[Greenbuilding] alive and wall

Mon Feb 7 12:03:19 CST 2011

Here in Michigan, we may end up with less than ideal naturally rot resistant wood in our lumber yards.  For example, I have seen cedar decks (with no ground contact) rot within 10 years and redwood fail within 7 years. I will not use PT in decking applications but have started to use some thermally modified pine. The suppliers seem confident of the longevity of this stuff, and so far (after two years) it looks pretty good. A lot of BTU goes into this product, but if it lasts 20+ years, it may be a good value for exterior applications rather than using PT or the imported options.

Paul Brown
Compass Construction

On Feb 7, 2011, at 12:01 PM, Tim Vireo Keating wrote:

> But it doesn't seem all that easy to find Western red cedar in the northeast that can be assured to not be from old growth. Eastern white cedar is plentiful but likely not as long-lasting. On the other hand, I do know a source of salvaged Atlantic whitecedar. Given the dimensions suggested, this would be easy to use. But AWC is less structural (IMHO) than other cedars (actually, AWC isn't a cedar, per se, but a cypress).
> 
> Termites could still be an issue, though.
> 
> tim keating
> 
> At 10:08 PM -0800 2/5/11, Kathy Cochran wrote:
>> Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
>>     boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0444_01CBC581.354EC980"
>> Content-Language: en-us
>>  
>> When researching what wood to use to build long-lasting raised garden beds, I have discovered that the "professional" raised garden beds producers use cedar.  I checked with my local hardware/lumber store, and they said that it would last way longer than redwood  -  probably at least 40 years - and that is with direct contact with soil, water, etc. AND  - it is way cheaper too!  I don't know if it would have the strength to handle the requirements of Gennaro's wall, but it might be worth looking into.
>>  
>> I think the idea of rubber patches between wood is excellent.  When  my deck was built, they covered all the stringers with bituthane (sp?) so that wood would not be rubbing against wood, (no squeaking!) and also water from above would not damage the sub-structure.  One of the more intelligent things that were doneŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠ
>>  
>>  
>> Kathy Cochran
>> PO Box 117
>> San Andreas, California 95249
>> (209) 754-4201
>> Kathys_old_house at goldrush.com
>>  
>>  
>> From: greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Clarke Olsen
>> Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 8:14 PM
>> To: Green Building
>> Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] alive and wall
>>  
>> RT is right: build with white oak, locust, or larch (tamarack), and 
>> it will last, if not the absolute 50 years, certainly until someone
>> tears it down. When fastening wood together in outdoor construction, 
>> insert a dry break between wood to wood contact.
>> Something on the order of a rubber patch (old inner-tube) where 
>> pieces overlap will reduce the speed of decomposition.
>> Encouraging  plants to grab onto masonry can be asking for trouble... 
>> a root cause of decay.
>> Clarke Olsen
>> 373 route 203
>> Spencertown, NY 12165
>> USA
>> 518-392-4640
>> colsen at fairpoint.net
>> 
>> 
>> > On Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:52:41 -0500, Gennaro Brooks-Church
>> > <info at ecobrooklyn.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> I'm building a 35*20 foot exterior living wall that needs to hold 
>> >> most of
>> >> its weight and is attached to a brick brownstone facade. I am 
>> >> looking for
>> >> long lasting (50 plus?) materials to form the structure.
>> >
>> > ..........................
>> >
>> > It appears that Gennaro is simply wanting to hang a trellis for some
>> > greenery to climb on ?
>> >
>> > But if a construction of some sort is absolutely necessary, it 
>> > seems bizarre that an aspiring "Green" builder would opt for high 
>> > embodied-energy aluminum or stainless steel framing components or 
>> > cable. It seems akin to trying to shave with a tub grinder.
>> > ............................
>> > For a "serious" trellis, White oak lumber (which I know is so 
>> > plentiful in the NE states that people hack up good sized trees and 
>> > burn it for firewood ) would be a good choice I would think. I have 
>> > no doubt that it would easily last for the 50 year time frame 
>> > Gennaro specifies.
>> >
>> > --
>> > === * ===
>> > Rob Tom
>> > Kanata, Ontario, Canada
>> > < A r c h i L o g i c  at  Y a h o o  dot  c a >
>> > manually winnow the chaff from my edress if you hit "reply"
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> 
> 
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> 
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Paul D. Brown
LEED AP
EcoMetrics LLC

(616) 780-0163
paul.compass at gmail.com
paul at ecometrics.biz

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