Hello, I got my house plans in the mail today and was wondering what lumber i should buy at the lumber yard and what lumber I can have milled off my place.
I planned to cut the flooring , sheathing, decking, ect from trees on my place but was wondering if I should cut my own framing like 2x6 studs, 2x8 rafts, 2x12 joists or just plan to buy this at the lumber yard.
I live in northeast Texas and have mostly tall straight white oak, red oak, post oaks. Can you make 2x framing from oak or will it twist and bow to much? How long would it have to air dry before i ould start framing?
Before you start planning to mill your own framing lumber, you need to check the building codes in your area to see if that is an issue. In my county, all framing lumber has to be grade stamped and be #2 or better grade. Here, if you saw it yourself, you have to arrange for a professional grader from the SPIB (for pine) to grade every piece or the Building Inspector will not pass your building and you cannot have the power turned on.
I would not advise using oak for framing lumber in Northeast Texas. Pine should be readily available and is much easier to nail and work with than oak. Unless you build it yourself, your building contractor may walk off the job if they have to nail into that oak :). The white oak and post are especially hard.
Yes you can make studs from Oak, but they are a whole lot more difficult to work with than pine. Whether you can use home sawn wood is up to your building and zoning department. It's definitely worth checking before you commit to a plan.
In most places where there are rigid Zoning and Building code authorities, Studs and "framework" stuff must be approved with a stamp of certification. In some areas, even sheeting is falling into that arena. Most home cut wood is used in Flooring, inside wall paneling, outbuildings, outside decks, ornamental work like awnings. Home cut wood is used for furniture and cabinetry without much of a problem.
Even though you think you have lumber that would do the job, its best to check with the authorities to see what is allowed.
If you have pine available, and if your building permit inspectors will allow "rough sawed" framing lumber, you still may have another issue. If you are using a lending institution and if your building/house plans call for #2 graded lumber and you don't use it, then they will dis-allow your loan, etc. I know I stuck a lot of "if's" in there, but you are dealing with a tricky subject that could possibly cause you grief.
I have sawed several "whole" houses, but each of those "if's" were fully resolved before we began.
Timber Frame it ;D. Oak would work great.
Tim
Shad,
Agree with the other posts, once the code issues are resolved.....
I built my house 5 years ago and had the same question when I started. For me it came down to $$ and cents. The oak on my property is more valuable sawed into 4/4 lumber, and for my geographic area is worth about 2-3 times compared to store-bought pine. I ended up buying the framing materials, and cut my own lumber for trim and cabinets.
...but sawing out a house is something common to this area as well, and it can be done. Good luck.
Joe
Most of the Country utilizes the International Building Codes. I Googled and found this website. Near the bottom it list areas within Texas. http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/building-codes/texas/ Copy and paste to your address line. Hope this helps
Thanks for all the info, that's why i love this site. Think i will buy the framing and cut the paneling, decking ect, from my place.
If i cut most of this 3/4" to 1" how long should I let it dry before using it? I'll be doing most all the construction myself so if I mill my wood first it may have close to a year to dry before i use it, especially the flooring.
Shad,
For the applications you are considering (esp. flooring), I would strongly encourage you to have the lumber kiln dried. You may be OK to air dry and then move into a controlled invironment for a month or so before installing.
In my county, you can use rough sawn framing lumber IF you pull your own permits. Otherwise, it has to be stamped.