Dear MyFixitUpLife, a question: I’m designing a pergola. Instead of using 4-by or 6-by posts, I want to laminate a 2×8, 2×6, and 2×8 together to form a sort of I beam. This way I’ll get a different look than most pergola’s with square posts and I think it’ll be easier to build. I also want to cut the center 2×6 short so that I can “pocket” one of the girder members (it’ll have three pieces) between the 2x8s. But, when I went to my local big box to price out the material I noticed all the lumber tags on PT 2-by stated that it was for above ground use only. I planned to run these posts down below grade into concrete footings. Uh…I want this to last. Any ideas on how I can still make this work?
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