I was fortunate to get my hands on some discarded 6"x6", 50 year old redwood beams. They are about 22 feet long. My first approach was to design a "K" shaped beam structure and then box the "K" in with 2x6's, but once having raised the beams into the tree I have changed the structure to a square boxed in "H" structure. Below are the pictures I have taken of the first three beams that I have put in place:
I installed the 14 foot cross beam first and used lag bolts 1/2"x10" and 14" to bolt the ends onto the two respective branches. I had to install a shim under one end to get the beam level. The holes drilled into the beams are considerably larger than the lag bolt.
Next I installed the other two 11 foot beams, resting them near one end on the cross beam and on the other end to a substantial upright branch and to the trunk of the tree, respectively.
I will install one more beam between the last two beams and then cap each end of the deck with 2x8's.
No comments:
Post a Comment