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Is milling my own wood to build a house a good way to pay for my mill?

Started by jldoss1, February 19, 2012, 05:05:14 PM

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jldoss1

So what does anyone think about the plans i talked about in my first post about sawing my own lumber to build a house and possibly saveing money on the cost of building since i have my own timber. My hopes are that in this way from the money saved a mill would maybe pay for itself and my house would be built from my own timber. This would give me a great sense of accomplishment and save on the cost of building. Have any of responders done anything like this or does it sound realistic.

jueston

WoodMizer Link
This is woodmizer personal best. Its something woodmizer does to highlight the great things there customers do with there mills. This guy built a huge house out of wood he cut, they claim he saved $100,000+ on lumber

Cedarman

If you have the skills or can work with someone who can lead the way, I say it is a good way to save money.  When you buy wood from the lumber yard you must pay with after tax money you have earned and pay sales tax on top of that.  That is just one reason. The labor you put in you do not pay taxes on.  If you sell the house, you may have to pay capitol gains, but check the tax pros on that.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

fuzzybear

  I built my own mill and am in the process of building my own home.   I figure if I spend $5000 for the mill, I have paid for it in savings on lumber.  But you have to figure in all the costs. Getting logs to the mill, fuel,supplies to run the mill.  But in the end I figure my costs at .28/bf, compared to the costs of buying lumber from the store, I will save in the long run.
  Then there is the added bonus that you can cut to your needs, not just standard sizes.  You have choice of the best boards for the job, not just what ever came out of the bundle.  And once the house is built you have a tool that can also build a garage, barn, fence your property, make extra money milling for some one else.
  99% of all mills retain their value to a degree, so you can always sell it and recoup some of your investment.  IMHO investing in a mill to build your own home is a good investment.
FB
I never met a tree I didn't like!!

Kansas

Depends on a lot of factors. You most likely can't save enough money if you are just cutting pine into 2x4's or something like that for studs.  If you are using beams, then things perk up a bit. If you plan on cutting hardwoods, that ups the ante some more. Specialty cuts are even better. The house I built has mostly hardwood floors, walls, and ceilings made out of hardwood. Have oak beams, an oak deck. I definitely saved money. Just depends on what you want to do. But some of what I used I bought from other local mills. It was simply cheaper than I could cut. But you can't discount the intangibles. If using the logs off your own land, and a desire to cut them means a lot to you, then do it. Sometimes saving money isn't the top priority. Just depends on what your priorities are, and what all you have in mind and logs to use.

beenthere

jldos
Where abouts are you located?
Are you going to have to build with graded lumber?
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

red oaks lumber

if you look at the over all cost of a house. wood makes up a very small price, even using your wood for the walls and or floor if all you are suppling is the sawn wood some other company will need to prosecss it further adding more cost . ;)
using the angle you want to saw and use your own wood for your house and after the house project is comlete, you still have a mill to saw partime with. ya that makes sense. :)
the experts think i do things wrong
over 18 million b.f. processed and 7341 happy customers i disagree

jldoss1

Thats a very good question. I live in north central arkansas, the ozarks. Beautiful country life, my land has been passed down for 4 generations. It has all the usual southern species, pine, redoak, whiteoak, ash, cherry, cedar and many others but the ones listed are probably the best for building. I plan on probably rough pine for framing although from what i have read cut with a bandmill its not really that rough. I hope to use some of the other species for some interior walls and flooring. I would purchase a planer or moulder for this. I was wondering, i will be airdrying whats the best way and how long is the drying time. And i greatly appreciate everyones advice and knowledge.

Larry

I'm over here in the NW corner.  If ya get over this way stop by some time.

I'm putting the finishing touches on my house.  When I was framing I had DF delivered for 45 to no more than 50 cents a board foot.  If I had cut my own framing lumber I would of put it on sticks until I accumulated enough to build.  Than I would have had to end trim every single board and been pretty accurate on the studs.  A lot more time and labor.  Also my lumber would have been native SYP...I prefer DF.  The savings just weren't attractive enough for me to saw my own framing lumber.

Moving on a bit and look at deck lumber.  Guessing on prices but think I'm close.  Pressure treated maybe 70 cents.  WRC at $2.50 with Ipe and composite stuff sky high.  Good place to save money.

On the interior big savings can be had here also, but you need to like wood.  Flooring, cabinets, doors, cedar closets, cedar T&G ceilings, and a whole bunch of trim.  For sticker shock price a few doors.  Of course the down side is you need a way to dry lumber, and a well equipped shop. 

Not saying my way is the right way...its just how I did it.
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

jldoss1

I love the rustic look of wood and would use it in every possible way and yes i would have to wait the drying time. But i think it would give me a great sense of pride being able to do it myself from land left to me from generations and i think the work and the accomplishment of doing something with your own two hands from land grown and left to you by your forfathers would be very fullfilling.

WDH

Check you local building codes.  In my county here in central Georgia, all construction lumber has to have a grade stamp from an approved lumber inspection bureau like the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau.  That complicates matters considerably since you cannot grade the lumber yourself.
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

Ianab

If you look at the Woodmizer link up the page note how the house has been built. Big exposed beams, hardwood flooring, solid wooden furniture, big solid timber staircase. Stuff that would cost a fortune to build into a new home if you were buying the materials. With your own trees and the means to process it, they become much more practical. If the cost of those big beams actually becomes negligible it's much more practical to incorporate them.

Just cutting 2x4s for a conventional construction, well you are competing with a mass produced commodity from a large mechanised sawmill, and you wont save much.

Other things to consider, apart from just the mill.

Time - it's a BIG job. Like building a house is a pretty big job. Starting from standing trees makes it twice the job.

Other Skills Needed -  Not just building, part time logger, sawmiller, then drying and processing the wood. Sure you can learn all those things, but there is a learning process there.

Other Equipment - Logging, log handling, and as you say, planer / moulder etc. A tractor and log arch may do the job if you are on good terrain.

One thought would be to get yourself a mill, and plan to saw out a small barn / workshop at the new house site. Some reasonably modest project to get your feet wet. You need some place to store your mill, dry and store the wood you cut, run the machinery etc. It can be your garage / workshop / Man cave after the house is completed. Once you get that completed you will then have a feel for how the larger job is going to go. You might say "Stuff this, it's hard work, I'll just buy the material and build a normal house" If that's the case, you sell the mill, get most of your money back, and at least have a good shed.

Our you might scale back and buy the basic construction materials, and then saw out the fancy stuff. Solid oak flooring, cherry kitchen cabinets and Cedar decking. This might also be an option if you run into building code problems. There are often ways around those, but they cost more. Engineers reports, revised plans etc

Or you might find you are hopelessly hooked on the whole process, and are having the time of your life. Just keep going. You now have a shed to work in, get your extra machinery, build a solar kiln for the nice hardwood floors and kitchen, and carry on.

You will be able to quickly air dry the construction level stuff and outside cladding, especially if using the softwoods, and at least get the house "closed in". While you are building, the slower drying hardwoods can be air drying as well, then a couple of weeks in the solar kiln and they are ready to use.

But it certainly can be done. I've pointed out a lot of the possible negatives, but there are ways around all of those, and the combined knowledge on this forum will be able to sort out most of the issues  ;)

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

Larry

Quote from: WDH on February 19, 2012, 08:18:46 PM
Check you local building codes.

Outside the cities, most of rural Arkansas doesn't have any other than septic tank codes.  The state adopted some codes but the counties didn't want any part of them.  They don't have the money to hire code enforcement officers anyhow.

Quote from: jldoss1 on February 19, 2012, 08:13:31 PM
But i think it would give me a great sense of pride being able to do it myself from land left to me from generations and i think the work and the accomplishment of doing something with your own two hands from land grown and left to you by your forfathers would be very fullfilling.

That's a pretty good reason to do it all yourself.  I met a fellow that bought a TK2000 a few months before I got one.  Quite similar plans but he put a little different twist on things.  Large family and plans were too build three houses.  The more hands you have the quicker it goes.

Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

jldoss1

Thats a very good point larry and thats kinda what i have planned. See something i havent said yet its actually me and my older brother were both planning on using this mill to each build a house. So actually it would be the savings from two houses. And larry if i get a chance i would love to come up and see your operation in my opinion thats the best way to find out about a mill is to see it in operation and talk to someone that uses it everyday.

Qweaver

I've done exactly what you ask about. See my "Building a cabin in the mountains" thread.  Read through this and it will give you an idea of the value of having a saw.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,19307.0.html

I bought a WM LT15 and a Kubota TLB big enough to handle the logs.  There is no doubt that I paid for the equipment many times over.  Plus I sold the mill for what I paid for it.
The other thing is, where would I have got the size wood that I used.  You can't go to Lowes and buy 7"x 9" beams and posts.
So I guess a lot depends on how you are building.  If you are planning to use mainly kiln dried dimensional lumber then there is not a huge amount of savings.  After the house was done, I sold the LT15 and Kubota and now have an LT28 and a bigger JD TLB.  That's the size that I should have bought to start with.  Live and learn!
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

tcsmpsi

Basically, when talking of framing lumber, the larger dimensions, the more you will same.  Standard stud lumber from the lumber yards, probably better off buying.  However, quality (stamped or not) is happenstance.  Start getting into 2X6 and bigger, then it becomes quite different.  Milling costs become less (more lumber/less cuts) and the savings start to become noticeable.  Siding, flooring, paneling, ceilings, etc...basically most any 1X lumber of #2 or better, there is no question of the savings.

It does take time, and commitment to that time. 
\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

Dakota

Ianab:  great reply and so true.

jldo551:  I bought my mill in 2001 and have done what you are proposing.  Everything I have planned has taken much longer than I planned.  I finally got my home closed in last summer.  Now, work on the interior starts.  It's a long prosess, but doable if you are committed to a lot of hard work.
Dave Rinker

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