Log Species for Humid Central Georgia?

[slasher]

I am scraping up some cash, looking at some land, and hope to be ready to build in two years... found this site about 6 months ago, but my biggest question is how would it work here? Central Georgia has plenty of humidity, plenty of termites, lots of sun... none of which are good for log homes... I see log homes all the time (kit homes) and see many of the problems of the southern pine and the climate. The ones that show less problems, seem to be painted heavy(could be 25 coats of stain though...)

I just don't know how it would work here in my neck of the woods... Decent sized harwoods are few and far between. Pine is plentiful and could probably be had for a song... Cypress could be trucked from FLA reasonably, but dont know much about it... white pine or douglas fir would get expensive pretty quickly.... Or just do pine and a wrap around porch... I wonder what would work down this way... up in the N GA mountains its different...

The traditional cabins in these parts were hewn square hemlock, but try and find a decent source for that...

I am so confused.... :roll:

[rreidnauer]

Take a deep breath. We'll try to de-con-fuse the situation for ya! First, we got a few members building down South, using locally available timber.

As for water, termites, and sun, all these things are delt with using Skip's building methods, and are quite easy to overcome. The problems you've been seeing on kithomes, and the ones being painted/stained, are indicitive to poor design, and feeble attempts to solve their shortcomings, mainly, improper weather protection.

Skip's 7000 s.f. house is built in an area probably considered one of the wettest areas in the continental US, and despite having no paints, stains, or sealers, the logs still look great and show no sign of problems. How? Well, that's a method taught in the class.

If I was building where you are building, I'd not be worrying about hardwoods, I'd be (happily) using the southern pine "weeds" you mention. If I came across a heck of a deal on Cypress, I'd probably go with it, but it would have to be one heck of a deal. A wrap around porch you mention is a really good idea, but a properly built "Skip" house doesn't require it.

The cost of the class would easily pay for itself in what one would probably use in sealers and commercial chinking products, building in kithome styles. I strongly recommend it, if you are really considering building your own.

[slasher]

It was a general observation....

Thanks... I know that the only rainforest in the lower 48 is up that way in washington state... But I also know that they have some real good wood up there... Just after planning on all this, I began to wonder as the stump from a 10 inch pine I cut down in 2002, is basically rotten all the way through 4 years later...

I was just wondering since of all the pictures I see on the site, are everywhere, but the southeast until you get to appalachia, and then you get some elevation... I just was wondering how people down this way did it... I mean Pine is King here in the south: "trees Grow Jobs" and all.. But Those loblollys are mostly gone and the yellow/slash varieties are less dense, softer, and more prone to all sorts of problems...

[dbtoo]

... as a 10 inch pine I cut down in 2002, is basically rotten all the way through 4 years later...

Was it laying on the ground for 4 years?

[slasher]

Whoops... sorry, my wife usually knows to listen to what I mean; as it may be different from what I say.... so



... as a 10 inch pine I cut down in 2002, is basically rotten all the way through 4 years later...

Was it laying on the ground for 4 years?

Nope...

It should said...
the stump from a 10 inch pine i cut down in 2002 is already almost
rotten through...

Means something totally different... What amazes me is, that I cut it down in the late fall, when more of the sap should've been in the stump, thus making it less prone to rot....

I am thinking there was another reason for those walk around porches; and thats not just to reduce solar gain....

[rreidnauer]

dbtoo makes a point in his question. Ground contact is a death sentance for wood, (short of the using really nasty chemicals to prevent it) for several reasons.

I wish flcowgirl down in Florida would chime in about her construction.

[grateful2b]

I am in Central AR, but have not built yet. I am not concerned about the wood though, as Skip's method covers the problem sufficiently. Trust me, when you see his home, you'll know what we're talking about.

A man I met here in Central AR is building with pine and is dried in.
There are also a few members in Huntsville, Alabama. as well as Tennessee, and Florida as previously mentioned. I'd be suprised if there are not a few from GA. If I run across any I'll send them to this post.

In my humble opinion, the class is well worth it to anyone who is considering a log home, even if they never build. I will build, and plan to stick as close to to Skip's method as possible.

.

[AdamSC]

The same questions and concerns plagued my decision making here in South Carolina untill I did a little research. Did you know that the Southern Pine is the primary source for lumber that is bought and used for building across the country? Logic tells me that if it's good enough to be used after being cut up into pieces it out to be just fine as a whole log when used to build. Most of the kits here are built with Southern pine "logs". After investigating a few kit homes I found that the "logs" are actually pieces of logs, and mostly Loblolly which grows faster and has fewer growth rings. The Southern pine is actually a broad term that doesn't really tell you what species of pine you are getting. Loblolly, Shortleaf, and Longleaf are the three that we are using to build with. Most of the loblolly you will find in mass amounts is genetically engineered to grow really fast, thus can be cut for profit sooner than the others. The shortleaf pine doesn't grow as quick and has many more rings, a lot closer to the ten per inch goal. The longleaf is similar to the shortleaf in rings but usually has a big heart in the center of the log. We are using a mixture of all three. If you can specify the species to your possible sources when asking this will help you get better quality. As far as rotting etc. I cut down a 10 inch Loblolly on my land, took a six foot section of it and peeled it. Then I put it under a lean to up on a couple of bricks. That was almost two years ago and it hasn't changed a bit, just a little lighter and grayed out. We are definitely going to treat or logs for insects, and will have termite protection as well. We also will apply a finish. But In this environment I would be doing this reguardless of species. I hope this helps.

[slasher]

In my humble opinion, the class is well worth it to anyone who is considering a log home, even if they never build. I will build, and plan to stick as close to to Skip's method as possible.

.

I am sure it is!!! When soneone is sharing knowledge based on real world practical experience, I tend to believe it is a million times more valuable than the quasi technical sytem that a sales representative is trying to sell me!!!

I have seen enough homes to know that there are potential problems inherent to logs... How you deal with them and prevent them is deal with them in the planning stages first and then in maintenance later...

I look forward to going to the class next year after the new addition to our family comes...

[greenthumb]

Hey Slasher, I also live in hot humid middle Georgia. I plan to build near Thomaston, currently live in Senoia, and have been in this area for my entire life. I do have sort of a background in trees and cabins... as I've been doing brush cleanup and landscaping for 10 years, so my job requires that I'm familiar with trees and their characteristics. I have had a lifelong interest in log homes, having grown up in one...

My dad built a saddle notch log home when he and my mom first got married. He made a lot of mistakes in the building process(and with respect to my dad :) - saddle notched, green logs, cut the bottom log flat, cinder block foundation, less than 18" from ground, not enough overhang, etc.) but the house has held up well with very little maintenance for 30+ years. There have never been problems with bugs or rot other than powder post beetles. When they wanted to tent treat the house for the PPB's, the extension agent said it was a waste of time, they would have to work 100 years continuously to damage the house, and treating would only kill the current crop of bugs.

The logs are faded and grey and could use some stain to brighten them up, but there is nothing wrong with these 'weed' loblolly pines.

On my house, we plan to use longleaf pines from the land. They should hold up a little better than loblolly. I think there are some areas that oak or hickory would be easy enough to come by, and if you had to even sweetgum or poplar might work(though I wouldn't personally use those for anything but a barn or shed.)

By all means, take the class as soon as you can. It is well worth it. My wife and I attended the Oct. 7/8 '06 class and are motivated to start ASAP now. :lol:

[bmurphy96]

Interesting discussion on yellow pine. Leave it to me to arrive almost 3 years late to the party. We are going to be building very soon in northwest florida and I have access to very cheap slash and loblolly pine. While I am ok with this for the walls, what about for the rp, gspl, girder and rpsl?

[greenthumb]

Hey BMurphy, good question. Go up and read AdamSC's post- has a lot of good info. Slash, loblolly, longleaf, shortleaf, and one other pine I can't recall off the top of my head are grouped into a class called southern yellow pine(SYP). This is because once cut, they are difficult to distinguish. The growth and strength characteristics are very similar for most of the species, so they have calculated the span tables based on the weaker species. Longleaf, however, is slightly stronger and is actually somewhat stronger than douglas fir. Don't quote me on it, but I seem to recall slash being second to longleaf, followed by loblolly.

Regardless of the individual strengths of the trees included in SYP, they are all excellent trees for structural use and would work well for columns and beams. Reference the span tables in the class materials.

Good luck on your journey!

[bmurphy96]

Thanks for the thoughts. Well, hmm..if I can't get a good couple of loads of cypress it might be pine. As a bit of a tangential sidebar, I actually helped my dad and uncle plant the pines about 28 years ago when I was 10. It would be kind of cool from that aspect, but I don't really look forward to messing with the sap :(

Thanks again!

Keith