My New Pergola (Japanese Gazebo) - Pics

[hillegom]

Nice work Anthony. Looks good. Must have busted your alls.
This for the bbq this summer?

Toxic, #1 cedar is exported. Apparently we can't afford it either.

[toxic111]

Originally Posted by hillegom

Nice work Anthony. Looks good. Must have busted your alls.
This for the bbq this summer?

Toxic, #1 cedar is exported. Apparently we can't afford it either.

Oh I know #1 is exported.. it is why we can't get any good wood anymore.

I grew up on the west coast, so I know the wood. I am also in the constrcution industry (30yrs) & I have seen the quality of wood go way down.

Right now I am looking to special order some 8x8 & 6x14 clear cedar.... no idea what that is going to cost yet... at least I don't have to pay for it.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by toxic111

Oh I know #1 is exported.. it is why we can't get any good wood anymore.

I grew up on the west coast, so I know the wood. I am also in the constrcution industry (30yrs) & I have seen the quality of wood go way down.

Right now I am looking to special order some 8x8 & 6x14 clear cedar.... no idea what that is going to cost yet... at least I don't have to pay for it.

you can get #1 up here. going to cost ya though. although it wasn't that unreasonable when I was looking into it for a project I have. the biggest problem with #1 is it is normaly smaller lenghts or random ones so unless you want to pay huge bucks you order a mixed lenght load of how many board feet you want.

Steve

[toxic111]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

you can get #1 up here. going to cost ya though. although it wasn't that unreasonable when I was looking into it for a project I have. the biggest problem with #1 is it is normaly smaller lenghts or random ones so unless you want to pay huge bucks you order a mixed lenght load of how many board feet you want.

Steve

The sizes I am after will be a custom mill run. They would be for a multi-million dollar project.

The #1 you can buy wouldnt even be #3 20 yrs ago. All the real clear stuff gets exported

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by toxic111

The sizes I am after will be a custom mill run. They would be for a multi-million dollar project.

The #1 you can buy wouldnt even be #3 20 yrs ago. All the real clear stuff gets exported

I'll give you most of it gets exported but not all. there is a local mill up here that makes it to order. maybe all the big mills send it directly over sea but I know at least one smaller mill that doesn't. personaly I prefer #2 as I like knots that give the wood a rustic look.

Steve

[toxic111]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

I'll give you most of it gets exported but not all. there is a local mill up here that makes it to order. maybe all the big mills send it directly over sea but I know at least one smaller mill that doesn't. personaly I prefer #2 as I like knots that give the wood a rustic look.

Steve

Small private mills will do small runs of #1 & select, for a cost, I agree. But any of the larger mills will be exporting..

#2 is great for certain things, but #1 & sel have the straight grain that I need to keep 8x8 posts that are 20'+ long straight. You will get more twisting & bending with #2 & below.

[Myka]

Very nice! It looks a bit funny to me though since I'm used to seeing a greater pitch. (we have snow load to worry about)

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Pergolas are almost always quite flat. It only slopes 1+' for the 26' length so very slight (2.3 degrees I think is what we calculated for cutting the tops of the posts).

This is supposed to be very strong polycarbonate (used for making skylights for many of the large supermarkets across Canada, including the Prairies) so hopefully it'll stand up to Vancouver's snowload.

It has 8 4x6 posts and is attached to the house. The main beams are 26' long and made from a laminate (nailed together) "sandwich of 12' & 14' (left) 3 @ 8' (middle) and 14' & 12' (right) 2x6s.

It's No.2 grade WRC so not bad. I lucked out and was able to order it through some guys at BCA for a great price. Altogether, the wood for the pergola was around $500+, but I ordered $734 worth (including $90 delivery) altogether for my other projects.

I plan to build my 10' x 3' x 8' tall bbq pergola next and then a 7' x 3' pergola cover for my patio swing.

Total cost for the project was $1500-1600, but that includes buying a used Bostitch 3.5" nail gun to speed up the process.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by SeaHorse_Fanatic

Pergolas are almost always quite flat.

This is supposed to be very strong polycarbonate [...] so hopefully it'll stand up to Vancouver's snowload.

Ya, that's why I can't have one...at least not with the nice polycarbonate. Anything that holds snow here has a steeper pitch. Of course there are pergolas, but they don't have a roof. I want both like you...!

[toxic111]

Originally Posted by Myka

Ya, that's why I can't have one...at least not with the nice polycarbonate. Anything that holds snow here has a steeper pitch. Of course there are pergolas, but they don't have a roof. I want both like you...!

Actually the ground snow load in Vancouver is higher than saskatoon (believe it or not!)

Though that said having a pictched roof is better... you could do a gazebo instead of a trellis... or a sloped trellis, you don't need much slope. you want to remove the water that melts from the snow, that is what causes the problems more than the snow.