The Forestry Forum

Hello all, new here so be gentle lol I'm located in central North Carolina .
I just cut some pretty big hickory trees on my land and would like to use them as the upper beams on a rustic post beam carport 20 x 24 . Im thinking i could have them cut 4 x 10 and that would be plenty for my rafters to set on . Main question is using them without drying from locals I've gotten mixed reviews on using green hickory can anyone here advise ?  I'm ok with some warping and twisting as long as it's not extreme as I do want it rustic but also want it sound . I will be using metal plates and bolting joints together. I could even go bigger on my beam size if need be if that helps with twisting and warping but I don't want it to dwarf a small cabin it will be beside . Thanks

So two things come to mind.  First as you said, it's going to move, twist, etc - it's Hickory. My bigger concern however would be the fact that Powder Post Beetles absolutely LOVE Hickory, so you could have a considerable amount of compromise happen as a result.  

thanks for your reply ,  i have had great success with boracare on pine , hoping it will work as well on hickory stopping any boring insect .

Well, it helps that Powder Post Beetles don't like pine.