How long does wood last.....

[rfdesigner]

Hi

I'm sure everyone here know all there is to know about not letting wood rot.. but I found this study relating to wooden bridges and am finding it useful in thinking about the details of my obsy I'm about to start on.

Turns out there are some wooden bridges 100s of years old, someone must have done something right.

http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/bridges/documents/tdbp/durdesin.pdf

Derek

[laser_jock99]

Oak is a good rot resistant wood, but very expensive. I'm surprised more people don't use steel panels for cladding as the lifetime is 20+ years and no anual treatment is required. The main plus for me at least is they are totally water proof (important for my location 1400 feet up in the Welsh mountains). The cladding I used was about £15 for a 1m wide x 3m sheet, galvanized and plastic coated in dark green

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Steel-sheets-Roof-sheets-Cladding-Metal-sheets-/330867144570?pt=UK_BOI_Ceilings_Walls_Roofing_ET&hash=item4d0937f77a

Has stood up to a couple of winters so far and not let water in.

[Gina]

Oak is a good rot resistant wood, but very expensive. I'm surprised more people don't use steel panels for cladding as the lifetime is 20+ years and no anual treatment is required. The main plus for me at least is they are totally water proof (important for my location 1400 feet up in the Welsh mountains). The cladding I used was about £15 for a 1m wide x 3m sheet, galvanized and plastic coated in dark green

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item4d0937f77a

Has stood up to a couple of winters so far and not let water in.

That's all very well but they don't deliver and I haven't got a gert big lorry!

[Andymac79]

Well if your a yew tree and alive, could see a thousand years or so

[laser_jock99]

That's all very well but they don't deliver and I haven't got a gert big lorry!

Got mine delivered (cost an extra £40 I think). The sheets also fitted into my 8'x4' trailer.

This is the supplier I used

http://www.roofingmaterialsmidlands.com/

[Gina]

That should be useful to those starting out I thought of that material when I was designing mine but at that time I couldn't find any small quantity suppliers - I even went out and about talking to suppliers personally, but no joy. We had obtained second hand sheets of it several years ago and used it to build farm sheds with great success. None about when I wanted it for my obsy though. It was much cheaper to buy top quality American redwood shiplap from the local timber merchant and that's what's on the obsy. It does look nice, I have to say