building with tulip poplar

[Jmiller160]

Im getting ready to build a log home , im using tulip poplars as they are abundant on my mountain. as soon as I decide on a mill(ive got another thread going on that).  I was wondering how long to let the wood dry after milling, I plan on 6x8 logs maybe 6x10 if I can get it..Ive read some people start building right away after milling and some say dry it...Need some good advise.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Sounds like you are making a post and beam using the poplar.
you can use them right away.

Tell us more about your building.

Jon

[Jmiller160]

actually it'll be an Appalachian style cabin sitting on a block foundation, dovetail corners, board and batton gabled ends, chinking etc...

[carykong]

The old pioneer cabins were made with poplar,oak,and chestnut logs. The logs will settle and shrink.
Build immediately. No rush on chinking. They have modern chinking products that can expand and contract.  Allow for settling in door and window openings.

[Jmiller160]

Yea I was looking at the permachink it seems expensive but probably well worth it.. 

Should I over cut my boards to compensate for the shrinkage?  It'd be nice to know how much it would actually shrink..

I figured I'd leave it chinkless for 6 to 8 months while we finish the inside..

[running elk]

I have always wanted to build a cabin with my mill. One day maybe I'll get the time to give it a try.

[Don P]

Yes they did use poplar in log cabins, we have about 80 of them in a field right now for use in a log barn restoration project... but I wouldn't recommend it for logs or timbers. This barn and most of the old log cabins I've worked on used poplar mainly for plate logs where there was a lot of notching and boring to be done and if at all possible they used chestnut or more often white oak for the majority of the logs. Most of the chestnut log cabins I've been asked to look at were white oak. There are all poplar cabins, there is one above me on the mountain. Visit some. You will notice that poplar tends to open up one mighty check to relieve the drying stress. I mean a slide your hand inside it sized check. There was a log home company I worked for that tried it for awhile, they abandoned that notion after nothing but complaints. It is a wood generally better suited to 1 and 2" thick dimensions. Poplar is one I have to borate if I want to keep the powderpost beetles out of it.

[Jmiller160]

Thanks for the advise..

I'm pretty much committed to the tulip poplar Now, I've got over 40 trees down now...I've also heard many people say to keep it high and dry that it'd be ok...I get alot of different points of view..lol

[carykong]

Agree! Poplar cants/timbers will check
Slow the dry process as much as possible

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

I used poplar for siding on my barn. I have been slowly working on this project for about 5 years. I nail it up green and let it dry and then add the battens. So far no problems at all. I am a big fan of poplar. Readily available in my area and easy to saw! Good luck with your project, Brian

[Joe Hillmann]

. You will notice that poplar tends to open up one mighty check to relieve the drying stress. I mean a slide your hand inside it sized check.

Would it be possible to control the checking by cutting a saw kerf from the outside of the log down to the heart along the length of the log?  That way when it checks it will just open up that cut rather than checking somewhere else?  If so you could then put the cut down so water cant get in it or if the inside is going to be paneled you could put the cut to the inside. 

I don't know if this idea would work but it wouldn't be that hard to do a couple short sections of logs with saw kerfs and a couple without then put them in a kiln or a vehicle parked in the sun for a few weeks/months and see if the kerf is where it opens up rather than new checks.

[Don P]

That is a time honored technique.
From the code referenced log home standard;
302.2.4.3 Kerfing. Where kerfing is provided in logs used in walls the depth of the kerf shall be no deeper than H₁/2. The sum of the depths of the kerf and the cope shall not exceed H₁/2. Where beams are kerfed, the net section shall be used to determine the section capacity.

There's the legalese. In practice that means you can kerf up to 1/2 the height of the log. A check generally chooses the shortest path from heart to bark but the drying face is also a big factor, if the sun is beating on one face and the other is in the shade the hot/dry face is set up to check first. One way to think about that is if you do kerf a 6x12 it is still more likely to check on the 12" face.

[Jmiller160]

Thanks guys you've given lots to think about..

Could you stain it before it completely dries and may slow down the drying process?

[Don P]

That has seemed to help when I've done that with pine. My feeling is just about anything you can do to keep checks from starting on the surface is bound to help with the final overall checking.* But not a film you don't want to trap the moisture behind a self basting sheet of plastic, moderation. Slowing the drying and shrinkage down on the surface and letting the core moisture and shrinkage catch up.


This is a poplar 7x10 step lapped rafter plate from today. Except for the rot it is a really nice one. The checking is pretty minor for poplar, this is wood that was harvested sometime around 1820-40, it is lower density than modern poplar. Anyway they all have opinions too, this was a very nice one  :D. Notice the bird nest in the rafter seat. The current rafters were sitting beside those seats. The first set must have rotted out a long time ago. The rot in the plate happened back in that first roof leak I suspect.

[Jmiller160]

That's a nice log, it amazes me how the old timers made their logs by hand..

[red]

They also had a much better selection of trees to choose from.

[Jmiller160]

True

[plantman]

The Boracare product might be helpful to achieve a slow even dry.

[Jmiller160]

Thanks I'll do some research on that