I admit that that you can never stop learning new things in our business, and I am always anxious to learn new things, best practices, tips, and skills, etc. However, today I got into a slight ‘disagreement’ with of all people the gate guy at the lumber yard (he’s an ornary old guy, but that’s for another discussion..LOL). So, I come to you guys for validation, or perhaps a learning opportunity…
I am replacing a support post on a porch overhang. It was originally a painted redwood 4×4 sitting on top of a brick platform. It rotted out on the bottom. Because the post is load bearing (roof of the overhang), I felt redwood was inappropriate, so I bought a DF 4×4 and an raised Simpson post base to prevent the rot issue. My plan is/was to prime all sides and ends of the post and then paint it. I felt doug fir would give the appropriate strength for the load, and priming/sealing and painting would address the weather exposure issue. Anyway, as I am leaving the lumber yard with the old post and new post in the back of the truck, the gate guy accuses me of “ripping off” my client because I was replacing a redwood post with fir which would rot! I explained it was a load bearing post, and therefore fir was the right choice, and it would be painted, which would protect it from rot.
Am I off base here?
Thanks guys!
Replies
Make sure the post has a proper base that elevates it off the masonry, preferaly one of those aluminum shoes that also allows air to flow under it. If you primed the ends, it should be ok. A better end seal is to pour a penetrating wood preservative like Cuprinol into a bucket and set the bottom ends of the posts to soak in it for a good half hour or so.
If this is a particularly wet location where things don't dry out then you would have been better off with the redwood, or even pressure treated (if you can get a good looking piece without excessive knots & twists). A post takes a compression load not a shear load, they are different. Redwood doesn't have the compression strength that DF has, but if this is just a porch roof, you would be fine with the redwood. Redwood and cedar are much more rot resistant than DF. Pressure treated beats them all by a mile.
I understand your thinking about what you did and your move to DF shows a certain integrity which is good. If you've already installed the DF and done what was said in the first paragraph then you should be ok. If not, I would go with redwood, cedar, or pt. and still soak the ends if its redwood or cedar.
On the crotchy old guy: forget him. If he had skills, energy, and gumption would he be checking pull tickets like the doofus at Costco making sure you didn't slip in an extra case of TP somehow?
Why simply replace with redwood when redwood didn't work? You are right to elevate the wood to try to avoid the constant moisture in the future.
There is a potential sampling error when people rave about redwood and cedar. The oldest homes on the West Coast, 150 years old now, were built with old-growth redwood and cedar. 800 and 400 years old, respectively. Tight growth rings, higher strength, and there's some evidence that the wood is more rot resistant than the new-, fast-growth stuff being harvested now.
I've seen redwood rot/weaken in 30 years (wide grain stuff). Redwood does not stop all rot.