Need help from the experts.
Am trying to build decorative exterior brackets to “support” an extended eave. The house has some tudor details so I’d like to introduce some curves. PDF of a sketchup image attached.
I don’t have a bandsaw to be able to handle timbers, so was thinking a patter-routing and laminating 3/4 stock. Looking at a sandwich of 4 to get 3″ thickness on the curved piece and 4 1/2″ on the straight sections. Need 1X10 to get the radius I’ve planned. Polyurethane glue, slear radiata pine from the big-box center, planning to paint them.
Is this a good idea? Overkill to buy the clear stock? Should I just be using standard 2X stock so I do fewer laminations? Wouldn’t be Kiln-dried… Too much work? Lots of questions.
Any ideas regarding my plan, a completely different plan, or other pointers would be appreciated… (Except the obvious of hire someone who really knows what they’re doing 😉 )
Thanks in advance,
Jim
Replies
Are these brackets going to be structural? If so, I think either 3/4 or 1 1/2 material would be fine when laminated. If not structural, I'd consider one of the cellular PVCs. They take paint nicely and should last forever.
You could build a jig and bend/laminate straight pieces.
I did some a little bit similar.
Used a band saw on #1 KDAT 2x lumber. See attached pic. I don't use raw (untreated) wood on the exterior of homes. Maybe I should start to provide more job stability for people who fix houses... Being semi-serious here. :-) since new construction isn't looking too good on the home front....
Really though I've built a number of houses with those kind of eve brackets on them. It's best to buy ready made Fypon brackets whenever possible. Sure, there is some initial sticker shock, but after that, it really is the right thing to do. I'm building a building now that used 12 - I think it was.
The reason I made the ones for the above house was that I just couldn't find anything anywhere that fit what I wanted. I didn't have ready access to a band saw so I went over to a trim carp's shop to use his. That was a one time deal since I haven't hired him since that house as his guys didn't do a great job. If the KDAT wasn't available I would of used PVC lumber, laminated as you are proposing, which would have been even more time consuming. I'm thinking I had around 6 hours in those 6 brackets as it was - plus materials and gas. If I coulda found what I wanted in ready made Fypon I'd guess a price of $30 each, so I woulda come out ahead with store bought.
I guess you could make some if you are looking at this as "hobby work" that you would enjoy - or again, if you couldn't find what you needed.
big box
cull lumber is usually pretty close to those curves...
And of course the "right" way
And of course the "right" way to do it is to find tree limb with the right bend to it and shave it down.
I'd do 2x stock ... plane it and glue it, cut it and paint it. You may still have some inconsistencies of the cut of each curve individually ... which will require some cleanup. I wouldn't use 10" stock, I don't think ... build it up from narrower stock. I'm no expert in this area, though ... take it for what it's worth.