prefer. Not sure where you are located. However, based on the link above, assuming east of Mississippi. Woods I would consider for your project:

1) White Oak - By far the strongest, most weather resistant of the hard woods in the eastern U.S. "Closed cell", so will not soak up or transmit water. Think oak staves in bourbon barrels. Think sill plates in covered bridges with continuous ground ground contact for decades. Not cheap, but nothing better in the eastern U.S. I would bet that you could find a custom sawyer within half a day travel distance who could source and saw out white oak timbers to your spec for significantly less than the prices noted above. ForestryForum DOT Com has a list of custom sawyers across the U.S. that might be a starting point.

2) Cedar - Need to differentiate between Eastern Red Cedar and Western Red Cedar - I am only familiar with the Eastern variety. The red heartwood is very rot-resistant. And very pretty. Might be difficult to source the size pieces you are spec'ing. But not impossible. Richard Newton at CedarUSA DOT com in Marengo, IN could provide some insight on availability and pricing.

3) Sacrilege to some on here, but Black Walnut - Strong. Nearly as rot-resistant as White Oak. Was used as a substitute for white oak in covered bridges when white oak was not available. And contrary to popular belief, not every walnut log is a $1,000 veneer log. The scruffy walnut logs that I sawed into trailer decking for my lawn mower trailer have lasted 11 summers so far, versus the original treated pine lumber that had to be replaced after 5 summers.

4) Cypress - No personal experience. However, my understanding, it is frequently used in Southern U.S. for outdoor projects. Should not be a problem to find the size pieces that you are looking for.

Sorry for the long winded post. Regardless of your wood choice, Good Luck with your project !

Good luck trapping H5f.

Black walnut made a nice summerbeam for my new log cabin.

Would love to see more of that place!

Cedar is never the wrong choice. It’s beautiful and long lasting.

Cutting the summerbeam. Got black walnut all over the place.




View from the loft.



The house is finished.

Strength and density Doug fir
Source directly from someone that will mill directly for you - best quality and cost
Surface applied rather than pressure treating weatherization is adequate for other than ground contact as the natural tannins in cedar
Both still require maintenance even if a weathered appearance desired

Douglas fir is not actually a fir tree but like cedar a member of the pine family😀

What mill are you using?

Keep them coming... that is a really nice place. Show us around a bit. .

Here I am cutting a dovetail notch in a white pine log.



My helper Adam cleans up a dovetail notch with the slick.

He's talking Western. You'd have an awful time finding Eastern in a all-heart 10"x10" and even worse in a 12"x12"

White cedar siding on our Ontario place.

IF you have blow down available do you have any Cedar logs 10 to 12 `` DIA, the length he needs , ,no mill work needed. his gables can be board and batten cedar for continuity.


norm

simon, It is so interesting to see you guys in NC work with wood. We just can't use it much down here in FL. The rot process and sun damage is so fast. Not to mention, termites and such.

Please share more pics.