Re: seasoning milled lumber

["ROBERT OLIN" <jolin@whidbey.net>]

----- Original Message -----
From: Littlejohn, Rich <Rich_Littlejohn@heald.edu>
To: <strawbale@crest.org>
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2000 1:44 PM
Subject: seasoning milled lumber


> The recent discussion about small mills has me thinking that I'd like to
> mill as much of the lumber as possible, myself, when it comes time to
build.
> However, I really have no experience in either milling or
storing/seasoning
> wood.  I imagine that you can't just throw the green wood directly into
the
> frame of the house.
>
> Can anybody recommend a good website/book about how to properly
season/store
> the beams or logs pre-construction (or any of the other issues involved in
> milling your own that I'm not aware of)?
>
> Thanks,
> Rich Littlejohn

I've done lots of framing with green lumber that I milled from my woodmizer.
Came in 2nd place in a National Woodmizer competition with one of them - a
two story carraige house (garage).  As an owner builder, a green piece of
lumber, held tightly by plywood nailed and glued on to it and exposed to air
on three sides will do most of its curing before you sheetrock or plaster
it.  And, I live in Washington State, where we learn to live with water.  On
the garage I mentioned, I'd no sooner pull a piece off the mill and my crew
would nail it into the building.  Studs, joists, posts, beams, and rafters.
The house, a Queen Anne Victorian, was built the same way although we had a
little time to stack and stack the lumber while waiting on building permits.
No plaster cracks beyond what you may get with kiln dryed lumber.  Gives you
a good feeling to take the trees in the building site and turn them into the
building.  Like your not causing the earth quite as much grief.

RO