My wife and I are thinking of buying a load of logs to build a home with. As we're thinking about this, I ran across a guy selling a sawmill pretty cheap. I was thinking of using the mill to square the logs, then cut our own rough-cut flooring and lumber; anyone have ideas/suggestions? Has anyone tried this? We could keep the mill afterwards, and I might do a little custom work if it's worth it, all our local mills are closed but there's a lot of standing dead lodgepole and ponderosa pine in the mountains nearby and I have a source to get logs delivered pretty cheaply. The mill is about 30-40', and sits on a concrete base; runs off a PTO from our tractor. Its price is less than our time would be for the labor of debarking the logs which a big point to us. Is this faster? Is it going to make the house easier/faster/more stable? Any help or ideas welcome! Thanks-
Log home idea - sawmill for sale?
- Thread starter moosetrek
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
Square logs would almost certainly make it easier to chink. I imagine it could make it more stable since you are essentially stacking dimentioned lumber. It could be faster since you could make all the notches uniform and work off templates.
But I have no experience with log homes so take the value of my advice for what you paid for it.
I just re-read your post and you are not building a log cabin. I don't think I'd use green wood for regular building, so if you can wait for it to dry it should be ok. I think I like the log home idea better.
Matt
But I have no experience with log homes so take the value of my advice for what you paid for it.
I just re-read your post and you are not building a log cabin. I don't think I'd use green wood for regular building, so if you can wait for it to dry it should be ok. I think I like the log home idea better.
Matt
Would take quite awhile to dry green logs, squared or round. Log building involves leaving lots of settling room around windows, doors, other openings. Logs/lumber do not shrink much in length but do shrink a lot in width, maybe 4-8" in an 8 foot wall depending on the kind of wood.
Other than that, many people have bought a sawmill to build their homes, either with logs squared or with lumber. I bought my Woodmizer from a fellow who bought the mill new, built his home, did custom sawing for others while building, and then sold the mill. Be wary of a "cheap" mill, especially a cheap circular blade bill. These things are dangerous. Mine is a bandsaw mill and much safer. There are good forums on the web relating to sawmills, good discussions on the pros and cons of various mills, mill operation, sawing and drying lumber, etc. Also, a good bandsaw mill can do many things.
With my mill, among other things, I have produced framing lumber for an addition to our house; made trim lumber and then moldings for doors, windows, etc.; made solid wood plank flooring from 12"-18" wide; made lots of 1" paneling lumber; sold lumber to local carpenters for trim/finish work (they won't buy framing lumber because needs to be graded to meet code/mortgage requirements); made quite a bit of custom furniture and cabinets from cherry, oak, pine, birch and butternut with lumber from logs; resawed salvaged lumber; and did custom log sawing for others. Plus, the slab wood from the logs feeds my Tarm boiler.
Do your homework -- don't make a snap decision. I researched mills over about a 6 month period once I had decided to buy one. Never regretted the purchase of the used Woodmizer.
Other than that, many people have bought a sawmill to build their homes, either with logs squared or with lumber. I bought my Woodmizer from a fellow who bought the mill new, built his home, did custom sawing for others while building, and then sold the mill. Be wary of a "cheap" mill, especially a cheap circular blade bill. These things are dangerous. Mine is a bandsaw mill and much safer. There are good forums on the web relating to sawmills, good discussions on the pros and cons of various mills, mill operation, sawing and drying lumber, etc. Also, a good bandsaw mill can do many things.
With my mill, among other things, I have produced framing lumber for an addition to our house; made trim lumber and then moldings for doors, windows, etc.; made solid wood plank flooring from 12"-18" wide; made lots of 1" paneling lumber; sold lumber to local carpenters for trim/finish work (they won't buy framing lumber because needs to be graded to meet code/mortgage requirements); made quite a bit of custom furniture and cabinets from cherry, oak, pine, birch and butternut with lumber from logs; resawed salvaged lumber; and did custom log sawing for others. Plus, the slab wood from the logs feeds my Tarm boiler.
Do your homework -- don't make a snap decision. I researched mills over about a 6 month period once I had decided to buy one. Never regretted the purchase of the used Woodmizer.
Time to air dry depends on temperature, humidity, wind conditions and type of wood. You also need to sticker it correctly and weight the top to minimize twisting/warping etc. That said, where I live, during summer it will take about 6-8 weeks to air dry pine cut to 4/4 or 1", longer for thicker stock. I will air dry oak or similar woods all summer, and then store inside over the winter, before using.
Air dried wood to be used for finish trim and finish floor, after planing and edging, needs to be brought inside to stabilize with the inside environment and bring moisture content (MC) down even lower. This means at least 2 weeks storage with air circulation in the building where it will be installed. In our local climate air dried wood will dry to about 10-11%. For inside work MC should be about 5-6% in our area. Most interior work I try to do over the winter when humidity is the lowest and the wood is the driest. Excess MC results in shrinkage in length and splitting/cracking. Even with my 18" wide finish pine floor boards, not a single one has split or cracked. Of course, assembly methods also greatly affect whether boards will split or crack.
Kiln dried wood is not necessarily better than air dried, as it too needs to be stored inside and acclimated to the building where it will be used. It takes on or loses moisture from the ambient surroundings. Kiln drying has an advantage for woods with sap that can run, as kiln drying normally raises the temperature sufficiently to set the sap. Air drying will not accomplish this.
For finish floor, furniture, etc., it also is impt to apply the varnish or finish coatings to both sides and the ends of the boards to insure equal absorption of moisture and equal expansion and contraction.
Air dried wood to be used for finish trim and finish floor, after planing and edging, needs to be brought inside to stabilize with the inside environment and bring moisture content (MC) down even lower. This means at least 2 weeks storage with air circulation in the building where it will be installed. In our local climate air dried wood will dry to about 10-11%. For inside work MC should be about 5-6% in our area. Most interior work I try to do over the winter when humidity is the lowest and the wood is the driest. Excess MC results in shrinkage in length and splitting/cracking. Even with my 18" wide finish pine floor boards, not a single one has split or cracked. Of course, assembly methods also greatly affect whether boards will split or crack.
Kiln dried wood is not necessarily better than air dried, as it too needs to be stored inside and acclimated to the building where it will be used. It takes on or loses moisture from the ambient surroundings. Kiln drying has an advantage for woods with sap that can run, as kiln drying normally raises the temperature sufficiently to set the sap. Air drying will not accomplish this.
For finish floor, furniture, etc., it also is impt to apply the varnish or finish coatings to both sides and the ends of the boards to insure equal absorption of moisture and equal expansion and contraction.
For the right guy, it's a fantastic idea.
I had a real small one, pulled logs out of the woods
and made a 10x20 chicken coop, 30x60 barn addition, 600
bushel corn crib, storm window frames, hired out to others,
built a screened summer home for a customer, sold it
for more than I paid, all in a three year time span.
If I had it to do over, I would but with a bigger saw.
Do your homework and have fun.
I had a real small one, pulled logs out of the woods
and made a 10x20 chicken coop, 30x60 barn addition, 600
bushel corn crib, storm window frames, hired out to others,
built a screened summer home for a customer, sold it
for more than I paid, all in a three year time span.
If I had it to do over, I would but with a bigger saw.
Do your homework and have fun.
Thanks for the replies. The wood should be fairly dry anyway, since it's mosty standing dead beetle kill pine out here. I appreciate the suggestions about reviewing mills, I'll check round for prices. If it's within budget I'd love to do it, my uncle had one (good-sized, off a cat diesel engine) in Maine growing up and I loved it. I can afford about $1500-$2K for a mill so maybe not too much available in that range? Much more and it becomes cheaper to have the house logs presquared and pay for flooring, etc. from the store. It'll be a good couple years, we can buy the logs and maybe the mill now but then need to save up for a fencing, a well, then a foundation, then maybe (finally) start building.
I paid $14,000 for my used Woodmizer. The first tree I felled and cut into lumber was a large white pine, damaged in a storm. I got more than 1000 bd ft of quality lumber out of that tree, including 18" wide flooring planks. Also sold a large quantity. All in all, estimate $1000 from that single tree. But be cautious, you need a market or a need; else all you have is firewood.
Thanks - that's WAY out of what we can do, I'm struggling over whether to buy this mill for $2K- if others are similar to yours maybe I'd better jump on it. This is a blade, not a bandsaw though. I think a 3' blade maybe? I really haven't checked it too seriously, it's only about 100 miles from me so maybe a quick run up would be worth it to see the brand, condition, etc. before I get too excited.
There's a way to build log homes without worrying about settling issues. It's called butt and pass, pin to center style. In fact, using this method, it's better to build with green logs. It's easier to pin and the way a log shrinks, it makes the log tight on the pin. Get on loghomebuilders.org and check it out. Look at some of the student houses that are on there.
But to give you a little better explanation: when a log dries out, it shrinks toward the center of itself. It doesn't shrink very much in length. Say for an example a log of 12" in diameter shrinks 1/2" in a few years (depends on species)If you have 10 logs stacked on top of each other to make a wall, there's a chance that wall will be 5" shorter in a few years if the logs weren't dried before building. That's why a lot of log home companies use a settling space built on top of windows and doors. When a log home is built using the pin to center method, the log is predrilled and a 1/2 rod or rebar is pounded through the predrilled log and down, only to the center of the log underneath it. The next log on top is done the same way and so on. Most people that use this method use 1/2" rebar and place them every 2-3' apart. It's a lot of rebar, but that's what gives the structure the support that it needs. I've been researching this method for a few years now and have found a lot of small websites that belong to individuals that have built this way. From what I've read, it seems that most walls built only shrink to whatever the very first log will shrink.
check out paulandellen.com click on the picture and then look at his photos starting from 1991.
But to give you a little better explanation: when a log dries out, it shrinks toward the center of itself. It doesn't shrink very much in length. Say for an example a log of 12" in diameter shrinks 1/2" in a few years (depends on species)If you have 10 logs stacked on top of each other to make a wall, there's a chance that wall will be 5" shorter in a few years if the logs weren't dried before building. That's why a lot of log home companies use a settling space built on top of windows and doors. When a log home is built using the pin to center method, the log is predrilled and a 1/2 rod or rebar is pounded through the predrilled log and down, only to the center of the log underneath it. The next log on top is done the same way and so on. Most people that use this method use 1/2" rebar and place them every 2-3' apart. It's a lot of rebar, but that's what gives the structure the support that it needs. I've been researching this method for a few years now and have found a lot of small websites that belong to individuals that have built this way. From what I've read, it seems that most walls built only shrink to whatever the very first log will shrink.
check out paulandellen.com click on the picture and then look at his photos starting from 1991.
- Status
Similar threads
