I hate to do it when I know the weather is about to open up, but I can't wait any longer to get some consistent money rolling in. Katerra started recruiting me right after we moved to Idaho and I put them off the first time they called. They called again a few weeks ago, so I decided to see what they're about and go for the tour and interview. They ended up making me an offer that I couldn't past up in good conscience, so I'm back to punching a clock again starting tomorrow. I'll be a millwright in a new facility that will manufacture cross laminated panels. The process caught my interest, but the atmosphere and attitude of the current employees kinda got me excited about being a part of the team.
Congratulations and good luck. Sounds real promising.
Sometimes situations dictate our actions and yours seem to be well thought out. Since you are obligated to provide necessary/required income for your family needs I see this opportunity as very timely. Your part time sawing business will provide a bonus as time permits. I say Congratulations!
Best wishes with your new job.
Now when you make a HUGE nest egg you can go back and saw full time till the money is gone.
:D :laugh: :D (I heard that joke as what a truck driver does after winning the lottery, buy a truck and drive till the money's all gone!) Good luck on the new job!
Thank you, I appreciate the encouragement. Have a great day
Happy for you, congratulations.
As long as you do not sell the mill you are still in the hunt!
Quote from: Woodpecker52 on March 04, 2019, 09:45:48 AM
As long as you do not sell the mill you are still in the hunt!
That's the way I look at it, this will give me time/$ to get some work done on the homestead while I get my name out there and figure out where I fit into the local market.
The sawing will always be more enjoyable when you don't HAVE to make a living from it. Sounds like you found a good gig. If it's not, you have a mill👍
I'm happy for you Sir🖒
Build your business on the side and stash some loot to work on your home.
It takes a good job to support a sawmill. Frank C.
Quote from: bandmiller2 on March 04, 2019, 06:19:32 PM
It takes a good job to support a sawmill. Frank C.
Or the right wife.
CLT is probably going to be the next big thing in commercial construction, you're stepping in at the right time. I've been watching it make its way through development here in the states. It is in the new codes now and is set to take off. Congrats!
Well the first day was pretty uneventful, just did HR stuff in the office. I met quite a few people and they were all excited about where this is going.
Don, apparently they've been using this technology in Austria for about 25 years, but I think your right, there's a lot of up side to the process and it should take off in the US.
It sounds like the rest of the week will be a lot more computer work mixed with wandering around the facility getting to know the team.
The tech is coming out of Europe, they have been doing it for quite some time, it has been making its way here over the last decade or so but is just now starting to happen. I went to a presentation last year by APA/Woodworks where they were introducing it to architects and engineers and bringing them up to speed. I met with Harry Watt, you might know him from his articles in Sawmill and Woodlot, and his project team there. They have a grant and are trying to develop the tech for smaller residential panels using existing equipment from furniture production. Their first panels should be happening about now. Pretty exciting stuff is going on with this. Its a good way to get into adding value to underutilized material.
There are a bunch of links here on development and what's been going on.
https://awc.org/tallmasstimber (https://awc.org/tallmasstimber)
APA is where the spec writing is coming from, there are links to a lot of that stuff on their site;
https://www.apawood.org/SearchResults.aspx?q=mass+timber (https://www.apawood.org/SearchResults.aspx?q=mass+timber)
Last year DoD did some impressive blast testing on small structures, those videos are out there somewhere, I think I put a link up on the forum when it happened.
Crossroads,
Glad things are looking good for you. Keep us updated on your progress.
Don P,
Harry Watt also heads up Small Sawmill Workshops at the Wood resource center at Athens WV in conjunction with UNC, USDA and WVU. They are usually in June and I hope they have another one this year. Marty Parsons brings a mill or two down and does a demo. It is very interesting and educational and it is a great day of it. If they have one this year be sure to come join us.
It sounds like we're not going to start production until June or July. At this point katerra isn't doing single family dwellings, but plan to at some point. There is talk of what's going to happen to the reject panels during start up, so maybe there will be a few integrated into single family dwellings locally 😉 I can think of one in particular if I can figure out how to transport them
There is a big mass timber conference in Portland the end of this month that might be worth going to, the email came from WoodWorks. They also have a bunch of webinars archived on it.
Residential, I'm a bit more skeptical but hopeful, the dollars/sq ft are going to be mighty tight. It does make for very fast construction though. I think FEMA and post disaster in high wind or fire regions would be a good use rather than the disposable trailers.