FIRE KILLED LOGS

[headed_for_Montana]

CAN ANY ONE TELL ME WHAT THIS MEANS? ARE THEY ANY BETTER THAN LOGS THAT I CAN CUT DOWN OR BUY MYSELF?

THANKS

[dbtoo]

Fire kill is generally the term used for timber that has died as a result of a forest fire. It can be used for your house logs providing it hasn't been standing long enough for any type of rot to start. They should be lighter than standing timber. They will tend to have that smoke smell, even after they are pealed and you'll have to deal with the soot. That's about all I can recall at the moment, perhaps other members can add info or correct me if I am off target.

[hawkiye]

Paul Kahle built a beautiful log home with fire killed logs. He has a website if you google his name.

Blayne

[Klapton]

The first gallery in the Student Log Homes section of this website is made from fire-kill logs. It mentions that on this page: http://www.loghomebuilders.org/log-homes-back-deck-closeup .

One of the other advantages to Fire Kill or Beetle Kills (there's a bug that eats part of the bark of trees which kills them, but doesn't harm the actual wood inside) is that the bark peels easier. As for cost, I really can't say. Some landowners can't wait to clear their "standing dead" timber, because if/when they get another fire, those trees will go up quickly. But even if they were "free" for the taking, you still have to find a logger to go get em for you, which will cost whatever you are able to negotiate. I think that standing dead can also be used for that new-fangled engineered lumber (stuff make of glue and chips or whatever) so standing dead are more marketable now than they used to be. So they might not be as cheap after all. I'll let you know when I get to that point in my project, hehe. I'm going to try to get standing dead simply because peeling logs with my bad back is the most frightening part of this entire adventure for me.

EDIT: I thought I should mention that LHBA does NOT recommend that you cut your own timber. Logging is one of THE most dangerous professions there is. People die and get mangled all the time in logging accidents. You definitely want to pay some other crazy person to do that for you.

*caps lock is your friend!

[JohnnyCoho]

Fire Killed Logs... Might as well call them "Kiln Dried Timber"!!
Wish I had a good source for them before I started my cabin... any logger or saw mill owner/operator would tell ya that!! (Couple of old burn units up in my neck of the woods, "Logger central", that loggers would give an arm or leg for the timber... unfortunately USFS won't let anyone touch it) What more could ya ask for than a "Kiln Dried Log"... no future shrinkage or warping to worry about, no sap problems, and any wood boring pest larva that may have been in the timber would have been cooked.
Can't personally see any downside to them.

[pitkas]

I saw some beetle kill, then burned timbers. These timbers were sent from the lower 48 to Alaska for a timberframe house. After the long haul on the ocean, they cut the banding and the timbers stayed straight as an arrow.
Because you have to mill out the char, I would use them only for a timberframe.