Subject: Anyone use Madrone Wood?

From: [email-masked] (Michael Maas)
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 04:02:19 GMT

I have land in No. California with a lot of Pacific Madrone on it.
I have noticed that there are quite a few trees deeper in the
forest that have relatively straight branches that would be suitable
for posts in the gazebo I plan to build.  I'm curious to know if
anyone has used madrone wood in this manner.

I'm also considering using one of the larger and more widely branched
trees as a site for a treehouse.  Any warnings or experience on this?

Thanks,

Mike
-- 
Mike Maas 						(510) 658-0487
Masimo Consulting 					2701 Woolsey
specializing in Sybase DBA Issues and Data Recovery 	Berkeley, CA 94705-2606

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From: [email-masked] (Joseph Kral)
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 16:12:12 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
>anyone has used madrone wood in this manner.

I don't think Madrone has particularly good decay resistance. If you want
your gazebo to last more than a few years, you might consider using
something else.  Madrone has a very high shrinkage rate on drying and
therefore tends warp and split alot. As for a tree house in a living tree,
should be OK.

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From: [email-masked] (Harris Lowenhaupt)
Date: 29 Mar 1996 23:32:59 GMT

>>anyone has used madrone wood in this manner.

Makes great firewood!

Harris Lowenhaupt
Cast Earth
Nickel Laterites
[email-masked]
702-294-1132

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 23:13:23 GMT

>anyone has used madrone wood in this manner.

Madrone (or Arbutus, as us Canajuns call it), gets quite hard after it
is cut and dries, but is relatively soft when first cut.  Some people
use it for carving, because the grain is quite even.  One problem,
however, is that it splits badly, because of differential drying.  I
understand that there is a treatment one can apply that will slow down
the drying and prevent splitting.
I don't know anything about its structural capabilities.  Heck . . .
there isn't an Arbutus/Madrone within a thousand miles (well, maybe
several hundred) of where I live, but we do have lots on our island
holiday property.
Rod Keith

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From: [email-masked] (Robert Galloway)
Date: 1 Apr 1996 07:13:59 -0700

>>forest that have relatively straight branches that would be suitable

Wood that grows in other than a straight vertical position has what is 
known as reaction wood.  The reaction wood counters the effort of 
gravity.  When this wood is milled, stresses are released which give a 
strong tendency to distortion/warpage.

rhg

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From: [email-masked] (JamesFDean)
Date: 10 Apr 1996 16:50:33 -0400

Hello,
yes I have used madrone to build with a little.  I've never used it as a
real weight supporting structural wood but I believe it would work fine. 
It does have a tendency to crack really bad if it's dried too fast.  I
live in southern OR on the calif. border and we have lots of it to work
with.  I find if you cut it in the winter when the sap is low and keep it
covered with a tarp until early summer when it dries out, the cracking is
minimized. it is hard as hell to drive a spike or nail in tho.