Trees (Logs)

[Harry]

I'm new at building log homes and would like to take the 2 day schooling asap. I'm doing research at present. I just wondered what would be the best trees (logs) to use in building a log house. I love this forum. :D :D

[Shark]

Ideally long, straight, & minimal taper.

I know many people are using different types of pine, & also douglas fir.

The logs we plan to use are going to be red pine from northern Michigan.

[Kola]

Harry, ideally it is sweet if you can use logs from your land. If you have not yet bought land this should be afactor in land selection. If you are a penny-pincher (like me) think about this: even if you have trees that are not real big and long or straight you could consider building vertical log walls or a "piece-en-piece" method. But the butt and pass style of building is the strongest and quite simple to build.

If you have lots of money: IMO, buy the biggest straightest Douglas Fir pine trees you can find. It seems the state of Washington has them all over the place and they are delicious. When I took the class and got lost along the way I passed a logmill with Doug Firs all over the place. I pulled over, drooled, cried sweet tears of joy, then I passed out. A beautiful site!..but I think I had a mild stroke or seizure from all the excitement...
jk..

But really, folks have built homes with just about every type of log. Red Pine is very pretty too. Cedar smells cool. I have seen loghomes built with oak and a few other hardwoods. There are listings available for the different wood species that rate their strength and resistance to insects etc.

My idea of a perfect log is ANY species with 15-20 inch bottom end, very little taper at the top end and straight as an Indian arrow.



Kola

[Harry]

Thanks for the advice. I'm in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area and are planning the buy some land with trees on that I can use. Can hardwood (eg Oak) be used to build a log house instead of softwood (eg Pine).
How do they finish logs of to get that soft white shining look eg. bleach.

[Kola]

Thanks for the advice. I'm in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area and are planning the buy some land with trees on that I can use. Can hardwood (eg Oak) be used to build a log house instead of softwood (eg Pine).
How do they finish logs of to get that soft white shining look eg. bleach

Yes, Oak is cool and other hardwoods too.

As far as the "soft white shiny look" goes there are a thousand ways to prepare and treat logs...bleach, water-blast, corn-blast, white stain, orange stain, red stain, green stain, paint, polyurethane them, UV seal them etc etc.

The LHBA method is leave them au naturale'...peel em GENTLY, borate em, and leave-em-alone.

[hawkiye]

Oak can be used however the logs will be real heavy. I am using spring cut very green Ponderosa pine some of them up to 19 inches on the big end most around 13 - 16 inches and let me tell you they are heavy (apprx. 2300 lbs). It took me and my two sons to lift them up over the rebar in the foundation.


Most pines will work try and get them fall or winter cut so they will be lighter.

Blayne

[tommygun]

There are listings available for the different wood species that rate their strength and resistance to insects etc.

Could you direct me to these listings? I want to compare the different logs, for price, durability, insect repelling, etc.

Thank you

[Kola]

Tommygun,

My source for the listings of trees specs were included in my booklet from the seminar which I believe is copyright protected by LHBANA (LogHome Builders Assoc of N. America). You may want to ask LHBA if that info is available to the public. If not, I am sure you could find some other sources. Good luck.

Kola

[tommygun]

Oh, ok thank's.

[adubar]

tommygun,

Prices and species are relative. A listing will only give you a very general (100,000 foot) overview of the types/species of timber harvest commercially. It is interesting information, but for the purposes of building your own log home, is terciary in nature.

You should spend your time researching the local area where you plan to build--mainly the current timber industry (if there is one) and the end products, as well as the supply chain. Get a general idea of which species they use (which means the ones that have a local/general market price) and what they are being used for (are they being turned into paper, lumber or ?). This will tell you about the general availability of logs suitable for home construction (some industries have specific size and lenght requirements for logs sent for processing, others are less concerned about size)

Does your locality have one or two large main lumber companies or are there several smaller and mom-pop logging outfits? This will tell you a bit about the local supply chain and how logs end up at the mills or wherever they go for processing. It will also tell you if there is opportunity for haggling and making deals on prices or if it is fairly fixed and controlled by a few parties.


As far as species goes--build your home with what you can find and afford. If all you have is Oak, use that. If you have a choice between a hardwood like Oak and a softwood like pine or fir, use the softwood--your back will thank you.

Resistance to decay can be less of an issue if the strucutre is properly built. Moisture and water intrusion are the two main culprits. A poorly built strucutre will rot as well weather made of a "decay resistant" species or not. Also, no speicies will never decay. Given the right conditions they all rot equally well.

Proper preparation of logs and fungal/insect pervantative measures along with proper building techniques and design will ensure that a home will last long enough to be bequeathed to your children's great grand children regardless of it is built using "decay resistanct" speicies.

-Andrew

[Gonzo]

This seems to be the place to ask about logs so what do you all know about cypress and pecky cypress? are they good for homes? Local sawmill has those trees in abundance. also australian pine is considered a nuisance tree cause it's not native and i could get those cheap or free. any comments on those kind of trees?

[Timberace]

Does anyone know much about using longleaf pine for log home construction? I know that, depending on the site, longleaf can have a lower form class (greater taper) than other pines that grow taller and straighter on more fertile sites. However, I like the idea of using longleaf, since it has a slow growth rate, higher specific gravity (greater density), and it has fewer limbs in the first couple of logs (16' sections) - all relative to other species of southern yellow pines.

Anyone have any experience using Longleaf pine? Comments are appreciated.

[Gonzo]

Can you mix and match the different types of trees? one layer pine one oak another cypress or does that cause problems?

[adubar]

Gonzo, some of your questions have been answered further up this thread.
Yes, long leaf pine is used in some log home and kit home construction. Usually, the greater the taper, the less likely that a builder will use a chinckless method to build.

You can use most any species ---the only things you want to watch for on any log (regardless of species) is that it has the taper close to what you want (or, that you have a construction method and design that can be modified to use logs with more taper); that they are the correct length for your build, and that they are sound.
As for mixing and matching--you can do that, just pay attention to the characteristics of each you are working with--Know what to use where. Some species do not lend themselves for structural elements, others do--know the difference.