The Forestry Forum

Hi guys,

Have a customer wrapping his pergola posts with cedar and I was curious what thickness to make the boards?  1/2 or 3/4?

Also, any pics of cool edge design other than 90 angles when installed?

My neighbor just butt jointed the corners and then put up some 1/8" 2x2 angle iron with square head lag screws.  It used a vinegar solution to rust them up before installation.  He went very rustic.  :D :D :D

I'd use 3/4 probably. You can run 2 opposite faces flush and then overlap them on the other two faces with overlap enough to have about 1/4" overhanging the  other faces, kind of a shadowline look.

Another old exterior corner design works better with 5/4 or better. For a 6x6 post the four boards would be 5-1/2" wide nailed to each face, leaving open corners. Then run a piece of quarter round slightly smaller than the  board thickness leaving a nice reveal.

A contractor friend wanted to clad some built-up posts in a very old house with Douglas-Fir. He gave me the dimensions of the existing posts and I cut him some timbers that were 2-1/2" bigger in both dimensions. Then I sawed off 7/8" boards (1" minus kerf) from all 4 faces, and matched marked the ends.

We stacked and stickered the boards and let them air dry under lumber wrap. After a couple of weeks of July heat, the contractor planed the boards and then clad the built-up posts. The grain on the faces all matched the original timber so each post looked like it was solid wood. He then ran a router with a V-tipped cutter down each glue line, just cutting a shallow decorative cut which nicely hid the glue-joint.

I charged for the full size timber, minus the cost of the smaller timber I cut out of the core. Everyone was happy ;D.

 
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_0689.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1464127838)
 
Here is a partial trailer load of edged ERC slabs.  It would be a fairly simple matter to 45° and miter the corners.