K. Chugh asks:
>hi- i am building a small shed and don't want to use pressure treated wood
>for the joists, as they will be close to the ground and i don't want my kids
>to be around them. if i use cedar joists on cinder blocks will they hold up
>for a reasonable amount of time?
Couple starter questions: what kind of cedar; how large a shed; how large (
length, width, thickness) will the joists be; how are your kids going to get
under the shed to mess with PT joists?
I don't know of any span tables for Eastern red cedar, but it is stronger than
MOST other American cedars (not all, but it is readily available, etc.). It is
still quite weak.
Or are you writing of ceiling joists? Same story there, of course, except that
there is no need for PT or cedar unless the ceiling is rather poor.
Charlie Self
"If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would
promise them missionaries for dinner." H. L. Mencken
Use the pressure treated lumber. It will be hard for the kids to come
into contact with it since it will be covered with the floor.
Besides, cedar is just not appropriate for floor joists. It's too soft
and too expensive to use for that.
On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 12:16:06 -0500, "K. Chugh" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>
>hi- i am building a small shed and don't want to use pressure treated wood
>for the joists, as they will be close to the ground and i don't want my kids
>to be around them. if i use cedar joists on cinder blocks will they hold up
>for a reasonable amount of time?
>
>thanks,
>kevin
>
>
"K. Chugh" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> hi- i am building a small shed and don't want to use pressure treated wood
> for the joists, as they will be close to the ground and i don't want my
kids
> to be around them. if i use cedar joists on cinder blocks will they hold
up
> for a reasonable amount of time?
>
> thanks,
> kevin
I do not recommend cedar if it will be in a wet condition or in contact with
the ground. It will rot in those conditions. I am currently building a
storage building with PT lumber and while I do not have any young kids
around, I am going to cover all the exposed PT lumber with Hardi Plank
siding. You might consider the same tactic.
I think the original post was inquiring about "floor" joists.
"Michael Daly" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 25-Nov-2003, Andy Dingley <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > I'd go with larch (because it's local) or eastern red
> > cedar. I'd avoid western red cedar.
>
> If close to the ground is an issue, I'd prefer the cedar to the
> larch - better rot resistance and insect resistance.
>
> My garage has WRC joists - on a 50+ year old house. Lovely red colour
> overhead.
>
> Mike
"K. Chugh" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> hi- i am building a small shed and don't want to use pressure treated wood
> for the joists, as they will be close to the ground and i don't want my kids
> to be around them. if i use cedar joists on cinder blocks will they hold up
> for a reasonable amount of time?
>
> thanks,
> kevin
Cedar will be either 2nd growth and not very long lasting, bug
resistant or strong or old growth and you will have to sell the kids
to afford it;>(
Best compromise is to use pt wood and wrap the perimeter with a skirt
board over the pt. Once the wood is in place out of the elements it's
pretty stable. Of more concern is the sawdust and scraps from
construction. You might have the pt joists pre cut to length at the
lumber yard and just nail on site.
Mike
On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 12:16:06 -0500, "K. Chugh" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>hi- i am building a small shed and don't want to use pressure treated wood
>for the joists, as they will be close to the ground and i don't want my kids
>to be around them.
Wise move. I'd go with larch (because it's local) or eastern red
cedar. I'd avoid western red cedar. The US Gov forest products
handbook (which is downloadable) has more strength information than
you're likely to ever want.
--
Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods
On 25-Nov-2003, Andy Dingley <[email protected]> wrote:
> I'd go with larch (because it's local) or eastern red
> cedar. I'd avoid western red cedar.
If close to the ground is an issue, I'd prefer the cedar to the
larch - better rot resistance and insect resistance.
My garage has WRC joists - on a 50+ year old house. Lovely red colour
overhead.
Mike