Can someone tell me what is wrong with this 4x4 Lumber?

amytx27

Hi kwikfishron! thanks for the reply. Is this the type of lumber someone should use for this type of job? You said you have worked with treated pine before so I was wondering if you ever used it outside.

This fight has been taking me a year (court date finally approaching).
He did the job end of Nov. 2011. I took the pictures in April 2012. Weather is probably 20's to 80's throughout that span. Summer we usually have droughts and 100+ degree temps. We've actually had a bunch of 80 degree days over the holidays (Thats texas for ya)

ddawg16

I have some treated 3x4's that have about the same color.....the fact that they still look like that after this long kind of supports that they are treated....raw pine would have taken on a much more weathered look by now.

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AndyGump

I seem to learn something new every day.

Andy.

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carpdad

It is pt and difference is noticeable compared to regular lumber that is the roof.
That chewed up piece is probably lumberyard reject that your buddy got for half price.
In court, emphasize that that roof is only temporarily supported as he finished it. Permanence must have metal ties both top and bottom, and nails, and all metal in contact with treated wood must be double dip galvanized or stainless. Toe nail, as he did from the post into the girder, is absolutely not acceptable as toe nail tends to split the wood, and not enough nail bites into not enough wood. Go to homedepot, ask somebody at the special order desk or somebody even half familiar with metal ties used for decking, and take some samples of ties and nails with you to the court. If you don't have a contract that specified cedar and have paid for cedar, you can't say you could have had cedar for your money. Don't say anything about the condition of your slab, since you did not ask for it to be repaired.
Even well done posts, in your case, should have cross brace from the supporting beam to the posts. Braces don't have to be big, since the roof and its plywood deck takes majority of the racking force,

kwikfishron

Yes and yes...Would I have used that ugly of a post there? No. But...there have been plenty of times when all I needed was a few decent looking treated pine 4x4's out of the big pile that was available and still left disappointed.

I guess I've just been spoiled most of my years building with West Coast Lumber.

Good Luck.

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amytx27

Hi Carpdad, Thanks for the reply and suggestions. I'm going to do exactly what you said. Its hard to take a patio to court. I have taken dozens of pictures of the patio and fence so hopefully the judge will understand how bad it is.
I didn't have a contract, per se, but I do have it in writing where I told him I wanted cedar and he said he couldn't do cedar for what he was charging. Later, I went to home depot AND lowes after writing down all the material he purchased and priced all the material. He told me he got it all from a supplier (cheaper than HD or Lowes) and at Home Depot, the material he used cost about $360 total. I priced cedar and it was $525 (cause literally he only used four 4x4's). He charged me $1200 for material and $800 for labor. His ORIGINAL quote was $3900 and when I flipped out on that, he dropped it in half.. so I'd say he def didn't use the material that I specified wanting.

paintdrying

So sorry about your run of luck. Those posts look like he pulled them off a pallet he found in the parking lot. The posts probably were tight and then shrunk down. This is completely unacceptable for his lack of honor. For stealing from an old friend. Betrail of trust is the worst thing about this whole job. Please note, many contractors do incredibly good work. You will find someone you can trust that will do a good job for you. Do not give up on your house.

amytx27

He won't tell me where he got the lumber. I'm figuring craigslist.

Is this how you would EVER attach the top of the post? I questioned it and this is kinda how he wanted to "rig" the bottom after I complained. He said these plate type things are made for attaching posts. But its only attached on one side. I dunno.

joecaption

$50.00 worth of materials plus the cost of a few nails, quite a mark up.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/cata...gry=Search+All

paintdrying

In my opinion, I would not have done that type of post like that. I would have used carriage bolts and bolted it to the side of the header board. Might not be as strong for bearing the weight of the roof . I may also put in some cross braces as well. They probably make a real nice bracket for this situation but I just do not use them.

joecaption

Not sure what type fence you have but I've never heard of someone using bolts to attach the panels.
The post are never even when you set them. You set the post, let the concrete harden then the best way is to use a self leveling lazer level to mark the post and cut them off even. Even a brick string pulled tight will work.
I install the rails using ceramic coated decking screws then just set the panels up on the rails and use screws to attach them.

joed

The damage to the wood is from how it was cut. Trees are round. When you square up a round log sometimes the corners have small bits still missing in order to optimize the log. That damage is from being the corner piece near the round edge. I can't tell for sure from the picture but it usually is only on one corner when that happens.

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joecaption

That's a mending plate, not the right one to use for this.
Your also missing the diaganals to keep that roof from swaying, and the hurracane ties to keep the roof from up lifting.

epson

Man you really got the sh*t end of the stick on this deal. My heart goes out to you as I don’t want to see anybody get screwed over like that especially from a friend no less. I live in Canada and if I could I would drive all the way down to rip everything out and install everything correctly including the fence at no cost to you. It is such a shame…

kwikfishron

OP lives in Dallas Texas. I have to assume a plan, permit and inspection is required to perform structural work there.

All I’m seeing here is likely a result of skipping that process.

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