Answer: Some people want certain grain patterns, colors and hues. Others are more concerned with getting the biggest Bang for their buck. Others want wood with a story - such as it reclaimed timbers from an old structure. And yet others want to follow historic precedent.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
In other words if they want to replicate a colonial saltbox style home they choose the exact wood species commonly used by early post and beam timber framers.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
For most people, staining addresses aesthetic concerns. This leaves availability, cost and performance as the primary decision drivers.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
Wet conditions, heavy tension loads and big spans can play an important role here. For further reading, here is a short excerpt about how wood species \"stack up\" against each other as applied to post and beam construction.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
\u00a0Q: What are the pros and cons of kiln dried versus fresh sawn timbers?\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\u00a0<\/div>
A:
Important Note!<\/strong> This comparison will not include the most common form of kiln dried timber sold on the street today.<\/div>\u00a0<\/div>
I cannot say this \"feel good form of taking control\" doesn't do diddly-squat. But I can say the benefits are negligible when it comes to timbers. Legally this type of kiln drying can only be referred to as S-dry. (Surface dry)<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
Let's look at how the process works.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
Step 1-<\/strong> Your full sawn 8X12 is put into kiln for 2 weeks or so until the outer 1\" of timber reaches 19% moisture content.<\/div>\u00a0<\/div>
Step 2<\/strong>- Your 8x12 is resawn and planed to a final dimension of 7 1\/4\"X 11 1\/4\", leaving you with 5\/8\" of dry timber.<\/div>\u00a0<\/div>
How much will this benefit you? Regarding shrinkage with bigger timbers dried using this process, your benefit is minuscule.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
The beams will be noticeably lighter as the S-dry process removes a lot of free water from the timbers. But only until the trapped water within the wood cells is removed will actual shrinkage occur.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
Regarding sap\/pitch leaks you get more benefit because your timbers are heated to 170\uff9f. The sap will not run again until your home\/project again reaches 170\uff9f, or so the theory goes.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
Yet because this drying process is superficial with much of the dried outer wood removed, the results have shown improvements but are hardly guaranteed not to leak sap.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
KEY POINT: Spend the extra 10 to 20% with your eyes wide open.\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\u00a0<\/div>
With timbers dried using a special radio frequency process you can achieve truly stable wood. And you can get stable wood will glue-lam beams as the S-dry material used to make the glue-lam beams are thin enough to allow trapped sell water to completely exit resulting in stable wood.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
Your other options are reclaimed or air dried timbers.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
As you can imagine, the biggest benefit to using true kiln dried timbers are the avoidance of sap\/pitch as well as avoiding unsightly situation caused by a wood movement. This includes dry wall cracks from settling beams, once perfect joinery opening to display large gaps from timbers which can check, twist, bow, warp, and cup... Scary! But we before we dismiss the jury let's look at the other side of the coin.\u00a0<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
'Fresh Sawn' or 'Green' timbers<\/strong> will give you the biggest Bang for your buck - provided you:<\/div>\u00a0<\/div>
1)<\/strong> Are OK with how we, (ATF) design joinery to addressed shrinkage.<\/div>2)<\/strong> Like the age old concept of green wood shrinking tighter around dry pegs.<\/div>3)<\/strong> View the imperfections resulting from shrinkage as adding character to the unique rustic vibe. <\/em><\/div>\u00a0<\/div>
Reasons for the economic advantage are manyfold. The most obvious savings is the avoidance of material handling, inventory and time spent associated with true kiln drying, air drying, or using reclaimed timbers.\u00a0<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
Less obvious is the easy replacement cost and lead time to replace a beam which may get cut too short or does not make quality grade. With long lead times and difficult to source timbers we factor extra \"backup\" timbers to hedge against costly irritating delays if things don't go perfectly for one reason or another. So your decision will be based largely on personal preferences regarding a aesthetics and your cost\/benefit perspective.\u00a0<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
Q: How do I deal with timber sap and shrinkage?<\/strong><\/div>\u00a0<\/div>
A: For sap and pitch hassles, you can consider using turpentine, a putty knife, a temporary catch platform and for exterior timbers - cold weather.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
Yes, cold weather can function similar to freezing gum to remove from fabric. The little pitch beads just scrape right off.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
For interior applications turpentine and a putty knife for scraping work well. And for pesky situations where pitch might drop from an overhead beam or truss, just simply install a thin temporary catch platform with a couple of long screws, leaving a 1\" space between the beam and platform.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
We recommend using the same stain and wood species so this solution does not stick out like a sore thumb.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
The two biggest things you can do to minimize potentially ugly shrinkage is to start with high quality free of heart timbers. The other is to address shrinkage with joinery design.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
The most common tactic is to use housing joints as much as possible and to chamfer butt joints which will open up. The chamfer pushes the actual gap into the background where it meshes with a slight shadow. Settling over large areas due to shrinking beams is hard to notice and a lot of this shrinking will go into the beam checking which means the actual timber does not shrink near as much as a 2X12 will.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
We Can Make it Work<\/strong><\/div>\u00a0<\/div>
Here at ATF, we've worked with almost every conceivable option, and have the expertise and knowledge to make the best recommendation for your project.<\/div>
\u00a0<\/div>
If you'd like to discuss a post and beam timber frame project,
get in touch.<\/a><\/div>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[]},"categories":[1,22],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nFloor Plan Feature Wishlist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This cheat sheet will help you explore the possibilities and create a wishlist of features that matter most to you.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arrowtimber.com\/wishlist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Floor Plan Feature Wishlist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This cheat sheet will help you explore the possibilities and create a 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