How to wrap my posts and beams

Long time no post. So I have this small project I am working on and I need some feedback.

I'm covering our patio and trimming out the existing small covered portion to match. There have been some challenges along the way but its coming together nicely. It's all post and beam timber framed (almost all). Very uncommon around here these days. It's mostly rough sawn douglas fir (16+ hr round trip to the douglas fir store for me) and some cedar tongue and grove.

I have the big stuff done finally and a couple new tools to my collection including a 2" timber framing chisel that is almost as long as my arm :D. Now I am on to the trim work. There are a couple things I need to do here. The posts where ground contacting the way we chose to do it, so I had to use pressure treated 6x6s. I plan to wrap these in rough sawn fir. I also have two LVL beams to wrap. One existing on old patio and one new because the span would have required a solid beam of much larger size. My question is really how best to wrap them. This is outside exposed to the environment. The wood (trim boards) is all kiln dried and it will eventually have some sort of top coat on it once it's done. But depending on weather that may not happen till spring.

That said I have what I think are 3 options for wrapping. See my crude drawing of wraps. This would be looking down the post from above. Obviously a beam would be minus one side. I would use biscuits or dominos for the joints for alignment and tite bond 3. At least one side would have to have brads in order to get it around the post. These do not have to fit the posts tight.

My personal preference would be A. Miter the edges then take a burnishing rod and run it up and down to stick with the rough cut look (no sharp edges).

However, I don't know how seasonal wood movement might affect this and if I'd be doing a lot of work that could potentially fail. Looking for feedback here before I spend a lot of time doing something that may not work out.

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What ever you decide to do I would not attach directly to the post. That post is going to move including bow and twist. Go back and look at how columns were done in the past. The skin is more or less isolated from the column. The LVL beam may work better but no sure enough for miters. I would let the sides wrap over the bottom wrap with a reveal and not fasten the wrap to itself just to the beam.
Jim

i just finished a beam this weekend, and will be starting on the post this week, interior though.

for the beam i built both sides as one unit and hung them 20 feet x 9.75 inches tall, then the bottom went on after. The bottom has a rabbet on each side half the thickness of the stock and was glued into place and held with brads for the glue to set. The corners will never open and the 3/8 on the side blends better than a full 3/4 edge showing. It should also look better and stay tighter as the house and wood move around, esp. if the boards start to cup at all. The sides are attached at the top of the beam and the bottom is only attached to the sides with about 1/2 in airspace on the bottom.

for the post, I am interested to hear what others have done. I am tentatively planning on doing about the same with the rabbets or going hog wild with lock miters. This would get attached to one side of the post, with the rest floating.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Adam Herman

... going hog wild with lock miters. ...

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I did 4ea. 10x10 faux timber-frame bents in our great room (interior). Each bent made up of tie-beam, pair of rafters, collar-tie, queen posts, and braces. All built up from 4/4 X 10" rough-sawn lumber with lock mitered edges. Then, since they are hollow, were 'hung' from the ceiling. No open seams after 7 years. Lock miters are a lot of work if you want to try to maintain the rough look.

Exterior is matching 10x10 solid traditional timber-frame :D:D on 4 solid posts and the joinery was faster/easier than the lock miters.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by James Pallas

What ever you decide to do I would not attach directly to the post.

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Absolutely. The wraps would be their own structure and just tacked to the post on one face to stay in place. that's what I took out of the old patio.

For the LVL, I really can't see it moving. It's 3 14" LVL beams tied together every foot or more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Adam Herman

The bottom has a rabbet on each side half the thickness of the stock

going hog wild with lock miters.

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That's two other joints I hadn't considered. A rabbet on the LVL beam is high enough off the ground it would be hardly noticeable. Plus I can come close to matching the rough cut look of the stock I have by pulling a board backwards through my bandsaw (or dragging a reciprocating saw blade over it). I could "scuff" that fresh cut part of the rabbet that would be seen and it would disappear.

To be honest, I don't really know what a locking miter would gain over biscuits or dominos. You're already edge gluing the boards, locking miter just seems like a lot of extra work for no stronger of a joint.

I like the lock mitre in that situation. Seeing seams is ,ironically ....unseemly. A structure that big needs big components. You didn't ask but I think the width should be no skinnier tha 1/10th of the height. They should be "pillars" not "posts"