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Another New Member here with questions

Started by sst04, April 02, 2011, 12:43:45 AM

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sst04

Hello everyone

This is a great website with so much info.  I have been reading for a few days and just got signed up yesterday.

Don't own a mill yet, but the wife and I are thinking of getting one.
Our plan is to start building a house on our land in roughly 2.5 years.


We have enough land to cut all of the wood for the house, and I hope enough time to cut it.  I have read that it may not be worth the time cutting the wood, but I have way more time than money so if it will be possible than this is what we are going to do. 

A few questions
Who would I get to grade the framing wood and about how much would that cost?


Been looking at the LT15 model mill and similar?  Would this be the right choice given the ammount of time I have til we start building? As i would only be cutting on the weekends.  I have no Idea yet of how many board feet I will need and exactly how fast I can cut. House will be around 2700sf with 4 bedrooms. 

I plan on building a large shed for storage of the wood and kiln with the clear roof to dry out the hardwood, Would that be the way to do the hardwood?


I am sure I will have many more questions and I know I have alot more reading to do!




Ianab

Welcome and a few thoughts.

Grading depends on exactly where you live and what the local rules are. Some places you can build with ungraded wood, others your plan must be certified to use ungraded wood, others it's a total no-no. But if you are building there is a lot of applications that are not structural. Flooring, cladding and internal panelling are not structural and don't need to be graded. In conventional construction they are plywood or manufactured materials, but there is no reason you can't use solid wood if you have it available

LT 15 is a good little mill - others can probably help with how much wood you can cut in a weekend.

A storage shed and kiln is the sort of thing you can build with green lumber you have sawn. And use that to dry the more important wood for the house building and finishing. Most woods will air dry just fine in an open shed, and if you build a solar kiln to finish the drying then you should have a finished product as good as the bought stuff. There are some issues with air drying some species, depending on your local climate, but work on those as needed.

What you are planning is not impossible, but it's quite a big mission. Don't let that stop you though  ;)

Ian

Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

WDH

ss,

Where in GA?  And, welcome to the Forum.

The grading requirement is real, so you are wise to get ahead of any potential problems.  In my county in GA (Houston), it is a hard and fast requirement that all structural lumber have a grade stamp with the lumber grade.  If you are cutting pine, contact the SPIB (Southern Pine Inspection Bureau) to determine how to get your wood graded.  http://www.spib.org/contact.shtml.  They should be able to get you in contact with a certified grader.

The LT15 will do fine for sawing out a house and barn.  You will need the extra bed section to saw 16' lumber.  Get the 25 HP engine and you will be able to saw anything the big guys can saw.  With a helper, you can cut 1000 BF in a day of 4/4 hardwood if you work like a dog.  With 2x material and in pine, you will be able to do better than that.  For planning purposes, if you have the logs ready, you could cut 2000 - 2500 BF in a weekend with a helper.  Of course, that is working hard all day.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Magicman

Welcome sst04, to the Forestry Forum.  Your questions about grading are very valid and you are wise to do the proper research.  Felling and sawing trees that could have been sold, and then getting stuck with unusable lumber would be adding insult to injury.

The SPIB stamp is actually assigned to the sawmill that saws the graded lumber.  Not a person.  It would seem unlikely to me that you could have your lumber graded unless you had your sawmill actually set up and sawing on the commercial sawmill's property, and it was under their control.

Check this link on SPIB:  http://www.spib.org/

Here is a link to a related topic about actually using ungraded framing lumber:

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,49785.msg720151.html#msg720151
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

sst04

Thanks for the comments,

We live in Baldwin County, about 6 miles out of Milledgeville towards Sparta.

I have sent the SPIB and email, so maybe I will hear back from them in a few days.

I guess even if I can not get the framing wood graded, I could still save alot of money cutting everything else for the house.

thanks again for the links and tips.

sst04

I recieved a reply email from the SPIB today.  It stated that they would come and grade the wood.
The fee would be 500$ per day plus milage.  Now if I only knew how many days it would take :-\
If it took just a few days, I dont see a cost problem.

WDH

If you have the lumber laid out well, they can grade a board in about 5 to 10 seconds.  It is the handling part that will slow you down.  You might ask the SPIB how they would like the wood organized to make it easier for them.

It is amazing how fast the graders are at the mills at the grading station. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

cornalius

Good evening,to answer your first question,is it worth the trouble,you must of heard of that saying,you give a man a fish and you feed him for a day,you teach him how to fish you feed him for life,well it applies to saw milling also,don't know how big is your house but I assume it will take about 6wks to cut all your wood, well when you're finished cutting all you need for your project you should be a good sawyer by then and the experience and knowledge will last you a life time,either making a few dollars on the side or never have to buy a peace of lumber at home depot again,either way you win.

now about the machine,I've been sawing on a woodmizer g40 with all the hydraulics for about 15 years(sweet machine)it paid for itself in the first 2 years of ownership,so if you do the math, and I'm still going,so in your case start with small saw mill, and if you like making lumber switch to a bigger mill,you'll know soon enough if it's your thing,anyway that's my two bark worth!good luck.

Coon

I would jusyt like to correct what WDH said in regards to the extra bed extension being needed to be able to cut 16' lumber.  Woodmizer has changed their specs on the mill and it now comes standard with three bed sections which gives the ability to saw up 17' 8" logs/lumber.

Brad.
Norwood Lumbermate 2000 w/Kohler,
Husqvarna, Stihl and, Jonsereds Saws

customsawyer

Welcome to the FF. You can do just what you are talking about and it will serve you well. I am glad to see another Ga. boy on here. I live just south of Dublin and you are welcome to come and see the mill in action. I don't have a LT 15 though so it might get your expectations a bit high. ;D
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

wannasaw

Welcome to the forum. We are a little south of you but also in Brantley Co. Ga. It's good idea to get the info for yourself as codes on lumber use vary by county here in Ga. Never had to use a grader so I can't help there but, we have alot of pine and cypress air drying under the barn if you care to see any We cut alot more than we needed and looks like that was a good idea as we wont be able to use some of it for what it was sawn for due to warping and checking. Will still make other stuff.
Good luck and holler if we can help.
LT28 70something Int'l Backhoe loader  Kubota L285, Husky 55, F-250 7.3, 12'x6' single axle trailer, Kubota RTV900 w/remote hyd. Iron will...

Kansas

If you plan on kiln drying hardwoods, which would be a great idea for everything from walls, cabinets floors trim etc, make sure you set up that building as a solar kiln. Here are some free plans.

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/420/420-030/420-030.html

I would suggest you get started well ahead of time. 2.5 years goes by really fast. That model mill should cut everything you need. Don't be afraid to find something bigger or the same size used.

sst04

Thanks again for all the help and ideas everyone.  I have been searching and reading alot on all of this home building stuff.  I found another place that grades wood called Timber Products Inspection http://www.tpinspection.com/index.html.  I sent the guy that heads up the lumber grading part an email and he wants me to call him and he said he will answer any questions I have.  Also he will give me info on what others have done in the past with sawing and building their own home.  This place is in Conyers Ga, which is only about an hour and a half away from me.



 

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