Tulip popular for timber framing?

[Sam ward]

What are your thoughts structurely

[Don P]

Any wood used within its published design values for strength and grade is fine structurally. Yellow poplar (tulip poplar) does appear in the dimensional lumber tables (2-4" thick) but does not appear in the heavy timber tables. They are telling you something.

What?

Poplar tends to open up a single heavy check as a boxed heart timber. Not necessarily a structural problem but that is why it is not used as a timber that often.



 

[Brad_bb]

I've found tulip poplar timbers (top plates and rafters) in a barn In Indiana I salvaged wood from.  If this is for an outbuilding, something that will have an open doorway etc, keep in mind that carpenter bees will readily attack poplar, boring perfect half inch holes and tunneling up to 4 ft in the timber.

Its a soft hardwood.  They tend to go for poplar, and other softwoods.

If it's for inside a home, no problem.  Just use the appropriate design strength values when engineering the frame.