Cedar posts for pergola

[mreza Salav]

I am thinking of building a pergola/gazebo out of cedar to be located on our deck. Most 6x6 and 8x8 cedar posts I can find have quite a bit of cracks/checks. I know structurally it is ok but for aesthetic reasons I like to hide the checks/cracks. Is covering the posts on 4 sides with 1x6 cedar glued on a failed attempt? There are hollow 6x6 posts that are made from 2x6 material that look better but I want the solid ones.

[John K Jordan]

I am thinking of building a pergola/gazebo out of cedar to be located on our deck. Most 6x6 and 8x8 cedar posts I can find have quite a bit of cracks/checks. I know structurally it is ok but for aesthetic reasons I like to hide the checks/cracks. Is covering the posts on 4 sides with 1x6 cedar glued on a failed attempt? There are hollow 6x6 posts that are made from 2x6 material that look better but I want the solid ones.

Two posts on one porch on our timber-frame house are made with solid 6x6 posts sheathed with 4/4 rough western cedar to match the house siding. You have to look closely to see they are not made from single timbers. They are 30 years old.

In my last house I used jacks to hold up the roof over the carport to replace a painted 6x6 post, supporting the roof on that corner of the house for 50+ years. I was surprised to find it was made entirely from mitered 4/4 pine, hollow inside. I replaced it with a solid 6x6 PT post.

But if you are willing to cover solid posts with 1x6 cedar, another option might be to just use the hollow posts made from 2x6 cedar "that look better" then slide a solid wood or steel post inside if you want the extra support. I suspect, though, the 2x6 box alone would support a gazebo until well after your grandkids retired and sold the house!

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

I agree with John in that I'd go with something inside the "post" for support and construct a "nice looking" cladding for the corners the reflect the style of the construction you are making. Regardless, be sure that you put proper footings for the supports so that they are stable into the future.

[lowell holmes]

There you go, thinking about the future again.

[mreza Salav]

Sorry if I was not clear in my question: I want to buy 6x6 solid posts and then glue on (a thick veneer) out of 1x6 (planed down to 3/4" perhaps) cedar to cover the cracks/checks.
Is this OK or I might be missing something?

[Bill Carey]

Unless your pergola is 3 or 4 stories tall I think 6x6 is overkill. And certainly, if you are covering them with a cedar finish, why pay for cedar when PT would do the trick. If you use PT 4x4 for the structure, you can get the visual "heft" you're looking for by, as you suggest, adding the trim boards to the posts. You could pad the 4x4's as much as you like to get the visual effect you want. Another advantage of using the trim boards is that you can carry them down to the top of your pier, hiding the post anchors.

[Jim Becker]

Sorry if I was not clear in my question: I want to buy 6x6 solid posts and then glue on (a thick veneer) out of 1x6 (planed down to 3/4" perhaps) cedar to cover the cracks/checks.
Is this OK or I might be missing something?

I'd be concerned with glue lasting over time on a "wrap" due to wood movement if the mitered boards are glued directly to the posts.

[John K Jordan]

I'd be concerned with glue lasting over time on a "wrap" due to wood movement if the mitered boards are glued directly to the posts.

I'm concerned about glue too. Maybe construction adhesive - is it flexible? But if the boards are 3/4" thick how about nails (unless you don't want them to show.

6x6 does seem like too big for a pergola or gazebo, both for the strength and the look.

[Victor Robinson]

I'm confused by the responses to Mreza's question or maybe by the goal itself. You can wrap whatever you want, whether it's a cedar post or a PT one - it's just that glue isn't the best way to make the connection for a 4 sided wrap due to movement. How are posts for decks normally wrapped? Just nails or screws, right?

[mreza Salav]

Isn't the board and post move about the same rate both being the same species? It's not a cross-grain joint. I could use construction PL glue. Nails I prefer to avoid for aesthetic reason.

[brent stanley]

I am thinking of building a pergola/gazebo out of cedar to be located on our deck. Most 6x6 and 8x8 cedar posts I can find have quite a bit of cracks/checks. I know structurally it is ok but for aesthetic reasons I like to hide the checks/cracks. Is covering the posts on 4 sides with 1x6 cedar glued on a failed attempt? There are hollow 6x6 posts that are made from 2x6 material that look better but I want the solid ones.

Hi Mo, I would consider trying to find FOH (free of heart) timbers from a supplier as they will check and split a lot less. Get them a foot or more longer than you need them, and larger than you need and seal the ends up really well, and let them season in the shade somewhere for a year or so. If you are willing to use a different species, select one with lower shrinkage ratios. Then plane them down to the size you want once you've looked them over to determine if checking is not so bad that the planing won't remove it.

These folks offer all kinds of great options and will kiln dry for you too. https://www.westwindhardwood.com/products/timbers/

B

[Mike Henderson]

The only caution I'd offer is to question whether you're going to put a swing in the pergola. If you do, you'll have to make construction "stiff" so it doesn't move when you swing. I built a pergola for a swing and had some problems getting it stiff enough for the swing.

Mike

[Charles Coolidge]

Isn't the board and post move about the same rate both being the same species? It's not a cross-grain joint. I could use construction PL glue. Nails I prefer to avoid for aesthetic reason.

No. Go look at the end grain of those posts most I have seen recently the tree's center pith is dead center of the post and that's some crazy grain. Some of these posts look pretty straight but they are sopping wet, when they dry out they can go BOING in all directions! You could build up your posts out of several pieces of quarter sawn stable properly kiln dried lumber then apply your cedar over that.

[mreza Salav]

Thanks everybody. I'll experiment with laminating the posts.

[Brian Holcombe]

FWIW, you can usually order to spec from a true sawmill, so you could order AYC in clear VG rift sections if you were so inclined, though you will pay $28/linear ft for it in 6 x 6.