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Using White Fir as house logs?

Started by Or-ee-GUN, June 05, 2008, 10:57:07 AM

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Or-ee-GUN

Hi everyone,

I recently came into a windfall situation, literally, and was able to salvage 50 very nice white fir logs that were brought down in a windstorm / mini-tornado we had this spring. They are 35+ feet long and range from 12 to 22 inches in diameter, all very straight. I drug them to landings in the snow along with several nice Doug Fir that are getting sold, where they sit today.

My intention was to peel them and store them somehow to let them season and then next summer build a hybrid log / timber / stone house. I can't seem to find any information on using White Fir for house logs or timbers and was hoping someone here could point me in the direction to find an answer. Here's what I think I need to know (others of you may think otherwise!)

1. Is it worth my time to try to build a house with White Fir?

2. How should I store / season them?

3. What are the preservation considerations for this type of wood?

4. What is my time frame for working with this stuff before it rots?

5. Bits of wisdom you might give me...


I'm a newb at this. I have experience only with stick frame housing and I thought it would be a shame to pass up these nice logs. Any insight would be helpful.

Thank you,
CN in Or-ee-GUN

Brad_bb

Stack them so that air can circulate and they shouldn't rot (once peeled).  If the ends are cut, you may want to seal them to even out the shrinkage/drying.  They can be used as posts, but when it comes to beams, they must be examined for defects and grain run-out etc.  Not sure if you're planning to saw them in to beams or keep them natural/whole?  Maybe just saw two sides?  I'm coming from a timber frame perspective so keep that in mind.  In general if it held up the tree, it should hold up your house, aside from culling for defects.

If you want to keep the color, store them inside, definitely out of the sun.  Also consider the final finish.  If you keep it dry with enough air circulation, it won't rot.  I've been storing a couple logs in my barn.  They were blow down last summer.  The oozing sap began to grow mold on the logs the first few weeks, so I sprayed the logs with a 10 percent bleach solution with water.  That killed the mold and didn't stain as I'd caught it in time.  That one spray allowed enough time for the outside to dry enough to not allow the mold again and they've been seasoning since.
 
If you leave them out in the sun, the sun will tend to heat them unevenly causing them to try to dry unevenly, thus causing more checking.  You want slow even drying.  Water escapes out the end grain much more quickly than every where else, causing uneven drying on the ends and thus more checking.  That's why many will seal the end-grain with Anchorseal or the like.  For some green smaller stuff I have used the end grain sealer from Rockler.  It's a wax based sealer that you paint on and it drys in place.  It can take a long time for logs to dry all the way to the center.  Many TF builders will frame with green beams and allow them to dry in place with the house erected.  This will hold the beams in place and keep them from twisting etc while it dries.  Shrinkage will occur and some joints will open up a bit.  Housing joints will hide this. Seasoned wood is more stable but a little harder cutting with edge tools.  By no means impossible though.
Anything someone can design, I can sure figure out how to fix!
If I say it\\\\\\\'s going to take so long, multiply that by at least 3!

beenthere

Welcome to the Forum...Or-ee-GUN

I guess you to be one of those Or-ee-gun-ians, right?   ;D ;D ;D

Good luck with your project.

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

sheneman

Is it truly White Fir (Abies concolor) or is it Grand Fir (Abies  grandis)?  Here in Idaho, people often refer to Grand fir as "White fir".  In any event, I believe they are closely related and probably have similar properties.  I only have experience with Grand fir.

Unless you have some really tight-grained trees, this wood is typically really soft and weak.  It is also very susceptible to rot.

I've milled two Abies grandis timbers.  One 20' 7x7 warped so badly after 1 year that I cut it into firewood.  However, I'm currently hoping to use another 8x8  as a 14' sill plate in a current small-scale project where the maximum unsupported span is about 6'.  In general, I've found that green Grand fir can be REALLY wet and heavy.  The butt end of this 8x8 timber that I am currently working with is unbelievably heavy.  I'm a bit afraid that it is going to do all sorts of nasty things as it dries, but we'll see.  I'm hoping to have it secured in place while very green to constrain warping.

Admittedly, I am using this 8x8 as a short horizontal sill plate.  However, I'd avoid using this kind of fir for any kind of important load-bearing beam.   But if it doesn't warp too badly, Grand fir would make fine posts.  Kind of a bland grain pattern, but structurally okay.  Even super knotty, weak wood can make fine posts as timbers are always very strong in compression parallel to the grain.

-Luke


--
Woodmizer 25hp LT15 with 6\\\' bed extension.
Logging with a Jeep Cherokee, a Warn Winch, and a Stihl MS 260

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