making plywood

[red oaks lumber]

if you can't give the box store money, give it to your neibor have him buy the plywood for you :D

[WDH]

I have plenty of sweetgum if you need some  .

[Magicman]

I do too, and I hates Sweetgum.   :-\

[WDH]

 :-\ :-\ :-\

[shelbycharger400]

 hackberry jake
my house built in 1960, the subfloor is 1 x 12 pine at 45 deg angle,   then 1 inch thick ,  1 3/4 wide maple.  the floor is supported by joists 12 inches on center but they are 2 x 8's,  house is 28 ft wide, their is a triple 2x6 down the center, every 8 feet their is a verticle 6x6. they are on 6x6 cement triangles.  basement floor was repoured at one point in time, their is 12 inches of concrete .    celing is 6 ft and a few inches to the floor..lol
i have seen where the amish use 1 x 4's, then 1/4 inch gap between,  tar paper , then put down the flooring.

[paul case]

Mine is all oak construction..... Ya think it would burn better than pine or osb ?I doubt it. PC

[tomsteve]

Thanks for all the replies. Where i live I don't have to meet codes... Thankfully. If I did have to have an inspector or an engineer to build my house, I know one of each that wouldn't mind helping me meet the requirements. I believe ill do more research on the 45 degree angle construction. I love overbuilding things. I have only under built two things so far and have been royally disappointed in myself. My only fear is about having a solid hardwood house is fire. Maybe I'll use sweet gum for everything, everybody know that junk won't burn.  ;D

one reason for building codes and inspectors is to stop any building practices that could start a fire. plywood and OSB burn pretty good. with the glue in the construction of both, prolly better than solid wood.  there are thousands of houses across the country that are over 100 years old and havent seen fire. then theres houses built within the last 10 years that have burnt to the ground. i would highly suggest that, even though you may not have codes to go by, talk to the inspector you mention. pick his brain on construction methods to help remove the fire danger. of course, to remove all chance of fire, you could build a cave , but it proly wont be a nice as living in a post and beam house though. 8)

[Ianab]

My only fear is about having a solid hardwood house is fire

By the time the fire takes hold of the solid timber in a house the smoke from the burning couch or TV set has either killed you or driven you out of the house.

After that, it's pretty academic how the fire progresses. If the fire brigade aren't there in a few minutes it's a total loss either way. The hardwood will burn hotter and longer - that's about it.

Like I said, look at how houses were build 50-100 years ago. Especially the ones that are still standing. They have stood the test of time. Copy those techniques.

Ian

[fat olde elf]

Certainly agree with the consensus for using "real" lumber. Only exception for me is the scads of small animals and figures that I do every year for nativity scenes and a Noah's Ark that I sell. UPS,Fedx and USPS have been able to bust the legs off of camels, donkeys, elephants and knock the leaves off of little palm trees. I now glue up 3 layers of ERC (3/16), usually nothing wider than 8", and have solved the breakage problem. Of course I am now buying glue by the gallon. Say your prayers...

[eastberkshirecustoms]

Like I said, look at how houses were build 50-100 years ago. Especially the ones that are still standing. They have stood the test of time. Copy those techniques.
Ian

They may have been built well, but they aren't necessarily warm or air tight. My house was built in the early 1800's. It is constructed with hand-hewed beams,  mortice and tenon joints pinned together, 1-1/4" plank 'sheathing' with clapboard siding. The interior walls are just plaster and lathe, no stud cavities, no insulation whatsoever. It's been an uphill battle to sure up the hand laid stone foundation and to remodel and insulate this beast. The new plan is to knock this 'ol thing down and build an energy efficient house using SIP panels in a few years. It makes more economic sense to start new than to keep renovating and remodeling what is there. My point being that some things are better left in the past.

[schakey]

Our home was built in 1900,no plywood.
There was a thing on the news last week about house fires
and how fast they burn today. The Fire Marshall blames
OBS i-beams,sheeting,and modern furniture for fast burns.

[Ianab]

They may have been built well, but they aren't necessarily warm or air tight.

True, insulation wasn't such a big thing back then.

What I should have said is Adapt those construction techniques, but use more modern insulation techniques.

No reason you can't use underfloor aluminium / foam, in-wall and ceiling space fibreglass, modern building wrap and double glazing etc.  Refitting an 1800s house is certainly a huge job, probably bigger then simply building a new house, but putting that stuff in during construction is not a huge drama or expense.

Ian

[customsawyer]

For what it is worth I burn a lot of sweet gum firewood in my stove. ;D

[jueston]

of course, to remove all chance of fire, you could build a cave , but it proly wont be a nice as living in a post and beam house though. 8)

i have always thought it would be awesome to carve my house into the side of a mountain, not far from my house there is an old sandstone mine that was turned into mushroom farm, and then a speakeasy, and now its a bar and dancehall that gives tours during the day.... 

[shelbycharger400]

jueston... house on the rock out in wisconsin... smells musty..  its built into the rockside.  one of the walls is rock and it was wet.  on the tour, they have dehumidifiers running all the time.    their is a reason why caves are good for making mushrooms and mold/chease.

[reride82]

If you are concerned about fire, why not install a fire supression system. They are fairly simple to design and if you are familiar with pex plumbing, they are easy to install. This is a good manual to get you started:

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-155.pdf

I have been looking into fire supression because our county is requiring them on all major subdivision plans that are not located within designated fire districts. A fire supression system helps to keep your family safe, can lower your home owner's insurance, and is a very good idea if you are more than 10 minutes from a fire station. And unlike as Hollywood portrays, a fire sprinkler system doesn't come on as a whole, each sprinkler is triggered by heat and then once the fire is out, the owner turns off the water system. On average a sprinkler system only uses about 350 gallons of water to extinguish a fire, whereas a fire truck on average will put down almost 3,000 gallons to extinguish a fire which can lead to a lot more cleanup after the fire. If I were to build a new house, I would definately look into a fire sprinkler system.  :P

[Hilltop366]

You can get fire rated paint that will slow the spread of fire, also ruff sawn wood will light easier and spread faster.

[jdonovan]

If you are concerned about fire, why not install a fire supression system.

+ a million

I was a firefighter for 10 years. I was called to a total of ZERO fires that were burning on Fire Dept arrival in fully sprinkled buildings. In sprinklered buildings I've seen plenty of fires that were out when we got there.

Sprinklers are amazing tools.

[SwampDonkey]

Reminds me of the tale grand dad told about a neighbor wanting cupboards. Was going to buy a cow, a separator and a churn to make butter for sale. Until her father-in-law told her to forget about all that and just spend the money for the cupboards. ;)