If you ordered oak boards from a sawmil?

[robgil]

Asre , thats not good news, it means my fascia boarding will need a rethink. I did give the mill a call and they told me to be out by that much is odd and they will get back to me.
I suppose i could drop it down a bit from the edge of the shingles to make up the difference, i'm sure I can work something out if needs be, Its going to be tough straightening this up , all ive got is a jig saw.

 

[robgil]

Jigsaw it is then.
What do you reckon guys? will I just make it worse? At just over 100 squids for this lot it will be expensive fire wood if I mess it up.

 

[Penners]

Rob - it would help the PPUK team to make suggestions if we could see exactly how the boards will be used. You talk about "fascia boards" - what sort of fascia is it?

Any chance of more pics?

 

[biffvernon]

Hmmm...looking at that picture from the distance of this armchair, I'd guess that plank came off the saw mill with a straight edge and has curved since then.

Is it one inch thick? I pay less than £30 per cubic foot for one inch, seasoned air dried English oak, so a 12 foot long one foot wide board would cost £30. That's wide enough to plane off the edge and end up with a straight piece.

 

[robgil]

On here they gotta go Penners, Its a 10 meter run. I measured it all at 150 mil but I guess I can trim the rafters to accept a bit less then fit the soffits a bit higher up, the problem is if I trim that board straight I will loose a good 20 - 25 mm which might be a push to get it right. I made the boards as small as I could to keep them above the windows so any smaller could be touch and go.

 

[robgil]

Hmmm...looking at that picture from the distance of this armchair, I'd guess that plank came off the saw mill with a straight edge and has curved since then.

Is it one inch thick? I pay less than £30 per cubic foot for one inch, seasoned air dried English oak, so a 12 foot long one foot wide board would cost £30. That's wide enough to plane off the edge and end up with a straight piece.

Its 20 mil so about 1 inch .Where do you get your wood from Biff?

 

[biffvernon]

Nelson Butler of Horncastle.

How about cutting the long plank into three pieces. Each piece will then be at least as straight as your lovely old house.

 

[robgil]

Thats a top idea Biff,thank you. The bend is pretty constant but i could get away with more if i did that.

 

[Feltwell]

In addition, don't forget the top edge doesn't need to be too perfect against the roofline Rob. You hardly see it by the time you've got felt draped into the gutter and the guttering itself.

 

[Penners]

Excellent advice above. Rob - a few thoughts:

Are you sure that your house is so perfectly straight that the small curvature of the board will show? Or could the bend conceivably work out to your advantage, if you're careful about which way round you fit the board?

Alternatively, with the board firmly screwed to the first few rafter ends, would you not be able to spring it straight and secure it at the other end?

Ultimately if neither of those is any help, then I would definitely follow Biff's advice - cut the board into shorter lengths.

 

[robgil]

I dont think i could straighten it Penners , perhaps with lots of pressure and soaking the timber first, i know they use steam sometimes to bend wood. The thing is this is on the straight part of the house , its the old part of the house that is all wonky. I am sure i can make it rustic though.
Would you guys plane it or sand it? or just leave it as is? I am tempted just to leave it.

 

[Penners]

You could sand that until you're my age and you'd still be several years away from a smooth board (unless it was planed first). As for planing it, I think that depends on your own preference. If you plan to paint or oil it, then planing will probably be necessary. But if you're happy with the way it looks now, then I should save yourself the time and trouble.

 

[robgil]

I might just give it a quick wash then and see how it looks.

 

[Penners]

Just remember that, if you leave it unpainted and you use ferrous fixings (screws, nails), then it won't take long before you've got black streaks down it wherever there's a nail/screw head.

 

[robgil]

Not too worried about that , that should look pretty normal. I guess once the oak has silvered it should look quite nice.