SYP for timbers

[Sedgehammer]

How's SYP for  timbers? 
And on the beam calculator SYP has so many different ratings to use, how do you know which is what? 
Going to build a 4' wide x 18' long balcony and want to have that 18' clear span. 

[Don P]

Unless you specify otherwise to the supplier use non dense #2 but click the other choices and look at the numbers, an impressive range.

Assuming 2 beams and this being a party hangout I'd bump up to 50 psf live load and 15psf dead. 65 x 2'x18'=2340lb total per beam,540 DL  

[Southside]

It's probably the most used species used for timber if you consider all of the historical buildings that were built with it. All the big old textile buildings in the north east were massive SYP beams, most anything old around here is SYP beam construction. It works very well. 

[Sedgehammer]

@Don P 2.5" x 12" does it. Thanks. Yes, very impressive.
@Southside Didn't know that on the textile mills of old. It's used a lot even still today. Look at all the green treat alone. 
If green, how's it for drying straight or one needs to strap it down tight while drying or put in place green so it can't move? I know that green treat can go plumb sneaky snake on ya if not fastened down quick.
What's shrink on it? 
Thanks again

[Southside]

Movement is really most impacted by how it was sawn.  If you have a pith centered beam and balanced sap wood then it will do just fine. Off set the pith and heart wood (it's not really heart wood these days with few exceptions) and have unbalanced sap wood and you will have bananas.  

I allow an inch of shrink for up to about 8" of width - that's more than it will shrink, but it allows for movement this way when material is destined for the moluder and needs a specific width after drying.  After 8" I start to push the 1.5" allowance.

We put almost 2,000 BF of 4/4 into the kiln today and didn't strap any of it FWIW.  

For a while a lot of old factory beams were being re-sawn into "reclaimed flooring"