Outdoor wood

[Pcole]

I finally won the battle with my wife to do away with the tired and gawdy wrought iron posts that hold the roof over my porch ( she likes the "nostalgia' of them). We saw a house today with tiered wooden posts and she liked it. I guess "tiered is a proper description, they started off big on the bottom and went to a smaller post about halfway up. Anyway, if a fellow were to do wooden posts on a concrete porch, does he have to use treated wood, or can regular wood be used with stain and/ or some sort of weatherproofing on it? I read that stained wood in contact with concrete is a no-no, but the article didn't really explain why. This doesn't seem like a very complicated task, but I'm sure I'll be able to dick it up 9 ways before I get it done, I just don't want to have to re do it in a year from now.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Pcole]

I also have no idea how I posted this in the current events forum. If a moderator could move it wherever it belongs, that would be great.

[Smilee]

We have had good success using cypress.

[Saltydog235]

Need a treated plated on the concrete and build up from there. Probably a craftsman style column. Stain needs to be exterior grade unless you plan on top coating with a couple of coats of spar urethane. Exterior use cedar or cypress for insects, rot and decay.

[Pcole]

Thanks, guys. Bear in mind who you're dealing with here, so I've got a few more questions: where can one obtain cedar or cypress posts? Home depot and Lowes websites don't show 6x6.

If this was the other way around and I was replacing wood with metal I'd be all over it, but I don't do much building. I've always been told if it's outside, use treated wood, if it's inside paint it. But, nowadays, you go to the internet to look up how to best do something and you get 6 million different stories- and all of them contradict each other.

[Baggy]

It is a current event for you Pcole.

[Pcole]

It is a current event for you Pcole.

Life's a current event for me. How's Mrs baggy?

[Baggy]

She’s improving slowly. Home now , so that in itself is much better. Thanks for asking D.

[Pcole]

She’s improving slowly. Home now , so that in itself is much better. Thanks for asking D.

Glad to hear it. Yall have been in our thoughts and prayers.

[mello_collins]

Treated from 81 or a true lumber yard will be able to be painted. Lowes and hd sell a metal piece about 1/2 inch that keeps post off concrete. Fits to bottom of post. Attach treated 1x to side of post to get tiered look. Leave a little gap for air on bottom or it will wick moisture and rot. Paint bottom of post before attaching metal spacer.

[Pcole]

Treated from 81 or a true lumber yard will be able to be painted. Lowes and hd sell a metal piece about 1/2 inch that keeps post off concrete. Fits to bottom of post. Attach treated 1x to side of post to get tiered look. Leave a little gap for air on bottom or it will wick moisture and rot. Paint bottom of post before attaching metal spacer.

Thanks for that. I always forget about 84 lumber and there's one right close to where I work. I'll check it out.

[WoodieSC]

Pcole, check GBS Lumber for the cedar or cypress posts. They also have a better grade of treated lumber than Lowes or HD.

Also, I know you’re more of a metal guy, so if you need any wood working tools, give me a call.

[Saltydog235]

Lowes and HD sell the same treated lumber that the yards do in the wet/non dried form. Most yards carry KDAT in premium and appearance grades. KDAT is more stable, warps and splits less. The post base he’s talking about is an ABU44 for 4X4 and ABU66 for 6X6. You won’t find KDAT 4X4 or 6X6’s anywhere right now. All PT framing lumber is crap these days. Inconsistent milling, barked edges, cracks, shelling and splits.

[Pcole]

Thanks, woodie. I'll keep that in mind. I knew the price of lumber had gone crazy, but I didn't consider there being a shortage. If it's as bad as pipe, I may be looking at the wrought iron for a while. I do, however, have a few cedar trees out back and a new stihl chainsaw that I haven't played with yet...

[WoodieSC]

Thanks, woodie. I'll keep that in mind. I knew the price of lumber had gone crazy, but I didn't consider there being a shortage. If it's as bad as pipe, I may be looking at the wrought iron for a while. I do, however, have a few cedar trees out back and a new stihl chainsaw that I haven't played with yet...

Prices are dropping from what I’ve seen, but I’m going to be patient for a little while on replacing my deck.

There was a guy not too long ago who was advertising cedar logs for sale in Belton, so that may be an option. Rough cut them and we can run them through my planer.

[SCHUNTINFANATIC]

Prices are dropping from what I’ve seen, but I’m going to be patient for a little while on replacing my deck.

There was a guy not too long ago who was advertising cedar logs for sale in Belton, so that may be an option. Rough cut them and we can run them through my planer.

We have 24, rough cut 8x8 columns on the exterior of our new house that I had cut at a local sawmill. We had plates fabricated to bolt them to the cement porch. We also sealed them with a cedar stain with UV protectant. Let me know if you want me to text you some photos.

[Huntinjunkie]

I think you're talking about a tapered column. I don't know your skill level but it's not for a novice. There aren't many options as far as wood you may want to look into pvc . I use pvc for wrapping columns quite a bit. It paints well and will never rot

[Pcole]

I think you're talking about a tapered column. I don't know your skill level but it's not for a novice. There aren't many options as far as wood you may want to look into pvc . I use pvc for wrapping columns quite a bit. It paints well and will never rot

As far as my skill level consider a novice, then drop that about 20%. I'm content with just a 6x6 post, but I'm pretty set on stained wood of some kind.

[cburns]

set the post on an alum plinth

[Pcole]

That's definitely an option, even though I had to Google what a plinth is.