Quality of second or third growth timbers in Pacific North West?

[Jesse snowden]

Been a while gentlemen!

Quick overview:

Bought my first house. Everett washington, about 20 miles north of Seattle. On craigslist in this area you can buy douglas fir logs fresh from the mountains by the truck load. It's not cheap, but not nearly as much as a lumber package from a saw mill.

My goal- to mill timbers to do a timber-frame covered patio front and back. Timbers will likely be around 8x8 for the posts, 6x6 for the top plate, 4x6 for the rafters + collar ties, and 4x4 for knee braces. So a load of logs no smaller than 12" at any point would be able to give me any of these posts. A little bark inclusion here and there is okay with me stylisticly.

My question- a young douglas fir, ~ 30-40 maybe 50 years old, no doubt planted by Dunn lumber or weyerhaeuser... can I count on these trees to produce quality timbers? I've seen these truck loads. Prefectly straight, few knots. But not anything you would call close growth ring spacing. Am I overthinking this?

 

[northmanlogging]

that sort of timber is around, not as easy to come across on private ground though. If anything yer gonna get large second growth with fat growth rings, on a good day the first 30-40' won't have limbs at all, though I fell 2 on wednesday that had some very tight rings in the middle.

Lots of whats out there is 60-70 years old, weyco, summit/hampton, buse, sea-sno(defunct), canyon crk, and SP all have their own managed woods around here. Most of it they still own. BUSE, which you can see from the Freeway in between Everott and Mary's Hel is a bit of false advertising as far as the timber here, they are one of 2 oversize mills within 100 mi so they gets a bunch of nice sticks and stack em up on the Freeway side for our viewing pleasure...

Anything privately held was sold off in the 1890's-s1920's ish by weyco or the rail roads or sold back to DNR and then parceled out to private individuals from there.

If yer lookin to buy timber, yer going to have to beat the mills, and have a place for the trucks to unload, and not get stuck.

Any way, I'm about 20 mi east of Everett... (thats a 2hr commute after 3:30) PM if ya need anything.

 

[Jesse snowden]

https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/for/6034697542.html

Thanks for the info brother! Didn't know there were still so many different players in the timber market. So this is the company I was thinking of hitting up for logs. I've had tree services drop loads of logs/rounds in my front yard before. Easy access right on the sidewalk in town.

I'm hoping I can talk to them and figure out if they will deliver logs within a certain species and diameter or if they just bring out whatever they want and you get what you get.

If you were looking to get a full load of douglas fir about 12-14" delivered to your house where would you look?

 

[northmanlogging]

Thats ralph... all he does is firewood, and the logs are pretty much only good for firewood. Good guy though...

Its hard to say, if I had any Fir coming up I might give er a try, but its mostly Hemlock and cedar.

Formark, out of Everett are what they call log brokers (i.e. exporters) all they do is buy and sell logs, either to local mills or overseas.

The other option is to contact some of the local logging companies, or some of the self loader guys might have something. I'll PM ya some numbers, it might work out for ya...

 

[ArtB]

Sideline question:
Built my house with 14 beams over 16 ft span of round 18" to 24" DF off own land where house is. That was back in '74, no IRC building code in WA back then that required STAMPED lumber whether milled or logs. WA has IRC in force statewide nowadays.

Have you found anyone to grade a small lot of logs for structural use?

Of course, DIY with no permit 'who cares' or if under 200 sq ft.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

They make you use special lumber?

Here we can do whatever we want.

 

[northmanlogging]

Has to be grade stamped i.e. studs stamped stud etc rediculous yes but law

 

[muddstopper]

Nc requires graded lumber to build with also. There is an exception to that rule, being, if the lumber comes off your property and your using for your personal house, then you can use sawmill lumber that isnt graded. I cant say how it is in some of those communist states, but its worth checking out.

 

[Mad Professor]

I think you need to talk to a sawyer about the quality of logs needed to saw out structural timbers and a timber framer about plans and sizing timbers (your plates are generally larger than the posts and need to be better grade).

Also, a 12" dia log you might get a 8" timber if it's straight. Realize you are going to be taking inches off each face just to square it

 

[dennis066]

Been a while gentlemen!

Quick overview:

Bought my first house. Everett washington, about 20 miles north of Seattle. On craigslist in this area you can buy douglas fir logs fresh from the mountains by the truck load. It's not cheap, but not nearly as much as a lumber package from a saw mill.

My goal- to mill timbers to do a timber-frame covered patio front and back. Timbers will likely be around 8x8 for the posts, 6x6 for the top plate, 4x6 for the rafters + collar ties, and 4x4 for knee braces. So a load of logs no smaller than 12" at any point would be able to give me any of these posts. A little bark inclusion here and there is okay with me stylisticly.

My question- a young douglas fir, ~ 30-40 maybe 50 years old, no doubt planted by Dunn lumber or weyerhaeuser... can I count on these trees to produce quality timbers? I've seen these truck loads. Prefectly straight, few knots. But not anything you would call close growth ring spacing. Am I overthinking this?

Follow local codes (or bigger) for sizing the timbers and go for it. You are only building a patio structure with it. What you will produce from your mill is probably better than what HD or Lowes sells.