Question about wood!

[puredelite]

Cajunhillbilly, Where are you originally from, sounds like maybe Bayou Country? We moved from La. about 10 yrs. ago to mts. of Va...

 

[cajunhillbilly]

Born and raised in Houma, La. 21years. Then moved to Russellville/Dover, Ar about 12 years ago. I tell ya its a big difference, swamp to mountains...lol. But I love it although I do miss the food and music!

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[cajunhillbilly]

My goofy daughter standing next to the wood we aquired, not only did we get the tin and outside barn wood, but we also have all of the rafters and posts, basically everything!!! I have cedar trees to make posts to keep the coop off the ground or should i use concrete blocks(pier block)?

 

[darkmatter]

Wood does not have to be treated to last a long time in a building if you follow some basic concepts: 1. No ground contact--have a brick, rock, or concrete foundation. 2. Roof overhang---The roof should overhang all four sides quite a bit with metal drip edging. 3. Siding--should overlap the foundation so water cannot run under the sill at the base of the walls. 4. Windows--also need a steep angle sill to shed water out. 4. Doors and Windows need a drip edge on the top side to prevent water incursion.

I had read an article many years ago about what was common in 100 year+ buildings that lasted. I also incorporated these attributes into my Coop when I built it more then 15 years ago (See my BYC page) and it has no signs of rot or decay and I used a lot of salvaged wood also. I also caulked all my siding/roof panel joints prior to shingles and painting. I cut some rubber strips out of an old tractor tire inner tube and used them over the hinges on my egg doors and hinge on the Chicken Pop door------the rubber over the pop door hinge really worked well as it flexes and knocks off the chicken poo that would normally build up like concrete and prevent the hinge from working. Been working over 15 years now without having to replace the rubber strips, that inner tube rubber is tough stuff.

 

[patandchickens]

Mind, in terms of leaving wood unpainted, what may work just fine with lumber that was cut in the early 1900s may NOT work well with typical lumber from the early 2000s. A lot of the very durable unpainted old barn siding is from old- or at least natural-growth wood, rather than plantation pine that has been pushed (genetically and culturally) to maximum growth rate. Wood that grew slowly also generally *weathers* slowly, because the growth lines are mashed close together so there are not large swathes of the weaker more porous summer wood exposed.

I think my main point here is that people reading this thread (not the o.p, to whom this doesn't apply) should realize that even though yer grandfather and great-grandfather could put up wood siding and leave it stark starin' naked to the weather and have it last 100 years, that does NOT imply that YOU can do the same. Unless you have an unusual source of wood.

Although FOR SURE the construction features that darkmatter cites will make a big difference in the longevity of any wooden structure.

Just a thought,

Pat