Using our own trees to build?

[Ping]

DH and I are starting construction on our home. We had to clear several acres of timber. There are probably 100 trees or so. Most of them are fence post width, but there are quite a few that are 12+ inches across. They haven't been cut in lengths so are 100+ feet long. We don't want the trees to go to waste but we don't really know how to take care of them so they don't rot before we can use them. I'd love to incorporate them in the house design--maybe some exposed beams or columns.

So here are my questions:
What do we need to do to care for them until we can use them? Right now they're in a pile. Should we cover them with tarps?

What do we need to do to them so we can use them inside the house for possible beams and columns?

Do we need to dry them? How?

I've heard of people using green wood. What are the pros/cons of doing this?

Do they need to be rated? How is that done?

Any and all suggestions are welcome. We really have no idea where to start, but don't want to waste all that wood.

TIA

[haypoint]

Your building inspector can tell you if they need to be rated. I doubt you'd be able to get your logs rated.
What species are these trees? Conifer or deciduous?
Green wood will shrink, crack and twist.
You'll need a house design that uses posts and beams.
You'll want to get the bark off of them if you intend to use them as beams or posts.
You may want to have some logs cut into lumber.
Posts and beams are not big expences in the total cost of building a house. Windows, plumbing and fixtures, furnace and ductwork, roofing and electrical are a few of the larger ticket items.

[MushCreek]

The logs need to be cut into manageable lengths, and the ends need to be sealed. They will saw better green, so you need to get going on that. Green lumber is not good to build with- you need to get it sawed, then piled neatly with 'stickers' to let the air get at it, and keep the elements off of it. Many areas require grade-stamped lumber, which seems to be hard to get done on a small scale. I looked into using the timber on our SC property, and the cost of having a grader come in and stamp it wasn't worth it. Ours is hardwood, so I will use it for flooring and other non-structural applications. Depending on your local codes, you may be able to use it for flooring and paneling without being graded. You can get a lot more detailed answers on the Forestry Forum- a great website.

[goatsareus]

Originally Posted by MushCreek

The logs need to be cut into manageable lengths, and the ends need to be sealed. They will saw better green, so you need to get going on that. Green lumber is not good to build with- you need to get it sawed, then piled neatly with 'stickers' to let the air get at it, and keep the elements off of it. Many areas require grade-stamped lumber, which seems to be hard to get done on a small scale. I looked into using the timber on our SC property, and the cost of having a grader come in and stamp it wasn't worth it. Ours is hardwood, so I will use it for flooring and other non-structural applications. Depending on your local codes, you may be able to use it for flooring and paneling without being graded. You can get a lot more detailed answers on the Forestry Forum- a great website.

what Mush Creek said

You need to get the wood up off the ground, this year. Cut it to length, and get it to a sawmill, this year. Do not cover with a tarp!

Saw it green, now. Sticker it to dry.

Best of luck, this is a very satisfying project, using your own trees. We did that 30+ years ago.

[barn-apart]

One way to driy them standing is to cut 2 rings around the bases of the trees you want to use in log form, This is best done in the fall after frost so the sap has retreated to the roots. The trees will die and bark will loosen after about a year, as well as a major percentage of the shrinkage will occur over this time. Then cut them down for use.

If they must be removed prior to use cut them to the rough lengths you desire and stack them in rows on top one another in opposite directions for each layer of logs , do not cover them with tarps as it will trap moisture and the will grow algea and mold, they need the air to circulate around them. Again the bark will loosen over a year or so.

If you are in a beattle area they may invade either if these methods so if that is a problem peal them before you stack them.

Painting the ends is a good idea to help even out the dring process.

This treatment is for timber to be used in log form , if you are to saw them ,do that while they are fresh and air stack the lumber out of the sun and rain ,but do not cover tightly with tarp ect.needs air circulation.

Just something about using your own logs from the stump to the roof that that is very satisfing in a home.

Good luck

[ET1 SS]

Having cut down a lot of trees on my land, I have found that in one year many of them are rotted, brittle and shatter easily.

In this area, we can not trust the trees we cut down for structural use.

[hotzcatz]

We have folks here who will come cut trees into boards in exchange for a percentage of the boards. Then the boards are stickered and let to air dry for a long time or they are trucked to a wood drying kiln in town. If you build with green wood, the boards will shrink a lot. Our friends built a goat shelter with green boards about one foot across and they put them tight up against each other to start. There are now gaps of at least one inch between the boards. I think they were using eucalyptus robusta if the tree species matters.

[barn-apart]

Originally Posted by ET1 SS

Having cut down a lot of trees on my land, I have found that in one year many of them are rotted, brittle and shatter easily.

In this area, we can not trust the trees we cut down for structural use.

There are a few log home builders in Maine that that may have a different opinion about Maine's forest.
Any timber not properly cared for will rot if left in contact with the ground, especially in a high moisture area.
The slower the drying process the less radical checking will occur, get them up off the ground after felling and cross stack them so the fewest points of contact with each other occur.
The slower a tree grows the denser the growth rings the more desierable it is. Northern climate and trees that grow on north facing slopes with less direct sun are like that, they grow slower and produce a better grade of wood ( more rings per inch).
There a poor trees in any stand and care should be taken when harvesting for building purposes, avoid any trees with more that 1/4 twist in 10' of stem,left hand twist is bad, if you place your right hand against the tree and the spiral is in the direction of your thumb, do not use it, as it drys it will split, don't know why but they do.
Log home builders use timber from their local forest thruoghuot the World . It is mostly in the care taken with the product that that produces the best results.
Pines , spuces,firs ect. are the easiest to work and shrink the least. Leaf trees work but have a tendency to check deeply and in a spiral. The hardwoods are best if sawn flat on 2 sides to help control the checking.
Enough babbling on . Good Luck with your efforts.

[Scrounger]

My neighbor built a 50'x120' Quonset (25' tall) out of Cottonwood he cut down off his farm. He cut it, sawed it into rough boards, and stacked/dried it for one year. He covered the outside with tin. It's been going strong since 1974......

[foxfiredidit]

I have been asked to build several log structures for folks who want a hunting cabin, barn or just a shed. All the advice above is on point and sound. What I do in preparation for building a cabin with the logs cut on site is to prepare a place for them to sit out at least a year. I won't build with logs with less drying time than that. When you cut them, cover the ends with a good thick layer of tar. That will keep the ends from checking (cracking). Get the bark off them a.s.a.p. You'll notice when you de-bark them that some areas will remain that has that thin cadmium layer of live material that lies between the bark and the wood. What I do if there is a good area around there is just hook the log up to my tractor and drag it around over the ground and that really cleans up the log. Be careful though, pulling a log in a dead drag can be dangerous if you hit a stump or a big rock with it.....yikes!!! Anyway, stack them in layers with some good 6" diameter sticks between the layers. Leave a space in the middle of the stack for air to rise or circulate up as they dry. When your stack looks high enough to be kinda dangerous to be around, secure it with rope or chains and build a rude frame around it with old lumber, or cut some small timber for this frame. Get some good quality clear plastic tarp or bisqueen and staple it securely all around and over the top. Leave a small gap around the bottom for air to enter. At the very top of the log pile, take some old portions of aluminum siding and build a hood. Cut away your tarp directly over the center portion of of your log pile about 2 ft. wide. and the length of the pile where you left a space in the middle of the stack. Attach the hood you built over this hole. The air will circulate in from the gap around the log pile at the bottom, up and out from under the hood. The hood will keep rainwater out, and if you used clear plastic, you can see in to check on the logs. This is necessary in case you start getting condesation dripping in on the logs. A little won't hurt and most will run down the sides of this "solar Kiln" you have built. You may have to patch it up a few times over the course of a year, but it works well and after that, your logs will have shrunk in diameter a bit. In log buildings, I use a mixture of 60% turpentine and 40% linseed oil on them as soon as I take them out. The turpentine replaces the natural turpentine present in pine trees as well as keeps the bugs out. Powder post beetles will ruin a dry log in a year or two if you don't. The linseed oil will allow them to shed the rainwater they get until you can get them up and under a good overhanging eave. Gives them a nice walnut like color as well. Re-treat the logs about every 5 years.

[Wildcrofthollow]

Hmm, not a lot to add, you have already gotten some very sound advice. Almost all of the work that I have done in this arena has been with green wood, but I am using very old technologies as well. There are ways that you can use wood green.

Call around, you can undoubtedly find someone with a bandsaw mill in your area who will come and cut up your wood for you.

When stacking wood up on skids, the wood should be high enough that a dog can get under them. (condensed old saying)

I use a chainsaw mill a lot. They are slow and a lot of work. But. the embodied energy is very low, and you can cut exactly what you want, and I think it is a lot of fun.

[fantasymaker]

GET THEM OFF THE GROUND NOW!
If your thinking of log structures you can let them dry two or three feet off the ground as long as you want. the longer the better . The longer they dry the less they will twist when used in a building.
The time to peel them is when they are green and the springsap is coming up ,but assuming you have lost that opertunity the bark will sometimes get loose after a year or so of drying. But I think the extra work to peel them Now would help insure against rot and mold geting a foot hold.

[Ramblin Wreck]

What MushCreek said. I did cut my own 2x10 floor joist from pine (with a band saw on site), dried them for six months, and then had them planed. Since they looked like a factory product (because of the planing) the inspector never asked any quesitons about them. I also cut my own siding from Tulip Poplar and let it dry for several months. It was then planed. Because it had hardened during the drying period, I had to pre-drill every nail hole, but it looked good once it was installed and has held up well for eight years or so.

Another factor to consider in the South, but maybe not so much in your area, is the presence of wood eating "bugs". If you let it sit too long in a stack here, even if protected from the elements, it tends to get infested with wood eating "varmints". Earlier this year I had to discard several stacks of lumber that was intended for use on a barn construction project. Although not rotten, it just had too many bug holes for me to feel good about nailing it up.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

[Ping]

Wow, thank you all.

Haypoint, the trees are doug fir.

I don't know if that makes a difference. It sounds like the procedure is pretty much the same for all types of wood. Thanks again, everyone.