Since Lumber prices are so high ...
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: Ace
10-May-21
We all know that lumber prices have gone through the roof, making the cost of building anything out of reach for many. That got me thinking: Let's say a guy had access to a sawmill, and more trees than he knew what to do with ... Can you saw your own lumber and build something; say a cabin from freshly cut lumber, or does it have to be kiln dried for a long period of time? Is there a way to do that that makes sense? How about a Post & Beam design, anyone done anything like that?
I'd love to hear thoughts from those with any experience in this. Pros, Cons, ideas?
*I'd like to point out that this hypothetical cabin (on some land a Bowsite member may or may not own) would be used primarily for BOW HUNTING, and therefore this thread would not run afoul of the bowsite rules limiting topics to those bow hunting related only. :-)
From: The last savage
10-May-21
Im a cabin builder/master carpenter, freshly cut logs can be used but will shrink,twist a bit , sometimes a lot!!!+ during the drying stage,if youve put them in as wall logs, then you'll see the results of the shrinkage, not pretty. Best case senerio, if you cut green logs,, debark um, let usit for a year, up off the ground so air circulation is there. Then use them on your project, milling lumber and ricking it up to dry is a far faster drying method. But thats boards,not logs. Any post and beam lumber should be very dry as the joints are the primus of the build..wet wood shrinks, once again a diasaster using wet lumber,,its jus a bad idea ,any way you look at it,, i have a wood mizer bandsaw mill,, if you can buy logs that have aged a year your best bet.
From: Scar Finga
10-May-21
^^^^ What He Said!^^^^
From: t-roy
10-May-21
And then don’t figure in your labor costs! ;-)
From: bonehead
10-May-21
I did exactly what you said. I first did a tiny house to see if it would work and then when it did I built a nice cabin for my farm. I cut cypress for interior and exterior walls and built a kiln out of a shipping container ( which I now use for locked storage) and a used poultry house heater.I used green southern yellow pine for posts and beams and did mortise and tenon-no plates or screws. I was careful to center cut beams to minimize warp. slight shrinkage occurred but not much. Once you lock it all in it does not move. Sorry having a bit of trouble attaching pics, but will keep trying
From: Zim
10-May-21
Sure glad I finished all my home improvement projects last summer prior to the spike. I bought quite a bit, including for two decks. Also ecstatic I'm no longer a custom homebuilder. Did that for 20 years 1987-2007 that was enough! Can't imagine getting caught up in these current pricing debacle.
From: jdee
11-May-21
A guy that lives close by has a Wood Mizer saw mill and had a guy that wanted a lot of lumber sawed for a cabin . The guy put it up green and when it dried he had gaps in the walls up to 3/4 inches. He ended up taking most of it back down and redoing it.
From: cnelk
11-May-21
Dead/dry beetle kill trees make good lumber for building stuff - I wouldn’t use in a big structural application tho
From: Iowa_Archer
11-May-21
The Last Savage nailed it above. Do not build a structure with wet wood.
From: WV Mountaineer
11-May-21
Nope. But, there is no better time then to procure or saw your dimensional limber and stick dry it.
Most home interiors are going to run 14-17% moisture content. The idea is to get your framing lumber Clyde to that before building with it. What’s twisted and shrunk should be done at that point. You’ll never get it to that low moisture stick drying. But, you don’t have too in order to use it either. Anything below 30% will work for framing.
Google search you tube for proper stick drying and stacking. That’s the most important step.
From: jdee
11-May-21
A guy that lives close by has a Wood Mizer saw mill and had a guy that wanted a lot of lumber sawed for a cabin . The guy put it up green and when it dried he had gaps in the walls up to 3/4 inches. He ended up taking most of it back down and redoing it.
From: DanaC
14-May-21
From: Bake
14-May-21
Waiting on floor joists. I wish y’all would stop talking about lumber prices. Making my hair turn greyer by the minute
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
14-May-21
Dana not even funny haha. I build a swing set last may for the kids. Priced lumber to build another one at my in laws this year and it’s crazy. Mine cost me 600. This ones gonna cost me 2250. Needless to say, the swing set can wait. Not spending 2 grand on a swing set and climbing platform with slides and rope net
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
14-May-21
Dana not even funny haha. I build a swing set last may for the kids. Priced lumber to build another one at my in laws this year and it’s crazy. Mine cost me 600. This ones gonna cost me 2250. Needless to say, the swing set can wait. Not spending 2 grand on a swing set and climbing platform with slides and rope net
From: 12yards
14-May-21
Hmmmm. You got me thinking. Does anyone know how many 12ish inch pine logs it would take to build a small hunting log cabin? Say 30 x 40. I have Norway (red) pine on my lot.
From: WV Mountaineer
14-May-21
Dimensional limber cost have risen 280% from one year ago according to the msm. That’s about the only thing they’ve reported on that I believe. But, I can attest to its accuracy.
From: WV Mountaineer
14-May-21
12 yards, buy a 35 dollar biltmore stick, follow the directions on how to use it. And measure out the trees to determine your lumber available. Also, know that a 12 inch ddh tree is only going to yield a 2x8 or 2x10 at best. So, for your floor joists, you may have to buy those.
From: t-roy
14-May-21
Bake....just think about your short layover in Atlanta....
From: nchunter
14-May-21
My cabin was made from rough cut white pine. The guy that originally built the cabin did not wait till the wood was 100% dry and gaps formed between the boards. Not terribly bad but its noticeable When we finished up the inside we neatly stacked the boards under the cabin off of the ground with air between each layer. We left it like that for about 5 months and it made a big difference. We had not underpinned the cabin yet so it stayed dry and didnt shrink at all after it went up.
From: Rob in VT
14-May-21
Been milling my own lumber for several years now. Hard work, but no lumber shortage.
From: Rob in VT
14-May-21
From: kota-man
14-May-21
:)
From: bonehead
14-May-21
having trouble loading pics . Will see if this does it /Users/rolandahester/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/0B8C4282-8246-4BA8-A6D6-6549A30F5FD6/IMG_0085.jpg/Users/rolandahester/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/B69811DB-ECA3-45B5-B945-C16EE6C697F7/IMG_0246.jpg/Users/rolandahester/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/18754346-23BB-4A3F-9090-0401C55394CF/IMG_0247.jpg/Users/rolandahester/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/A8310632-646F-48BC-9738-D506181AAEE5/IMG_0251.jpg/Users/rolandahester/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads/9D4E90BD-23FC-4309-9418-4EDE9ABBF2A6/IMG_0253.jpg
From: PatrickK
15-May-21
12 yards,
Check out www.lhba.com if your serious about building a cabin. I went to the course (its online now) and built a 3000 sqft, 3 story log home by myself.
Patrick
From: Ok...Russ
18-May-21
What's a good price for a mature walnut tree? Friend says a logger is offering $1000 for a 24" diameter walnut tree 40' tall. Sounds like a lot of money but makes me want to go see if I have any on our property.
From: bonehead
18-May-21
Going to upload these again. First pictures are the little cabin.
From: bonehead
18-May-21
From: bonehead
18-May-21
From: bonehead
18-May-21
From: bonehead
18-May-21
From: bonehead
18-May-21
From: bonehead
18-May-21
Sorry I can't get but one pic to upload at one time. The next pictures are of the bigger timber frame. Still with wood cut on site.
From: bonehead
18-May-21
From: bonehead
18-May-21
From: bonehead
18-May-21
From: bonehead
18-May-21
From: bonehead
18-May-21
From: Ok...Russ
18-May-21
Very nice cabin Bonehead! Plus, you've got the support group appropriately taken care of!! :)
From: ElkNut1
18-May-21
bonehead, wow, you are an artist my friend, well done!
ElkNut
From: YZF-88
18-May-21
We were really hoping to move recently but housing prices are crazy. Heck, lot prices are just a crazy...and they aren’t tied to lumber at all. Been thinking now is when it’d really make sense to use ICF construction techniques. As is, looks like we are stuck next to some crazy neighbors for a while longer.
From: JL
18-May-21
BH....real nice place(s) you have there.
From: bonehead
18-May-21
to give credit where credit is due, I built the entire small cabin except for the main electrical panel. On the house ,I cut all the wood and did a lot of the floor and walls and trim ,but hired a professional to do the timber frame and a lot of the general contracting. I wanted Ace to see what you can do with your own wood
From: Ace
19-May-21
WOW, That is awesome, thank you for sharing that. I have pretty much no relevant skills in this area. But I do have access to a sawmill, own some land, and there are lots of trees, ... so I can at least dream.
Anyone looking for a project?
From: Shiloh
19-May-21
Y'all got me to thinking. Plenty of red oak, white oak and loblolly pine.
YZ......I live in an ICF home and have built a lot with it. If it is a long term home I would do it. If it is a 5 year hold and flip I would not. ICF will still not be cheaper than wood initially, but your overage will be made up in long term savings.
From: DanaC
20-May-21
From: boothill
20-May-21
Our Colorado property will be waiting for building materials to come down to reality and better selection before it gets built on. Wife doesn't like that idea but I'm not working another 10 years to pay for it either.
From: The last savage
24-May-21
Nice work bonehead..
