The Forestry Forum

Walking a site that I plan to start cutting this summer.   Mostly junk/firewood and fence posts, plus a little storm damaged pine.   There is some white birch up to about 12 inches diameter maybe 30 feet tall and straight as you could ask for.  Would it work to say 4 by 6 posts for a shop?  It would rest on a  stem wall and be completely closed in, so no ground contact or weather exposure.  Strength ratings are about 90 percent of Douglas fir.  Will it hold fasteners?  Stay straight?  I  don't mind sawing small stuff,  and firewood is really the only other option for it.

  Properly stacked and stickered  it will stay straight. You may have to predrill holes for fasteners. The sap wood is less dense and won't require predrilling. It holds fasteners well. I like working with birch and it has many positive qualities. In the hand weaving world, it is a favorite for building looms.

35 years ago I would frame shops and sheds with any wood I could dog on the carriage. Back then we had dry summers most years. I think it's been 23 years since a real dry summer and any thing I built with white hardwoods is full of powder post beetles now.

You may want to see if your trees are good enough to cut logs to sell for veneer grade. White Birch is used a lot for making plywood, and may be worth more than cutting framing lumber from it. Also there is a market for small sticks to sell for home decor. If you do cut it for firewood, be sure to split it. The bark is water tight, (why they made canoes from the bark), and will otherwise rot from the inside out.