Making lumber

[Kingcha]

I hope to purchase a mill next spring to saw construction lumber and Flooring out of Pine.

I know I will be cutting 8ft 2x6 & 2x4 for framing, but should I also cut my 16' or just buy them?   Since I will be a new Sawyer the length and keeping them from twisting well drying is my concern.   My trees are about a 12" average with some bigger and stand a good 60'+ tall.

Also can I get away with cutting them only 1-3/4" by 5-3/4 & 3-3/4 or will I need the full dimensions to end up with a usable product?   I do plan I buying a planner.

I am also thinking about boards for my roofing instead of buying OSB, any thoughts on that?  I would assume these would be cut at 1" just as I would for the flooring with the only difference being that I might not have to plain the roof boards.

I still need to work on my wood list for the house as I know there will be trim and facia boards etc.  Originally I had planned on steel siding on the sides and back and brick and wood on the front.   I am rethinking that now that I am planning on buying a mill.   We have lots of pines and pines do a number on siding thats why I like the idea of using steel on 3 sides, for the easy maintenance.   But with a mill I like the cost saving of building the house. 

Thanks
matt

[tcsmpsi]

With a little care in your sawing and drying, your 16' 2X6's will most likely be better than you can buy.  If they run a sale on 2X4 studs, though, and they are reasonably good, hard to pass that up, moneywise. 

[york]

Hi,
If code allows you to use your native lumber,i would mill your stuff,yes-but i would use OSB or plywood for wall and the roof-it cuts down on air infiltration,i used 1in RC on my place and sorry i did,when the wind blows i know about it-big mistake.....albert 

[slider]

What are you planing ? not the structural lumber i would think.Most of the wood inside my house was too wide for my 12in planer floor's and walls so i used a sharp blade that was set properly on that wood and then used a belt sander .It came out great.Now if i had a big old honkin planer that would plow thru that stuff it would have been faster.good luck  al

[Kingcha]

You might be right about the 2x4's on price

I guess I had better check the code but I can't see why I would not be able to use my own lumber.   I figured the walls I would use the osb and house wrap first regardless of the out side material i use.   The roof would either have heavy tar paper or Bitch-a-thane and since I won't always have helpers I thought 8" boards might be easier when working by myself.

I would assume I will need to plane the 2x to 1-1/2 just for insulation ease then rip to 3-1/2 & 5-1/2 along with facia material etc.   For the flooring I am thinking 8" wide boards over Osb subflooring, would love to go 10" but that might be harder to do with my trees.

[Magicman]

My principal market is sawing framing lumber, but there are catches.  In my area some municipalities simply allow nothing but graded lumber for framing.  Others allow whatever the architectural drawings specify.  If it says #2 and/or rough sawn lumber then it is OK.  Care must always be taken with insurance companies and lending institutions.  They should periodically check the building progress and insure that whatever is specified on the architectural drawings is actually used.

Depending upon the dryness of the logs, but I generally oversize 1/8".  As long as it is all sawed to the same dimension, you should be OK.

A problem that may arise with full dimensioned framing lumber is the fasteners.  A 16d nail is bit over 3" long which will take it completely through two factory sized 2X4's for example.  This same nail will only go half way through the second full sized 2X4.  Not a strong nail joint at all.  That plus if you run out of 2X4's, you can not go to the lumber yard and buy more.

For subflooring and sheathing, I prefer to use T&G 1X6 or 1X8.

[drobertson]

Kingcha, sounds like you have a plan, and you can do it. What has been mentioned above could not be more correct on all accounts,  out here we don't have building codes as allot of areas do, at least for now. I have cut a fare share of barns and houses/add-ons.  I do as MM, 1/8" of dimension lumber , there have been times where full cut 2X's were wanted, and well this is what the got.  And from my experience with most of the ole timers out here they build green and fast.   Good luck with your adventure,  david

[Kingcha]

Thank you Magicman for the info.   I will check the local code on using my own wood.   Good to hear about the 1/8" though I might go the 1/4 just to be safe.

David I will be letting it dry first before building.

[Magicman]

With beetle killed Pine, I only oversize 1/16".  Now to get really technical, oversize 1/16" on the thin (1½") side and 1/8" on the thick (3½") side.  I reality, a 1/16" either way is not a killer.

[Solomon]

Thank you Magicman for the info.   I will check the local code on using my own wood.   Good to hear about the 1/8" though I might go the 1/4 just to be safe.

David I will be letting it dry first before building.

If you local codes allow you to use your own lumber go for it.  I do recomend  "White Pine"  and spruce for framing.   Yellow pine has a tendency to get moldy very quickly if you dont sticker it up right off the mill.  Preferably in a warm dry place where the air flow is good.   Lynn can tell you more about that as he has been doing it much longer than I.   I am speaking from the expierence I have had with yellow pine here in my area.
  Pete,  Chesapeake ,Virginia

[Red Clay Hound]

The yellow pine may get some blue stain, but it shouldn't cause any problems for framing lumber.  I seem to get more staining when I try to dry it in hot/humid conditions.  I have had less problems when I saw in cooler weather.  Definitely will have fewer problems if you make sure you have plenty of air flow around the lumber stacks.

[Magicman]

SYP is all that we have.  In my particular area, we have very little Longleaf and no Slash.  Shortleaf and Loblolly comprises the majority of what I saw.  All meet the structural requirements established by the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau.  (SPIB)

[Jemclimber]

Having full width studs won't bother insulation. The guys putting up  insulation liked it better because of the nice snug fit (it was cheaper to have the insulation bought and installed from the specialty company than to buy it from a box store and install it myself). I cut studs full width and top and bottom plates 1 1/2 for the same reason Magicman states about nails.  I noticed a big difference in stiffness in full width material and the extra width is nice when attaching the interior wall, drywall or panel.   

[thecfarm]

Magicman,I just buy longer spikes,which cost more.  :(  As I say,I'm saving money now.  ;D

[Magicman]

I use a nailgun, so the size of the nails is limited by it's capacity.

[black spruce]

Hi regarding the size of the lumber if you sure to use only your material it is simpler when sawing on. Manual mill with to do the full size 2x6..... Regarding the nailing We find that a 4" nail is required if you do it with. Pneumatic framing nailer there is brand like senco and other tht offer tool tht will do this we have SN70 that drive 4 clipped paper strip nail model kc31 the nail cost about 30% more than regular 3.25" nail but globally the saving on lumber offset this a lot

Good luck with your project

[Kingcha]

Thanks for all the added info as it is much easier to learn as much as I can now, instead of the hard way.

I have not called my local inspection department yet, I just got done writing my list of things to ask....sort of scribt.   I want to make sure I ask the right things without saying too much.

The trees I am cutting are Red Pines  I do have a few White Pines mixed in
Sounds  like if I make the 2x6's 1-5/8 x 5-3/4 I will be safe.   Insulation should not be a problem if it within 1/4.

I hope to start cutting my trees earlier to mid April as I do not keep the drive to the property plowed.

Drying should work out good.  My all wooded property has a power line cut thru the middle nearly 100' wide I will stack on the Northern Side so it gets good sun.  When the wind blown we get one heck of a breeze thru the power line cut.   I am also considering building an inexpensive wood kiln just to speed up dry some.   If the wood looks good I plan to saw some 8"-10" boards for pine flooring which I would think that I would need to dry them more thoroughly so the kiln would be real handy.

Thanks again for all your help--hopefully I can use my own lumber for the walls.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

We usually like smooth walls as and floors, so final size must be uniform.  This means drying first, and then planing to size.  Green lumber will shrink different amounts as it dries in place, so we need to dry it.

Having a uniform size is also important when you put on an addition, remodel, etc.  it was about 50 years ago that the size was standardized.

Although you may be able to build without graded lumber, there may be an issue when you try to sell the place.  Ask a lawyer about your liability, especially if the roof fails after a snow, etc. if you do not use graded lumber.

Grade is related to strength, so learn what slope of grain does to strength, knot size and location, compression wood, wane (we need a nailing surface), etc.  and of course, warp.

Many times you can sell your ungraded lumber and then buy commercial graded lumber and still have money left over.

[Kingcha]

Thank you Gene and yes I do plan on planning my floor lumber to the same size.

As for as the roof goes I would be using rated trusses and and 1" thick boards.......and after reading your post....inspecting them well.   This will be a house that we will live in for the next 20+ years so I would think if there is an issue it would while we owned it.   After checking with my local code office I will then have to think more about everything.

I will have to see about selling lumber once I get started.

[Kingcha]

I reread my one post about drying my wood.   The area in the sun will be warm but the wood will be covered and out of the direct sun.