A major part of the design of the Heron Cove Cabin is Southern Yellow Pine glulam beam frame that supports the outboard edge of the roof covering the outdoor living area. The beam, 5 1/2″ x 21″ in size, is 48′ long – just under the max length of 52′ that can be shipped conventionally, We actually ordered one full length beam, and then cut it basically in half to facilitate moving and installing it. But, since it was cut from one beam, the grain lines up at the joint and is hardly even noticeable. You can see the blonde colored beam and posts in this rendering below.
Because of the early arrival of winter and not being able to apply finish outdoors to these wood members till spring, I chose to do all the prep work and finish work prior to installation at the site. It was quite a few hours of sanding and finishing, but I had help – sort of.
We chose the Sikken’s Door and Window product to be applied to the glulams. It is a multi-coat film building system with a matte finish. It’s not the easiest to work with due to it’s slow drying time, but the durability for exterior applications is great.
The color of the finished posts compared to the unfinished beam in the background.
