Which Wood Would You ?

{SAS}TB · 26 Feb 2021 at 08:00

We are looking at removing an old, slowly rotting shed / summerhouse, extending the paved brick base and putting up a timber gazebo.

It's likely going to be 3x5m and will go with shingle roof and will enclose (matching timber panel) some of the sides due to the location and outlook.

Something like

Or

Have seen quite a few and they vary (quite drastically) in price. There are some variations in timber size, fixings included or not etc, but the questions I have are does anyone else have one of these and any suggestions / reccomendation or things to look out for / consider?

Secondly - timber. Oak appears to be exceptionally expensive and the rest appear to be Spruce or Larch. Both of which I have very little experience or knowledge of.

Any feedback Home and Garden ?

For context; old building being removed and base extended :

View from new gazebo (hopefully sans washing line)

PlacidCasual · 26 Feb 2021 at 08:17

My timber merchant keeps telling me oak is not great with moiture so probably not for outside. Cedar seems an obvious choice famous for it's weathering properties although goes grey which may not be you bag. If you are going to regulalry treat it I don't see why it can't be some cheaper fir construction although the grain might be loose and not have the finish you want. Spruce and Larch might be the right answer.

200sols · 26 Feb 2021 at 08:31

Cedar yes, you can also get waney edge cedar cladding which would look good if you are building something like in picture 1. Spruce/larch are softwoods but larch tends to be more durable. Both will last many years with proper treatment.

{SAS}TB · 26 Feb 2021 at 08:58

Thanks both - we already have cedar cladding on our dormers (they are just over a year old and haven't been treated - on my do do list in the next few weeks):

I was toying with cedar cladding for the infill panels but it was more the main structure which the options (from the kits I've found) seem to be oak, larch or spruce

200sols · 26 Feb 2021 at 09:26

{SAS}TB said:
oak, larch or spruce

I'd probably favour Larch out of those. Oak is nice but I don't see the expense being worth it on an outdoor structure like that. Oak has lots of tannins in the wood and over time contact with water can turn it blacky/blue colour.

Derek W · 26 Feb 2021 at 13:35

Although it may not be fully relevant to yourself as its for a summer house rather than on your house (although you have some already) might be worth looking at how it will age. https://www.timbercladdingsolutions.co.uk/siberian-larch-cladding-everything-need-know/ There is a before and after of the Siberian Larch on that page, however, if its all round you have to consider that not all areas get the same levels of sun / uv so will age differently. I'm working on a project where a client had larch fitted. As new had a nice wood tone to it and over time the it toned down to a nice silvery grey but the parts under the eaves where it was sheltered remained a nice timber colour. Another example is here https://goo.gl/maps/77nzmai2z9seS2z7A Apex Hotel in Dundee. If you go back through the screenshots to 2008 you'll see the larch in all its 'glory' but in the 2020 screenshot they've actually painted it black since it was a bit crap looking.

{SAS}TB · 26 Feb 2021 at 20:23

Thanks chaps, I'll have a proper look

Buffman · 26 Feb 2021 at 20:29

Would be interested to see if you put a build log for this and how much it costs to build/materials.

Flake87 · 26 Feb 2021 at 20:41

The pillars are 4x4 or 100mm x 100mm and even in redwood that's not cheap. If you have wood pressure treated (which you should) then you need to use stainless screws, or hotdipped zinc, passivated, or powdercoated, or the chemicals will eat them.

Get the grain ends off the ground or rot will be a lot faster than you would like.

{SAS}TB · 27 Feb 2021 at 03:41

Buffman said:
Would be interested to see if you put a build log for this and how much it costs to build/materials.

The gazebo itself (or the main structure) will be a kit and still deciding on which one at the moment. I'm getting a price for the base enlargement hopefully next week but will update in here as it progresses

Flake87 said:
The pillars are 4x4 or 100mm x 100mm and even in redwood that's not cheap. If you have wood pressure treated (which you should) then you need to use stainless screws, or hotdipped zinc, passivated, or powdercoated, or the chemicals will eat them.

Get the grain ends off the ground or rot will be a lot faster than you would like.

Cheers - the connections to the base (paving slabs) is one of the details I'm looking at. It is a raised base and pretty sheltered by the trees but still definitely needs consideration

pp111 · 27 Feb 2021 at 12:35

Depends on the type. For example White Oak ( American oak ) is good outside but Red Oak is not.

{SAS}TB · 27 Feb 2021 at 14:28

Narrowed it down to three.

The first, cheapest, has smaller timbers and made from unspecified "pressure treated timber".

The second is slightly more expensive - slightly bigger timbers looks better and is made from Larch.

The third, most expensive one is chunkier timbers, looks more substantial and along the lines we were thinking and made from Spruce.

Hoping to make the final decision and place an order over the weekend but reckon it's between the middle and most expensive one.

Chap extending the base wants to come over again next week to check some of the dimensions of the existing base. He may also dismantle and remove the old shed to repair and use himself which would be fantastic as would save me doing it and the time / effort of cutting it down to take the the tip or hire a skip so fingers crossed !

200sols · 27 Feb 2021 at 19:22

Cant deny option 3 looks good.

LOAM · 27 Feb 2021 at 20:19

That cedar cladding looks like it's already started to grey, I did tell you it goes fast in direct sun light

. You might need to stain it now rather than just seal it.

They were designed to be cedar to match with the brickwork. They still looked better in their original design though, before the planners got involved

{SAS}TB · 27 Feb 2021 at 20:22

200sols said:
Cant deny option 3 looks good.

Cheers, yes the more I look at it the more Im leaning towards it

LOAM said:
That cedar cladding looks like it's already started to grey, I did tell you it goes fast in direct sun light . You might need to stain it now rather than just seal it.

They were designed to be cedar to match with the brickwork. They still looked better in their original design though, before the planners got involved

Yeah yeah, it's on my to do list

LOAM · 27 Feb 2021 at 20:26

Douglas Fir mate. I submerged that stuff in a saline bath for 6 months for a uni technical report and it didn't bat an eyelid. It's rot and insect resistant and native.

{SAS}TB · 27 Feb 2021 at 20:31

To be honest mate there isn't that much choice in the size we want in kit form.

Without going silly expensive (and #3 above is bad enough) it seems to be the three above ..

LOAM · 27 Feb 2021 at 20:41

I've WhatsApp'd you a link to a knife plate post connection for the bases. You can get the fabricated quite cheap or eBay, just make sure you use one with four bolt connections

Hyburnate · 27 Feb 2021 at 20:54

It may be cheaper to engage with a local carpenter/builder to custom you something.

dlockers · 27 Feb 2021 at 20:58

Hyburnate said:
It may be cheaper to engage with a local carpenter/builder to custom you something.

This...

It isn't exactly a complex structure, worth a shout surely? My brother recently supported a build on one with his carpenter friend who contracted the job. It wasn't cheap but I can't imagine the kits are cheap either.

I also imagine the kits are very unforgiving on any slight variation to perfectly plumb.