quaking aspens

[UK4X4]

I managed to get to see part of my property this week, the photos I was provided were of another plot............so instead of aspens and bare ground - I have huge aspens and 2 meter high undergrowth,,,,,

from the direction I hiked to the property on an existing "trail" I could not penenetrate the land to even look arround.

The wife refused to go any further after seeing two snakes

So Q is are 100-150 ft high 10-12" diameter aspens usefull in a cabin construction as beams - planks or in butt and pass log construction ?

[glenn kangiser]

Probably depends on who you have to deal with.  I am finding that while a lot of types of wood are not commonly used, that in historic times nearly any natural resource was used.  Codes and grading are a different story.

[NM_Shooter]

Aspen grows very fast and is very soft.  It is used more for aesthetics rather than structural. 

[Don_P]

From the Nat'l Design Spec... code referenced values
#2 Aspen
Fb (bending strength) 600 psi
E (stiffness) 1.0
Fv (shear) 120 psi
Fc (compression per to grain) 265 psi

We use eastern white pine for post and beam, timberframe and log construction. if clear I have used it for dimensional framing. I've not heard of aspen in heavy timber uses I believe its shrinkage numbers would give a clue, it probably checks heavily in large dimension. I do agree with both posts above. Our EWP gets the same rap, I've used it structurally plenty. Within its design limits you can use balsa, at some point the second floor joists need to reach down to the first floor though  . Weaker woods can span less or need to be larger dimension to do the work of stronger woods. I would not use it in the weather.

#2 EWPine
Fb 575
E 1.1
Fv 135
FcPerp 350

#2 SPF (typ store bought lumber)
Fb 875
E 1.4
Fv 135
FcPerp 425

#2 Southern Yellow Pine...oh yeah
Fb 1200
E 1.6
Fv 175
FcPerp 565

"The Man" nixed our homegrown oak porch posts and beams today but said if we got an engineer to ok it he would be fine with it. Bummer, that's gonna cost some blueberries.

[MountainDon]

My experience with the local mountain Aspen is that it frequently has soft 'cruddy' heart wood near the base once they get fairly large (16+" at the base). It does saw into decent 1x's though. We used some Aspen T&G 1x material for siding the gazebo.

[UK4X4]

Thanks for all the replies, and sorry for the late posting but we've had a dismal couple of weeks

The realtor lied about the access, to my property we are landlocked for the time being, I hiked in twice and managed to find a nice glade with a great view of the ski resort.

But hiking in with materials is just a pipe dream...........

even with a big wheel'd stroller it took 40mins to an hour to do a kilometer,the old bulldosed track is well weather worn.

Only good thing is we have a lead on a small property nearby which someone needs to sell quickly...road and electric to the edge so touch wood, we may still have a viable project- just will need a loan for the build.

The other property may need long term hibernation and hope for the future !

[MountainDon]

Thanks for all the replies, and sorry for the late posting but we've had a dismal couple of weeks

The realtor lied about the access, to my property we are landlocked for the time being,

Ouch! That's crappy.   Is there a way to get that fixed? Have you actually exchanged any money?  Land is pretty much worthless if you don't have a legal and viable access.    One thing I must grudgingly give our county some credit for is they actually are very careful about having legally surveyed and marked access easements on every piece of rural property that is subdivided. It slows the process a little, costs some, but it's clear whether or not a plot has access. This came about because of past cases just like you ran into.


Best o' luck



Oh, I've been meaning to ask, 'what kind of 4x4 does UK4X4 have?   

[Jeff922]

The problem with trees is the names change regionally.  Here in Maine, there are a couple types of aspens, but the most common is the quaking aspen which is known locally as "popple" (not poplar).  These trees are a pioneer species.  They grow quickly in unmaintained fields and clearings.  Although they can grow quite large, they have a shorter life span.  Their purpose is to die off once the more durable second generation growth comes through (the higher valued, slower growing, longer lasting hardwoods).  With this in mind, if you have any large aspens near your home, they should be removed as they will start to rot when they mature.  That said, leave them standing if you can.  The dead "snags" are really great for the wildlife.  Woodpeckers love these trees.

As far as lumber they are of some value.  Traditionally in new england, quaking aspen was used a lot for exterior trim, facia, etc.  It is light, strong, takes paint well, and is somewhat resistant to rot.  I have some in my saw log pile that will eventually be milled into lumber.  I also use it for firewood - splits super easy, not sappy.

I worked at a company that made high-quality camp furniture.  We used hardwoods for everything except our roll-top table which used aspen slats.  We used "popple" because it is super strong for its weight.  The tabletops were 1 -1/2" x 3/16" slats, and could easily support 200lbs.

[UK4X4]

4X4 + presently a Nissan Patrol - desert spec.....twin fuels tanks -uprated suspension interior roll cage- manual 6 speed , lovely toy !
mind you it needs the dual tanks as the milage is awfull ! luckily gas is cheap in Qatar.

meanwhile back to the land locked issue-just finishing our three weeks here

seemingly I am not alone - there are between 40 and 50 other plots in the same situation, all within a demarked developement, the original company owned all the land to the road- it went bust before some title work was completed recording the easements.

The county has been extremely helpfull ( Mesa County CO) they have unearthed a lot of documents showing the roads on the plans for the whole developement.

Dating back to 1972- the new owner of the blocking property presently refuses to accept that there is public access to that area of the hill, ( The MD has a private developement which has not sold all lots- so he's rather biased)

The county surveyor dug out a map that he knew existed but county did not have a copy.

Slowly and surely I am piecing together the history and the documents......the overgrown track is meant to be a standard size road with 50 ft setbacks either side..........so the trail is at least the originally planned access route.


All of the plots were originally given to the investors in the first ski company, most are investment companies and the other half, individuals, some of whom have died and others close to that.

basicly they have no real interest in pushing through with a court case,but the investment houses may be interested just to get the dead properties off their books.

There are 14 ish plots presently for sale as an estate sale, 1 other new owner is in the same position as me.

So hopefully it will work itself out,

meanwhile I complete on Monday on the other plot- so plans will continue but the build fund is spent

so I'll probably piece meal the build or take out a loan in the short term.

Yep quaking aspens- oh and bigger than I thought- its an old stand with standing dead and large grounded logs too,the new lot too has some but it looks like they were thinned out a few years back andI have lots of 3-4" re growths.

So possible siding- decorative uses- of a huge pile of fire wood !