Poplar and Turkey Oak Outdoors

[Billhook]

They should both be rotted within a couple of years but the log cabin was built of Poplar in 2000 and the Turkey Oak decking the same so 23 years of weather.

The cabin has no rot at all but it is standing off the ground on six large sandstones so air is all around same with the deck except it is prone to water sitting on top in severe rain.

Anyway it has cooled down a bit today so I thought I would lay some of the warped Turkey Oak boards that I cut at the same time twenty three years ago

It does show that these timbers will stand being outside as long as they are not in contact with the ground and are given a chance to dry

They have been sitting under cover and trying to make them fit without my generator working is a challenge!

Some are more bent than a banana!

Just have my Stihl electric but it is not so good at planing!

I tell my wife it just adds character but she just says I am lazy!  
As I am lazy I think I will just fill in the worst cracks with a bit of sawdust and wood glue

Edited May 30, 2023 by Billhook
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[AJStrees]

Nice work. I am guessing Turkey Oak doesn't have as good outdoor properties as English Oak then? 

 

Didn't realise that. having never dealt with turkey oak timber. You learn something new everyday. 👍

[dumper]

Quite a lot of the oak sleepers sold here are turkey

[trigger_andy]

I love that cabin! Did you do it yourself? 

[Billhook]

2 hours ago, trigger_andy said:

I love that cabin! Did you do it yourself? 

Dan Franklin came up with a team of about ten in 2000.  Most were learning the full scribe method paid for by a grant scheme.  He had not worked with Poplar before and found it easy to work with.

I first had the idea after a friend came back from Oregon where he said there was a log built church, over 120 years old built from Poplar using the full scribe method

I have three Poplar plantations that my father put in in 1960, when all the graphs were showing that there would be a massive demand for matches at the Millenium due to the projected increase in smoking.  Father told me that I would be very rich in the year 2000!  But due to butane lighters and people packing up I had all these trees looking for a home.Very hard to predict outcomes with models and graphs as the climatologists are discovering

He had the same idea by planting Spruce and Pine for pit props in the coal mines!!    Anybody looking for some very tall trees???

Log Cabins | Woodenways

WWW.WOODENWAYS.COM

Mine is pictured in the first and third photo. Before we started I had gone on a course at his site in Devon

[HuntingHicap]

My first job out of college was running the sawmill and mog he has on his website, he bought it from my old boss!

[Billhook]

1 hour ago, HuntingHicap said:

My first job out of college was running the sawmill and mog he has on his website, he bought it from my old boss!

He was quite chuffed when he found a statue of Sir John Franklin in our local town, and I have a photo of him standing by it and the Franklin Bakery!

[Billhook]

Just finished the new decking and applied first coat of Cuprinol deck oil

 

[Stere]

Looks good but shouldn't  outdoor deck boards have gaps to drain water just as it might then  dry and last longer?

 

Suppose might not looks as nice with gaps....

 

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by Stere

[Billhook]

55 minutes ago, Stere said:

Looks good but shouldn't  outdoor deck boards have gaps to drain water just as it might then  dry and last longer?

 

Suppose might not looks as nice with gaps....

 

 

 

 

Plenty of gaps I can assure you, but being a better camera man than a joiner makes all the difference!