Planning a cordwood house???

Started by Rock Knocker, February 14, 2018, 03:15:03 PM

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Don_P

Creosote wouldn't be a good thing to live with, it is not allowed inside.

Glad to hear you're still kicking Rock Knocker. Hopefully Andrew still has his ears on and y'all can collaborate, he's actually done this.

JRR

Yeah, gas off of the creosote would be the concern.  I don't suppose any conventional inside covering would prevent the gas from migrating inward.


Rock Knocker

Well, my house is for sale, not selling as fast as I was hoping for though. Everything is taking longer than expecting, I figured I would be working on the new house by now.

Some things are going good though, I've got 20 cords of 2 year aged white cedar, the bark comes off in sheets just by hand. I've also got a lot of hard woods to work with for posts and beams and anything else interior. The only problem with the hardwood logs I have is that most are 10 feet long at the very most, I'm still pretty foggy about what exactly I am going to need for the post and beam interior but I am thinking I can get solid posts for the walls but I wont have enough length for a ridge pole if needed and some other roof work.

I came up with an interesting idea yesterday, could I make my own laminate beams with the hard wood? Say I cut the hard wood into 2"x6"s can I then stick them together 3 wide to make a 6"x6", staggering them to create a longer beam?

Don_P

Not legally, and with good reason. The cost would end up higher than visiting a local sawmill I bet. Or for that matter sizing the tree necessary for a beam.

Rock Knocker

#79
Bummer. So I cant legally make beams?

I've done some searching around the internet and come across a few other people asking about the same thing, I believe most were going to be using it as a posts though.

I've got access to a lot of oak and maple tree trunks, most have already been cut to around 8'-10' long, so too short for ridge poles, but they are heavy duty at probably an average of 18" across. I'm just trying to figure out if I can join shorter beams together to make longer beams because I'm going to need quite a few, I've got the wood, just not the length.

Here's a couple links to guys asking about the same thing, they've done a better job explaining what their plan is.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=229175
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/26031-construction-laminated-posts-pole-barn.html

I was picturing possibly gluing the staggered boards and finishing by driving a 1.5" or 2" dowel through the sides of the three boards to help tie everything together.


Don_P

Don't even consider it. They grow longer trees every day if you don't have them.
You'll spend a lot of time and some expense to create a very inferior beam. Take the same capital and invest it in the right materials. Use the 8' material where you can and then as paneling... ceiling?, trim, cabinets, etc. Lets see your plan and see what you can use.

Rock Knocker

I figured out how to expertly edit the image you already created.

The roof section is what I don't have numbers on yet. The ridge pole(if needed) will be simple to figure a length on, my main concern is the other part of the roof.


Rock Knocker

Well October 9th is the day I will happily become homeless, then the work begins.

Does anyone have an idea the best way I should go about figuring out exactly what I'm going to need for posts and beams?

ChugiakTinkerer

If you're building somewhere there's a jurisdictional authority such as a building inspector, they will likely have a say on how you should figure that out.  Typical requirement is a set of plans stamped by an engineer licensed in your state.

If no one cares but you how it is built, then you may be able to work through some calculations on your own.  That is what I am doing for the remote cabin I will someday build.  Be forewarned though that if you ever want to sell this structure, it's probably going to be worth your while to have some documentation such as an engineer's plans that demonstrates it is built in accordance with code.  The county inspector may not care but any bank considering a mortgage will care.
My cabin build thread: Alaskan remote 16x28 1.5 story


Don_P

I missed post #81, you were looking for how to determine rafter length. It looks like I drew a 12/12 pitch on the roof, a 45 degree angle. The rafter for that pitch is 1.414 times the run. half the 25' building, 150" +24" overhang= 174" horizontal run x 1.414=246"... 22' rafter material.

There is a rafter length calculator and various post and beam calculators here:
http://timbertoolbox.com/

Rock Knocker

Thanks a lot. I figured talking to the county would help. I actually did talk to the inspector several months ago and he was quite optimistic because the building inspector before him gave the okay on another cordwood house in the county, he personally hadn't dealt with one but said it shouldn't be too bad.

And thanks for those measurements Don, that gives me a lot better idea of what I will be dealing with for the roof.

Rock Knocker

Well, I'm still here. The whole house selling deal went south when the buyer went to jail and took until January to settle. Spring is the best time to sell so I just listed my house again last week and had received a couple offers by the next day.  Everything was a complete cluster but the offer I have now is for $20k more than the offer I had last fall and the buyers and lenders are a lot less shady, so it was worth it.

My building plan and materials have stayed the same but I am going to have to figure out a different piece of land to buy but I have a few options.

How's everyone been doing here?



Don_P

Wow, sorry for the troubles. It sounds like it might work out better in the end or at least you're getting some hassle tax out of the deal. Spring has definitely sprung, I've talked to 3 people this week about projects here, I guess we're all coming out of hibernation  :).

MountainDon

Quotehibernation

It's funny, even here in the high desert where we don't get much snow and when we do it melts in a day or so, and the ground hardly freezes more than an inch or so deep, people don't do yard work in winter. A landscaper friend never has enough work in the winter months. Come spring they get booked ahead for weeks or a month or so and stay that way till fall. We had them do some rock removal in the February slow time. Now they are busy busy.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


Rock Knocker

Most work around Minnesota certainly is seasonal. It sure doesn't bother me, I love winter, I wait all summer for winter to show back up.  I'm a big fan of getting outdoors and I do a lot of hiking and hunting in the winter, no bugs, no mud, no sweat, where there once was ponds, lakes and streams are nice smooth paths. Winter got pretty hard core in MN this year,  cold enough that negative single digits was feeling nice in central MN, -30's a few nights and lots of snow also, this winter was the first time in more than ten years that snowshoes or skis became necessary to hike around. I hate seeing things melting but at the same time I start feeling pretty bad for all the animals living out there, finding food in crotch deep snow or more everywhere with below zero temps is rough, it's amazing what they can live through.

I'm expecting an exciting summer this year once my house sells. I made a phone call today that took a huge weight off my back also. The people that I was going to buy that 20 cords of cedar said they needed it out of the wood lot this winter and after my first house sale fell through I figured it was gone but I talked to them today and it's still there. So except for the 22+ foot beams I've got all the wood I need, and for cheap too.


Rock Knocker

House is sold, I'm living in a trailer and I own two large piles of logs... Everything is going to plan.

I just brought home a TimberKing 1600 with an extra 6'-8' welded on. I'm renting it from a customer of mine for a good price but it has sat in a shed for the last 3 years, it's going to take a lot of lube and a bit of TLC until I'm cutting.

My problem is my continued lack of knowing what I am doing. I've got the wood and the saw but I don't know what to cut. I'm thinking 8"x8" for posts or I could cut a lot of 6"x6" for rafters, or maybe something like 6"x8" would be good for posts...?

I've been on the phone a couple times with county officials to find out where to start. Sounds like I need to get a hold of an actual engineer to draw up the house plan. I have some phone calls to make tomorrow.

Do any of you have any thoughts on what size lumber I should start cutting?

 

Don_P

Nothing but trim and sheathing till you have a plan. But do cut some of that non structural wood to get the hang of sawing. Check with the county to see if you need to have the posts and beams graded, if it is required see if they will allow the engineer to do that.

NathanS

Even getting familiar with how stick framed homes are structurally designed will give a baseline knowledge of how timbers need to be sized.

I thought this was a good read:

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/residential.pdf