Ohia posts

[FNG]

I would like use the Ohia logs I harvested from my property. I keep getting different opinions about what size is required. One person said they need to be 8 inches in diameter because the ends split after drying. Another person says they need to fit the profile of the 4x4 they are replacing to be big enough.

A friend of mine told me he waxed the ends of his post and soaked the pole for six months in automatic transmission fluid to prevent cracking of the ends. Has anybody heard of that? It is a long twisted Ohia, sanded smooth and polished, and it looks nifty.

Does anybody have any feedback on the Ohia protocol? What does the planning department think of them?

FNG

[Kelena]

Totally not the expert on this, but I have heard of soaking ohia in seawater for several months to make it more termite resistant.

[hooligal]

FNG, I drew up plans for an as-built house with structural ohia posts on the lanai. I was told the ohia post must have the same straight *vertical* profile as the lumber it's replacing. If your load calls for a 4x6, you need an ohia with 4x6 worth of lumber if you dropped an imaginary plumb line down the middle of the ohia pole.

The one thing my client had to correct was the method of attachment. They had one big bolt, top and bottom. They had to change to two bolts on each end so that the pole couldn't pivot on the single bolt point during an earthquake. Hope that makes sense without a picture.

I asked the architect how the double bolts should be configured (two horizontally, diagonally or aligned vertically)...if I remember right, it didn't matter in our case, as long as we added the second bolts - but not so close together that they muss up the strength of the post. I do recall that he had a preference for the bolt placement if we were starting from scratch, but I can't remember what it was. Please double check with architect/planning before you mount your posts. Don't drill into your gorgeous poles on my word alone.

[B)]DISLCAIMER: I'm passing on what I remember from ONE project 5 months ago. I'm not an architect, nor engineer, and I'm not the final say at county! I'm only offering this up so you can put them on the list of stuff to ask your architect and/or the planning department []

Oh, and I've heard Ohia is a stinker to drill and cut. Anyone with Ohia experience care to chime in? Are there particular drill bits or saw blades that hold up better on ohia?

Good luck & let us know what you find out about termite treatment. We're going to build with harvested Ohia too & I'm curious to know!

[JWFITZ]

You must realize that ohia is not certified for constructional purposes and strictly speaking isn't permit-able. One of the million things in permitted building that they choose to randomly enforce or ignore.

I've had no problems at all with tools working with ohia, it cuts, drills and planes as easy as any other figured mahog type wood. It's very unstable, and hard to do nice work with as it moves all over in changes in humidity. If you get it together, it's stunning for sure, but a hassle. I'm trying to try out a new electric guitar body but we'll see. Nice tone wood, really.

PEG is usually used to stabilize such woods, but I've had good results using cheap antifreeze, and giving a good paint down for a week or two and soaking the ends.

[lquade]

our planner said we needed a 6 inch diameter whereever on the porch called for a 4x4. she was going to add to the blueprints the top treatment. it was such a hassle, we decided on cheap 4x4, which might later fall off, and be replaced with the ohia... doesnt save the lumber in building, but good for the chicken coop later.

[hooligal]

quote:

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You must realize that ohia is not certified for constructional purposes and strictly speaking isn't permit-able.

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holy cow JWFITZ, that is good to know! I don't want to give county any reason to dink my permits. Ack, I see them so often too....I sure feel bad for folks who've gone through the effort & would have to rip em out.

[JWFITZ]

I don't know that they will dink your permits, but in a tight job environment. . .if someone's braddah is a contractor, lots of things can occur.

In Santa Monica, Ca, for example, the mob controls all the building, including the inspectors. You simply cannot work there. Period. Everything you will do, if you're not part of the "system" you will fail. If you're part of the system, you cannot miss. That's not far off here, I expect.

I've personally missed a final because my trim around the garage door was 1/8 of an inch off the pavement. It's supposed to be 1/4. That's 15 years ago, the only thing they could find, and the last time I bothered with that crap.

Just pay the fine, and save yourself the time.

[FNG]

Okay Men/Ladies, thanks for the input. I am printing these replies and will bing up the subject with the building department, the final word on the subject. I'll let you know what the verdict is.

FNG

[JWFITZ]

I would be interested to know. They've been trying to sell ohia as dimensional lumber for some years, but it fails repeatedly in standard tests. It's unfair in some ways to the wood, as to compare with fir--the best lumber in the world, so far as I can see--it's really really inferior, but still could be used by sensible builders in the right manner.

[Kapohocat]

I spoke extensively with Nani on this issue a few months ago - I was told that the diameter of the ohia pole must fit the size lumber needed so if a 4x4 was required - the 4x4 must fit in the diameter all the way. If the pole is twisted or has a lot of wain, then a larger pole would be needed.

Hooligal is right about the bolts. The ohia needs to be attached but since typical simpson hardware doesnt always lend itself to the ohia pole - you need to work with your architect on the design of the pole foundation hardware.

The "F" strength of ohia is much greater than doug fir but yes COH Bldg dept has no tables on it, or didnt as of a few months ago.