# framing with rough lumber



## tree cutter 08 (Oct 12, 2014)

Anybody have any experience with framing a house with rough sawn lumber? Other than varrying some in width any down falls? I've built sheds with it with good results little harder to work with. Thinking popular or white pine but cuts would make good framing studs.


----------



## forestrytech (Oct 12, 2014)

I have done some about 15 years ago. If you are using a blue print, all of the inside dimensions will need to be refigured. If you are using store bought windows and doors, all of them will need to be furred out to match the width of the wall. Now all of this will be determined by the type of sawmill that saws the lumber. A Frick mill or any circle mill will be set up at full size cuts. A band mill like a Woodmizer can be set to any thickness or width and you can cut production size lumber and its still considered rough sawn because it hasn't been through a planer. One more thing you might should look at is building codes. some counties will not allow you to build a livable structure out of roughsawm lumber....don't know why .


----------



## fireman32 (Oct 12, 2014)

I'd be nervous about termites, and proper lumber drying times.


----------



## T-N-T (Oct 12, 2014)

Dying and twisting is my only real concern.  We built a barn and big pole barn with it.  Some Crazy boards in the stack,  twisted and bowed like nothing I ever seen.  BUT,  you can cull those out and likely have a home built Exactly like they did for decades....


----------



## forestrytech (Oct 12, 2014)

If you put it up green you need to brace and nail it good. That means purlins everywhere and corner braces that hold the building square inside the walls. You have to sink the corner braces into the studs. Sweetgum has always been used (back in the old days) for decking and it was nailed down green too but...they were using wooden shingles over the top with a steep pitch roof. As far as termites go, the only thing they won't eat is heart pine, metal,concrete, and treated wood.


----------



## Luke0927 (Oct 12, 2014)

Lived in my G-Grandfathers house built he built in about 1930 for wedding present for my G-Grandma for several years till I built mine few years ago, my uncle lives in it now. I'd have to go up in the attic to light the furnace all rough sawn lumber, the band beams look like 8x8 heart wood white oak or something it's sure hard. 

Floort joist and all house are still standing solid as a rock, when we were building my house I'd point right down the hill and say you see that house...you think my G-Grandpa needed any permits to built that....And it's still standing! And I'd say more solid than these tract house they thr


----------



## tree cutter 08 (Oct 12, 2014)

The lumber now days ain't what it use to be. Got tons of lumber sawed and stacked for interior and exterior finish. Just a thought on framing lumber. Don't know if the money saved would be worth the hassle. From what I've been reading framing green lumber is the way to go. Just lots of braces like forestrytech said.


----------



## jigman29 (Oct 13, 2014)

I have built a few from rough cut and I wouldn't recommend it for framing.You won't save enough to cover the hassle.We have used it for paneling inside on a few and it needs to be really dry so it wont split as bad and a lot of what we used had to be ripped square with a skill saw.Almost all we used had been dry stacked for at least 3 months and we had little trouble with it.


----------



## tree cutter 08 (Oct 13, 2014)

Thanks, that's what I was wandering if it was worth the hassle vs the money saved. Guess ill stick with store bought for framing.


----------



## Scrapy (Oct 14, 2014)

tree cutter 08 said:


> Thanks, that's what I was wandering if it was worth the hassle vs the money saved. Guess ill stick with store bought for framing.


 I would.
I raised a 7.5 ft ceiling to 9 feet while I was at it. I started using syp. That kitchen was 14 by 14 and that southern yellow pine got heavy. It twisted so bad before I got through , I tore it all out and came back with white pine. I could hold that in place with one hand and spit a nail started and hammer it in with the other hand.  It is worth the difference lest you got oodles of help.


----------



## tree cutter 08 (Oct 14, 2014)

Yellow pine is ok but a lot of what's cut now has wide rings. Pressure treated lumber is awful to work with. White pine is pretty good stuff. I've got lots of beams sawn and dried that's a mix of white pine and tight grain yellow pine. They have moved very little.


----------



## shakey gizzard (Oct 14, 2014)

tree cutter 08 said:


> *The lumber now days ain't what it use to be.* Got tons of lumber sawed and stacked for interior and exterior finish. Just a thought on framing lumber. Don't know if the money saved would be worth the hassle. From what I've been reading framing green lumber is the way to go. Just lots of braces like forestrytech said.


You got that right!


forestrytech said:


> If you put it up green you need to brace and nail it good. That means purlins everywhere and corner braces that hold the building square inside the walls. You have to sink the corner braces into the studs. Sweetgum has always been used (back in the old days) for decking and it was nailed down green too but...they were using wooden shingles over the top with a steep pitch roof. As far as termites go, the only thing they won't eat is heart pine, metal,concrete, and *treated wood*.



This is an 8 yr old pressure treated fence post!


----------



## mguthrie (Oct 16, 2014)

Been framing residential homes for 30 years. You going to want to use kiln dried wood for framing and it may be required by code. Green lumber will shrink bow and twist as it dries. I think even air dried wood will give you problems. Hope this helps. Good luck


----------



## tim scott (Oct 16, 2014)

rough cut is fine for barns or sheds but in a house that your going to dry wall.... you'll go nuts trying to shim every stud trying to get a flat straight wall. I have seen it take two days to dry wall one room. should have been a thirty minute job.... not worth it labor wise, nor worth it for your own sanity.
tim


----------



## Uncle Dawg Bone (Oct 16, 2014)

*codes*



mguthrie said:


> Been framing residential homes for 30 years. You going to want to use kiln dried wood for framing and it may be required by code. Green lumber will shrink bow and twist as it dries. I think even air dried wood will give you problems. Hope this helps. Good luck



same here 30 + years CHECK LOCAL CODES ours do not allow it!


----------

