Larch wood - pros/cons?

[Dave Wagner]

I found a pile of air dried (about a year) Larch, around 5/4 rough and about 5-1/2" wide (Approx) x 14' long (I need about 6' 3") so I can get 2 boards from 1. . They will mill it and tongue & groove it for me. (I think it comes out to about .45/lf)

I would like to use to re-deck my front porch. I have read a lot on the internet and they say it works great for exterior decks, etc.

I bought one board and planed/jointed it, looks pretty good.

Anyone else use it, pros / cons? :)

Thanks all. Great site!

[Dave Wagner]

Since I didn't get any response, just wanted to show you my porch so far using this lumber, it is coming together nicely, nice grain to the boards, giving it that old rustic look to fit the 1890 style of the house....A lot of work on these old Victorians, but will be worth it when we are completed....

I am also machining all new railing, top, bottom, etc...we already had a shop create all new spindles for us to match the old ones perfectly.

Thanks for looking...

[Jerome Hanby]

Wow, that looks great!

[Cody Colston]

Dave,

I didn't reply to your post because I know nothing about Larch lumber. I certainly didn't want to repeat something from the internet and try to pass it off as knowledge.

I will say that the porch and steps look great. I really like the look of that Larch.

[George Bregar]

Dave,

I didn't reply to your post because I know nothing about Larch lumber. I certainly didn't want to repeat something from the internet and try to pass it off as knowledge. . That my job! ;)

"Larch has moderate resistance to decay and therefore should be chemically treated prior to installation."

I was curious, having no familiarity.

[Dave Wagner]

NO biggie, it will be painted and its mostly protected on the porch. The old decking I think was just pine and been there quite a few years and still holding up pretty good, except on the ends, but many boards were replaced with stadard 3/4" instead of 5/4 and they shimmed them, so it was kinda soft in some spots!! Thanks all.

[Quinn McCarthy]

Dave

The early settlers used larch for barn building and fence posts because it is decay resistant. The other common name for larch is tamarack. If you get further east and north the call it Hack or Hackmatack up in Maine.

It is all larix laricina.

The wood is pretty dense.

HTH

Quinn
Forester by day woodworker by night.

[george wilson]

It would really help if we had any idea WHERE someone posted is located. I don't know why that isn't a requirement as on some other forums. It would give an idea as to the climate the wood will be in,which affects its longevity.

[Dave Wagner]

Yes, the boards are quite heavy and dense.
I think all the other beams and stuff under the porch are Hemlock rough cut.


PS. Sorry about the location, thought I added that to my profile when I signed up (it';s there now) Thanks! :(. I am in Southwestern NY.

[George Bregar]

NO biggie, it will be painted and its mostly protected on the porch. The old decking I think was just pine and been there quite a few years and still holding up pretty good, except on the ends, but many boards were replaced with stadard 3/4" instead of 5/4 and they shimmed them, so it was kinda soft in some spots!! Thanks all. It's always the ends that are at risk, end grain sucks up water into the board. And they are exposed on most porches, including yours...every board. So plan on some maintenance. I would also prime those boards on all sides before install...especially the ends. Not sure from the photo if you have just laid the boards down on the deck or installed them though, so may be too late. Priming all sides is important because there will be a lot of moisture under than deck and the floor will rot from the bottom up. Also a good idea to put down some plastic to reduce mositure from the ground. My two cents.

I just replaced two old porch floors in a 100+ y/o home in Madison. Were painted (and painted and painted...) T&G pine. All the boards had rot on the end. I went with PT SYP, 1x4 T&G. Protected with a cedar toned UV and H20 sealer. Looks great.

Here is the "before" during demo
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/Hellrot325/IMG_1747.jpg

Here is the floor installed with the sealer.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/Hellrot325/IMG_1817.jpg

Here is the after for both porches. Replaced more than the floor. Built and installed all new railings, columns, and skirts (Kreig jig!!!). Both porches needed framing help because of poor prior design or rot, or both. Also redid the steps front and back. The back porch had open rafters so put in a ceiling. Note: House needs to be painted. You can see the "swatch" painted on the wall in the back porch picture.

Front:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/Hellrot325/IMG_1836.jpg

Back:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/Hellrot325/IMG_1838.jpg

[George Bregar]

PS. Sorry about the location, thought I added that to my profile when I signed up (it';s there now) Thanks! :(. I am in Southwestern NY. It was in your posts at the bottom. So not sure what all the fuss was about.

[Dave Wagner]

I knew I saw it somewhere, but I put it in my profile too.

George, yours looks great.

The bottom under the porch is very dry! it has the lattice all around it. It should last while we are in the house.

The wife hasn't decided if she wants it stained or painted. (Probably painted to match what was there. Probably a a gray or something.

Also, I may add a end trim piece to cover up the cut ends to fancy it up. More pics to follow once I make some more progress.

Thanks for the support. Thank goodness I have a planer, I have had to shave a bit off the bottoms to make them perfectly even on top, some were just a little thicker.

[Mark Versprille]

" And now for something completely different" " The Larch. The Larch." What no Monty Python fans here? Now I'm going to have to find some larch. the larch, just to make something funny.

[george wilson]

I'm used to seeing location in the upper right hand corner. I think a location should be mandantory. It is on some other forums.

[George Bregar]

I knew I saw it somewhere, but I put it in my profile too.

George, yours looks great.

The bottom under the porch is very dry! it has the lattice all around it. It should last while we are in the house.

The wife hasn't decided if she wants it stained or painted. (Probably painted to match what was there. Probably a a gray or something.

Also, I may add a end trim piece to cover up the cut ends to fancy it up. More pics to follow once I make some more progress.

Thanks for the support. Thank goodness I have a planer, I have had to shave a bit off the bottoms to make them perfectly even on top, some were just a little thicker. Thanks Dave. As far as being dry under the porch, it's not. Not in the sense I'm talking about. There is a lot of moisture released from the earth that get's trapped under there, and the lattice makes it worse restricting airflow. I'm not sure if the boards that you show in your pic are already installed, it was hard to tell. Looks like they are laid there, are you are using an underlayment (not a good idea, the porch flooring should be laid directly on the joist). If they are not then again my suggestion is to prime the bottom also, and lay down some heavy black plastic with some gravel over it. This will add longevity to the porch (and the paint job) and help prevent uneven water absorption that can lead to cupping etc.

By the way, you said "A lot of work on these old Victorians, but will be worth it when we are completed....". The only time that the work on an old Victorian is complete is when you sell, or you die. :D

[Jim Rimmer]

Great looking wood. I, too, did not respond since I have no experience with Larch. BTW, are they just laid in place in your pic? Maybe that's why the bottom step has one short board in it?

You said you found the wood. At a bargain? Free? Worth a gloat? :rolleyes:

[George Bregar]

Great looking wood. I, too, did not respond since I have no experience with Larch. BTW, are they just laid in place in your pic? Maybe that's why the bottom step has one short board in it?

You said you found the wood. At a bargain? Free? Worth a gloat? :rolleyes: pretty sure that is where the elower posts will be. Bolted to the outside of the stringer.

[Jim Rimmer]

pretty sure that is where the elower posts will be. Bolted to the outside of the stringer.
Doh! Good observation.

[George Bregar]

Doh! Good observation.To be honest that was my first thought, but since I just did this I also went "doh"

[Dave Wagner]

Thanks, I will come up with something under the porch, yes, the boards are installed.
Yes, on the steps, I made the cutout for the posts to be bolted to the outside of the stringer...just not ready for them yet......I have them, just have to build the railings, cut the spindle angles, etc.....

[George Bregar]

Thanks, I will come up with something under the porch, yes, the boards are installed.
Yes, on the steps, I made the cutout for the posts to be bolted to the outside of the stringer...just not ready for them yet......I have them, just have to build the railings, cut the spindle angles, etc..... Yeah, it would have been better to prime all sides and easier to lay down plastic when the floor was off but oh well. Here is a little tip of what I did spraying the railings. I built them and then painted them with my HVLP. Cut some stringers and tacked them on the end so I could flip the railings over and paint in all directions without waiting to dry. Worked great. I just threw an old tarp up against the fence:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/Hellrot325/IMG_1772.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/Hellrot325/IMG_1773.jpg

Saved a lot of time...only had to handle each sections twice...once for prime, once for paint. Spraying sure beats brushing, and looks better in the end. No brush marks or drip edges.

[Dave Wagner]

I finally got around and built my planer stand and removable in/out feed tables.

I got the rest of the boards slightly planed to even the bottoms all out before finishing up the porch.

[Dave Wagner]

After getting all the boards done (Above), I am Finally working my way around the porch...!! While wife is coming along behind priming/painting at least the front, it's been drying out for a while.

The goal is to get it re-decked by Labor day! We are having the neighborhood party at our house!

You can see I had to replace the bottom corner of the porch post, the rest are pretty good shape.

Thanks for looking! :)

[Dave Wagner]

Finally!! Put the Last Board in on Sunday!! Finally a nice weekend to finish it! :) Now onto the railings

[Mike Cruz]

Looks great. Keep posting pics.

[Dave Wagner]

Porch is Painted and ready to go. !

Trimming out the posts with quarter round and making up the railings.

First railing completed!! See attached. The New with old.

The wife is the detail painter, I can't take credit for that. :) She is up to 9 colors on the house!

Also, I didn't do the spindles, we had a shop duplicate them from the original. But, I duplicated the railing profile as close as possible.

6 more railings to go!

[Curt Harms]

Wow, good job on the renovation! Kudos to your wife.

[Mike Cruz]

Amazing. Give your wife a pat on the back.

[Dave Wagner]

She get all the credit for the paint, but all my hard work, rebuilding the porch, decking, railings, windows, and the rest of the demo/reconstruction....goes un-noticed... :( Oh well.

She approved the power tool purchases so I could do all the fancy stuff! Can't complain!