ERC milling for a greenhouse

[Mesquite Man]

Well guys I now have to build my wife a greenhouse to keep her happy since I bought this new mill:)  I was going to build it out of treated lumber from the lumber yard but then I had an idea.  I figure I can buy some ERC logs and mill my own lumber for the greenhouse.  It would be a little less expensive then buying treated 2x4's I believe and would be a whole lot more fun and rewarding.  Plus, a cedar greenhouse frame would be much more pleasing to me than treated.

I do have some questions, though.

How rot resistant is ERC?  I am a builder by trade and have used a lot of rough cedar from the lumber yards here in Texas but have no idea what type of cedar it is. I know a lot about it but it is not ERC so I do not know much about ERC.

Also, since I am new to milling, I really am not sure how to figure how many logs I will need to get the number of 2x4's that I need for my project.  Can anyone give me some ideas.  I wil probably buy either 8" or 10" ERC logs since they are what is the most readily available.  Any suggestions?

Any other recommendations that might help me with my project?

Thanks guys.

Sitruc

[JoeyLowe]

Hey Curtis:

Here in Texas, cedar is considered a trash tree and therefore most landowners will typically give it away to you if you will haul it off.  I would not mill anything less than a 10" top just because smaller cedar is harder to mill.  There are plenty of cedar logs here in Texas that are i the 15-20" range.  My lot is filled with them now.

Each log will yield a different amount of lumber so it is hard to say how many logs you will need.  The red toolbox to the left here has some wonderful calculators that will help you to determine what yield you should expect from a log, but remember that is just a rule of thumb.

Good luck and have fun. :D

[Jeff]

I don't know much about the rot resistance, though I have heard it is good, I just want to say that I am looking foward to the pictures of your project! Sounds great!

[Mesquite Man]

Joey,

I am in San Marcos, near Austin and can not find a source for this "cheap" cedar you are talking about.  I have to go east towards Bastrop to get ERC as the "cedar" we have here is just Ashe Juniper and it does not get big enough to work with.

It is pretty popular stuff arond here as there are a lot of houses using peeled cedar posts and ERC is the only thing that gets big enough and long enough.  I recently bought 12 8"x8' logs that we peeled for a house I am currently building.  Heck, one place I contacted wanted $40 for a 8" log 8' long.

Sitruc

[Ron Wenrich]

ERC is extremely rot resistant.  Its right up there with redwood.  But, the sapwood wouldn't be as resistant.

But, I don't know if I'd saw it into 2 x 4s.  Check out how much 1/2" ERC is going for in the local chain store.  They use it for closet linings, as well as chest linings.  Gives you that aromatic smell.

The defect in ERC is the white sapwood.  

I might think about sawing those smaller logs into 2" stock, but, I'd saw those hearts down to boards for resale.

I also know a guy who used to shave ERC and other aromatics.  15 years ago, he was getting 35 cents a pound to local pet shops.

[Bibbyman]

The red wood of the ERC is very decay resistant.  The white wood will hold up well out of the weather and should be great for framing.  I'd be concerned that the same oils that make ERC smell good and insect resistant, etc. may also be toxic to some plants.  I note that few things grow under ERC trees.  Maybe you'd want to check that out before you made planter boxes out of it.



Here is a picture of what started out as a single car garage pole barn that evolved into a weekend cabin about 24' wide by about 36' long with two bedrooms, bath, and kitchen/dinning/living room - and a single car garage space.  The builder asked us to square him out some 4x4 posts from his logs.  We told him his logs were big enough to make a few 2x6s or 2x4s from the outside of the logs.  By the time he got done, the only pine in the building was the factory built truss.  

[Mesquite Man]

Ron,

I mill only for my personal use.  I do not have the time or market to saw and sell right now.  The reason I plan to make 2x4's is that according to my conservative estimates I can get 12 good 1 5/8x3 5/8 boards out of a 12"x8' log.  I can get the logs for $21 each which makes the boards $1.75 each.  Pressure treated SYP at the lumber yard I do business with, even with my builder pricing, is $3.

Now I am a business owner myself and I know that from a business standpoint, I would be better off buying the PT lumber.   The above cost for the ERC does not include any costs for sawing such as my time, fuel, or mill overhead, defects, etc.. But hey, I just want to do it to say that I did and maybe I will at least break even.

The bad part of being in Central Texas is that ERC is about the only thing I can get my hands on to mill for framing lumber.  We do not have access to any pine or much of anything else other than hardwoods.

Sitruc

[Bibbyman]

P.S.  

One of the remarkable characteristics of ERC is that it's stable right off the mill - it does not shrink nor does it require drying for framing uses.

As there is not much moisture in ERC, it does not tend to cup, warp or twist like other woods.  If you put a fresh cut board out in the sun for a day, it may tend to warp up some but just turn it over and expose the other side and it'll straighten right out.  

[mustang]

I've been sawing some ERC to make picnic tables but most folks around here , east Tennessee, use it for fence post. I have post that must be at least 40 years old. The sapwood is gone but the heartwood is still sound.  The only thing would be the shear strength.