Splicing 6X6 posts with 24" overlap

[Edward P. Surowiec]

Need your advice. I want to splice 6X6 posts with 24" overlap. How would you make the long cut (24") ?? The net length of the completed post will be 12 feet long and will be used to support a Pergola with three posts per side.

Also would appreciate your comments/advice regarding sinking the posts down into cement about 14" verses using post brackets the bolt to the cement deck. If I put the post into cement I would treat the wood with a rubberized coating.
Thanks
Ed

[Fred Belknap]

I pretty sure you can buy 6x6x12. I have put a lot of them in concrete and so far no problem. Sometimes I drill a couple 1/2" holes in the timber and drive #4 rebar through the holes to get a better hold on the concrete. I know a lot of people will disagree with that but so be it.

[John Mark Lane]

I think I'd get my hands on one of those big Makita 16 inch circular saws. I had one years ago and it was a beast, but perfect for this kind of job. I don't even know if they still make them.

That said, I agree on the 12 footers. The local Home Depot here has them.

Also, is 14 inches really enough? I sink 4by4's into 2 feet of 'crete if I can get the depth, but never less than 18 inches.

[John R Green]

up to 16' long.
Look in the Yellow pages for a real lumber company (not Home Depot or Lowes). Contact a builder and ask who they use.

Simpson Strong-Tie has a lot of "poured in place" bases.....Check out their site www.strongtie.com

If you put PT wood in concrete or dirt....eventually it rots.....hence the Simpson base.....nothing in the ground

[David Helm]

I pretty much agree with what the others have said. Splicing posts is a no no if structural; and there is no need to do it. If you want to stick your posts on the concrete slab you should still make a deep footing for it.

[Jamie Buxton]

I'd go old-school, or maybe it is old-Japanese-school. Japanese temple carpenters made huge timber-frame structures, using fairly short timbers. They developed all sorts of wonderful joinery to stick those short timbers together. There are books describing the joinery. Quite fascinating.

[johnny means]

A well done bridle joint with the right glue is just as strong as a solid piece. A couple of large pegs for good measure and the joint would be stronger than the lumber.

[Edward P. Surowiec]

Thank you all for your help. I hope everyone has an enjoyable and safe 4th of July.
Ed

[Aaron Wingert]

Ed I'd definitely get the correct length of posts, despite the fact that good joinery would be plenty strong. As a building inspector, I assure you that would get unwanted attention and would likely require evaluation by an engineer for wind load resistance. That ain't cheap.

As for burial in concrete, you can bury "burial rated" treated lumber that has been treated to at least .60pcf retention. Personally I wouldn't. It will eventually go bad, although it will probably take many many many years. The code specifically prohibits direct burial of untreated lumber. Many deck builders and contractors errantly bury redwood or cedar posts, banking on their natural decay resistance. That isn't legal, nor is it a good practice.

Treatment of the wood with some sort of rubberized coating is one of the worst things you could do in a burial situation. The coating will not allow the wood to expel moisture in the buried portion, especially at the end grain. If the wood is perpetually moist it will fail prematurely.

[Aaron Berk]

not my opinion about what your doing, only my answer to a question.

For the 24" cut, band saw ----- hands down, gotta be the best way in my book. even a bench top model could make the cut if it's all you got.


Sinking in concrete is my preferred method (coating is the right step) and I like to go DEEP when I sink usually nothing less than 24". You should see the 3' deep 4x4 that holds my Norm Abram style mail box and then there's the posts for the hand rails on my front porch steps.... we won't go there.

I've always felt that those bolt on brackets just aren't strong enough for me.

there ya go, my 2 cents.

[Walter Plummer]

I agree with everyone else on getting the length needed. PT wood is not something to make joints with. Joints made perfectly will be loose and looking poor within a month, with or without glue.