[QUOTE=Mallard;8130831]
Have to disagree with that…
I do agree with dotneko… " we have hemlock boards throughout our property - 24 turnout paddocks. They have lasted on average 15 years."
Our Hemlock shelter has been up for several years and has never been chewed.
And I do have a couple of seasoned wood ‘chewers’ in my herd.[/QUOTE]
There are several “types” of Hemlock. And though all have “Hemlock” in their name DOES not mean they are all of the same “quality”. Pine is pine but not all pine is created equally. Depends on the sub-species, when it is grown, and the age it was cut down and how it was milled. Quality Hemlock is NOT used for fence boards by and large. Especially in this day and age. But it depends on location and demand. I have done a fair bit of renovation/remodeling of old houses. The “quality” of the framing lumber used in old houses, 2x4s etc. in old houses is EXCEPTIONAL compared to framing material that is used today. I have 2X4s from old houses that is twice the weight of the “fast grown” 2X4s on the market today. Because trees were plentiful and demand relatively low Heat of Pine was used for framing material. Heat of Pine now brings TOP dollar for flooring, trim and furniture. Because it was squandered. Which is why wood recycling has become big business in the last 20+ years. Fence board are NOT required to be graded. Quality Hemlock brings quality money. Low grade Hemlock does not. Ungraded Hemlock even less. Hemlock fence boards in my neck of the woods is by and large full of “knots” because it is milled from the outside of the tree and or is from low grade fast grown “tree farms”. Which severally compromises its structural integrity, uses and demand. These type of boards are considered a “by product” and are priced accordingly.
You will never find graded “clear” Hemlock with a tight grain for anywhere near what a “fence” board cost in my neck of the woods. I promise you. It is priced cheap because it is “cheap” wood. The only other use is for siding and not siding for a “high end” building. Run-In sheds or structures of that “type”.
You are located in Canada, Ontario. Millard in MA. Some of the best wood left in North America is from Canada. Because you guys didn’t have the same demand that this country had in the last century. So your forests weren’t “rape, robbed and pillaged”, squandered. The growing conditions in your “neck of the woods” produces a much higher quality. Especially if purchased years ago.
“5 quarter inches” (the thickness) pressure treated boards are produced and sold mainly for “Decks”. By and large they are “knot” free for appearance. They offer exceptional value compare to “dimensional” lumber of the same. I use them for “trim boards” because they cost a lot less than poplar or “clear” untreated pine. When “home milled” and painted it looks the same at a substantial savings.
Pressure treated “Deck boards” not the generic ¾ pressure treated boards are “structurally” superior to Hemlock fence boards offered around here. For good reason they are “graded”.
Sorry for the long winded “tutorial” but this is something I am pretty well versed in. And based on experience in my neck of the woods.
