Name that lumber!

[Bobby Jim]

Inspector friends, can anyone tell me what kind of laminate beam this is?  It was used outdoors and does not appear to be suitable for outdoor use. It WAS 24 feet long. I posted a picture of the only marking I could find.  Thanks.

[hausdok]

The picture really isn't clear enough to tell. That said, what difference does it make? There is clearly second and third stage woodrot visible, which means the entire thing is infested with first stage rot and has to go. 

Looks like a special kind of idiot is responsible for that mess.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Jim Katen]

41 minutes ago, Bobby Jim said:

It was used outdoors and does not appear to be suitable for outdoor use. 

Gee, do ya think? 

[Bobby Jim]

4 minutes ago, Jim Katen said:

Gee, do ya think? 

Yeah, that was said with just a bit of sarcasm.

[Jim Katen]

If you're investigating this for forensic purposes, you can probably remove all the other lumber from it and get better pictures of the printing. You might even find the manufacturer's name. 

[Marc]

8 hours ago, Bobby Jim said:

Yeah, that was said with just a bit of sarcasm.

Maybe, or perhaps you mildly insulted him with a comment that suggests that there exist a wood or engineered-wood product that never rots.

[hausdok]

Bobby Jim,

Maybe I'm sensing that you feel a little put out by one or two answers here. If so, my best advice to you as a newcomer here is to not take comments here personally. You won't find any single group in the profession that can provide you with the depth of knowledge that TIJ's moderators and regulars can. No other site in the profession is on the same level. I know 'cuz I've spent time monitoring and participating in all of them. It's true that you won't find as many folks actively chiming in here as on other sites in the profession, but there are huge numbers of inspectors that just come here and lurk - not participating and educating themselves by following the commentary here and reading through the thousands and thousands of previous threads in the archives.

What you will find here is a group of consummate professionals. On other sites you'll see people go off on tangents and get into the equivalent of a shouting match for no other reason than their egos have been hurt by another inspector that didn't agree with something they've said. We don't allow that kind of bullshit to occur here. If you can't endure constructive criticism and want to be able to go all caps and give some other inspector a piece of your mind, do it on one of those other sites where folks revel in watching online slugfests, 'cuz, if you do it here you'll see your responses either edited or deleted. Yeah, you might notice that some of the guys here are kind of prickly; and that means you have to have a thick skin, but, that's the way it is in any profession. Think about it - an intern in a hospital might not like the tone a prominent surgeon uses, but, if he or she wants to learn, it behooves that intern to endure it and to open the ears and mind and really pay attention to what's being said, focusing on the lesson and not on the attitude - 'cuz only then can one really learn. Do that here, and before long your depth of knowledge will rocket past that of your inspector peers. I can promise you that.

I'm not kidding when I tell you that the moderators here are some of the best, if not the best, inspectors in the business. When we started this site 18 years ago we chose our moderators very carefully, so as to ensure participants here get the best advice and education about inspecting that they can. That has always been the mission here and it will remain that way. Besides, if you met these guys in person (Especially Katen) you'd quickly realize that they are friggin' brilliant and are anything but prickly - except me of course, I'm a low-down son-of-a-bitch who doesn't think twice about coming down on someone and making them feel like shit. So, soak it up. Be a sponge and accept us for what we are. You won't regret it.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Jim Katen]

I could be wrong, but I think that Bobby Jim was saying that his own statement, ". . . does not appear to be suitable for outdoor use" was sarcastic. 

[Bill Kibbel]

Every piece of pressure treated LVL I've seen that us over 10 years old has significant rot.  Pressure treating LVL post-manufacture didn't work.

[Bobby Jim]

On ‎3‎/‎27‎/‎2020 at 11:58 AM, hausdok said:

Bobby Jim,

Maybe I'm sensing that you feel a little put out by one or two answers here. If so, my best advice to you as a newcomer here is to not take comments here personally. You won't find any single group in the profession that can provide you with the depth of knowledge that TIJ's moderators and regulars can. No other site in the profession is on the same level. I know 'cuz I've spent time monitoring and participating in all of them. It's true that you won't find as many folks actively chiming in here as on other sites in the profession, but there are huge numbers of inspectors that just come here and lurk - not participating and educating themselves by following the commentary here and reading through the thousands and thousands of previous threads in the archives.

What you will find here is a group of consummate professionals. On other sites you'll see people go off on tangents and get into the equivalent of a shouting match for no other reason than their egos have been hurt by another inspector that didn't agree with something they've said. We don't allow that kind of bullshit to occur here. If you can't endure constructive criticism and want to be able to go all caps and give some other inspector a piece of your mind, do it on one of those other sites where folks revel in watching online slugfests, 'cuz, if you do it here you'll see your responses either edited or deleted. Yeah, you might notice that some of the guys here are kind of prickly; and that means you have to have a thick skin, but, that's the way it is in any profession. Think about it - an intern in a hospital might not like the tone a prominent surgeon uses, but, if he or she wants to learn, it behooves that intern to endure it and to open the ears and mind and really pay attention to what's being said, focusing on the lesson and not on the attitude - 'cuz only then can one really learn. Do that here, and before long your depth of knowledge will rocket past that of your inspector peers. I can promise you that.

I'm not kidding when I tell you that the moderators here are some of the best, if not the best, inspectors in the business. When we started this site 18 years ago we chose our moderators very carefully, so as to ensure participants here get the best advice and education about inspecting that they can. That has always been the mission here and it will remain that way. Besides, if you met these guys in person (Especially Katen) you'd quickly realize that they are friggin' brilliant and are anything but prickly - except me of course, I'm a low-down son-of-a-bitch who doesn't think twice about coming down on someone and making them feel like shit. So, soak it up. Be a sponge and accept us for what we are. You won't regret it.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Thank you for the kind words.  I took no offense - I swore that off a long time ago.  I look forward to engaging with TIJ, it does seem like a wealth of knowledge. Now off to go ask another technical question...

PS I figured out this was a GP Lam LVL with FiberGuard...not intended for prolonged exterior use.