I have been thinking about building some of my own trestles and a bridge. I have read previous posts regarding the preferred use of cedar for stock. I went to my local Home Depot today and noticed there were no board lengths of cedar for sale (only shingles and siding). Is anyone using pine for bridges and trestles? I have read posts about staining and staining with diesel and oil (I have a fish pond as part of the layout and don’t think the mixture of the these two hitting the water would do much good). Thoughts are appreciated.
I would go with cedar. Did you ask when they will get some in Stock? Try Lowes if you have one close or the local lumber yard. You can try pine and poplar. They will hold up as long as you use a water seal every year or so. I have used poplar with good results.
John, come down to Littleton Lumber, just off 495. They have cedar fence boards.
I have a 100 + year old smoke house I stained the exterior with used motor oil about 20 years ago.
Worked great. Not even the Borer Bees mess with it. But the Bees do bore right through my water sealed PT wood.
Ralph
John, you might also look for cedar trim. Or look in the milling area for cedar.
Hello
The first trestle I built I used regular pine adn when done constructing it I gave it a bath in stain. After 4+ years being outside it is still solid however this particular trestle is resting on cement and gravel so it has good drainage around it. I have built other bridges and trestles since then. On the bridges I used cedar and stained them. No troubles yet but they too are above the ground and above any long exposure to water. For trestle bents that do sit in and on dirt I have used mahogony which is a very tough wood. It is dense so it will wear out your saw blade sooner then pine or cedar would but it is resilient and will last a long time. Rich folk use it for decking material but buying a few pieces won’t break the bank for most RRs. Also in cutting the mahogony it gives off a fine dust and when you handle it be careful because it will give you very fine and sharp splinters. I have ripped it down to 1/8x 1/2. When new it is reddish but dulls down to brownish grey when left to weather naturally. Check it out.
Good luck and Happy RRing
John,
When you say cedar siding? Do you mean t&g boards? If so they will work just fine?? I know both our Lowes and HD carry T&G cedar boards …as stated check the trim section and also the closet section(folks line closets with cedar). If you opt for the pine family Spruce or Fir would be a better choice or Poplar as well. But you gotta seal the heck out of it.
You may want to check with a local lumber yard as well.
John, there must be a place near by that sells cedar fence boards. Best bang for your Buck.
I purchased 8’ redwood fence boards from the local fencing company for about $5 each, then ripped the boards with a table saw into 1/4" square and 1/4" x 1/8" stock that I cut to length with a Proxxon table saw. I assembled the trestle bents with brass escutcheon pins, liberally sloshed the bents with Jasco wood preservative, assembled the trestle in three sections, sloshed all of it again, and am pleased with the final result. Do as Todd Haskins advises and set those bents on concrete blocks or gravel for good drainage, else they will rot in 2-3 years.
If you can’t, or don’t want to, cut you lumber down to size, there’s a guy online who sells Western red cedar and will cut it to whatever dimension you need. All the wood for my trestles and ore bins was purchased from him. He also sells it on ebay in several common sizes.
His email is [email protected]
+1, a little pricy, not bad compared to the ER.
Look @ the cedar fence co.'s they usually have a box out front for free!!!Or ask for the scrapp!
Sean
I used Redwood, some of mine have been outside for 17 years now. Stained them the first time, then let them go gray. My son was re-doing his deck and it was old redwood and I got some of those pieces. Old redwood is best, newer stuff is not as good a quality. Might check with deck companies/carpenters around and put out the word you’d come pick up redwood deck remenants that they have torn off.
Jerry Barnes said:I AGREE 100% if you can get your hands on it
Old redwood is best, newer stuff is not as good a quality.
I did buy some redwood six foot lattice strips at Lowes to rip down with my little dremel saw. So far so good, but I had to pick through it all to find a few good chunks. I agree with Jerry about finding old redwood with tight grain.
Spanish Cedar is what I use. No knots, and a bit more dense than regular cedar, doesn’t warp or twist. Then again, I have a Hardwood Lumber dealer that specializes in exotic hardwoods nearby. They do carry redwood, but I haven’t checked it out yet.
Check for cedar (or redwood if available) decking. I buy cedar 2x6 or 2x8 deck boards and rip them down to size. The larger boards are generally better quality than smaller cuts. Cedar fence boards are okay and I’ve used them at times too but are almost certainly mostly sapwood which isn’t as resistant to insects or rotting.
One thing to watch for is that the deck boards are often tapered a bit with rounded corners on top causing some waste when ripping. So far upon asking I have always been able to find just plain 2x cedar at the same places that sell the decking. I buy #2 cedar which has minimal knots and is much more readily available than #1 as well as being less expensive.
The cedar takes both stain and paint well and holds up very well outdoors.
Hello John,
At this time I have about 40 bents all built and about another 50 bents to still build, The bents have been out in the yard for three going on four years. All of my bents are built from SCRAP pierces of AZAK which is the new PVC Trim that is used on many homes. When I first asked about using AZAK here in the forums no one thought it was a GOOD IDEA. I will be building my next batch out of the AZAK. I pre-cut all of the materials and then I use a templet to put hem together. Each joint get’s a dob of exterior PVC GLUE and one 18 gauge brad of the correct length from my nailer. The best thing about using AZAK is that it will NEVER ROT. You are more then welcome to stop by and see it and also the Colorado Buildings that we spoke about a while back… Just give me a call, I am in the book
I’m lucky. My Dad tore out his 25 year old redwood deck last year. I picked through all the wood and got a whole bunch of great redwood for my trestle. It is the older stuff that lasts longer. Now I just need to get my butt in gear and get it built.
Hi Ron,
Where are you on the Cape? Do you know Todd?