Wood is the heart and soul of the work we do. Therefore we have found it beneficial
to control, as much as possible, the entire process of acquiring it. We involve
ourselves in every aspect of that process from the forest to your home. We often
literally go out into the woods with consulting foresters and loggers and pick the
trees that will later become the timbers in our projects. Quite simply, good timber
can only come from good trees. By walking the land we can not only select the best
trees for our use but we can also gauge whether or not the timber is being harvested
in a sustainable and environmentally sensitive manner.
We mill our own timbers so that we can completely control their production quality
and minimize waste. Each timber is sawn in such a way that defects are minimized
and the yield is maximized. The band saw mill we use creates a very thin kerf (wood
removed by the saw blade) and hence very little useful wood ends up as saw dust.
We also have the flexibility to mill timbers to the exact sizes we need. We are
not limited by the standard industry increments of two inches in thickness and two
feet in length. If we need a 31 foot-long timber 9" x 14" in section,
we make it. It's that simple.
We use many different species of wood in our frames. One of the reasons we are located
in East Texas is the access we have to high-quality timber. Southern Yellow Pine,
Oak, Cypress and numerous other species are locally available. There is no "perfect"
wood for all projects. Strength, color, grain pattern, size availability, moisture
content, grade and cost all need to be considered before deciding which wood is
best for a specific use.
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click to enlarge
Sawmill in Action
John Box sawing logs
Long Timber
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Types of Wood
Red or White Oak
Oak is a relatively strong wood (not the strongest by any means), has a pleasing
grain pattern, takes a finish well and is easily worked when green and is moderately
priced. We have used it often. Both our Timber Shop and Planer Barn are Red Oak.
Most often Oak is used green, or freshly cut, which means it has a high moisture
content. As the wood dries, it checks and shrinks a great deal. This is unfortunate
in that both the joinery and timber faces distort after a frame is raised. Please
visit the Dry Kilns section of our tour for a complete
discussion of moisture in timbers. Red Oak can be dried in a radio frequency (microwave)
kiln, but this is both very expensive and often degrades the wood fibers. We do
not recommend the process.
Since we are committed to using local materials, when Oak is a clients wood of choice,
we most often use the southern species of both Red and White Oak. Northern species
are available, but are in no way superior and we see no point in spending the money
and energy to ship it halfway across the country. Due to Red Oak's pleasing color,
we most often select Red Oak, although White Oak does offer better resistance to
rot and insect damage. This is only important if a frame will be subject to the
elements, as would a pavilion or possibly a barn.
If you like the look and feel of Red Oak, and see the checks and shrinkage that
will appear over time as evidence of a natural material, then it might be the right
choice for you.
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Red Oak
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Southern Yellow Pine (SYP)
Southern Yellow Pine is one of the premier structural woods in the world and it
is our most popular timber product. It is very stiff and, when dry, quite hard.
One of the colloquial names for SYP is "Hard Pine." It is available in
large sizes, long lengths and is of consistently high quality. It is also very amenable
to kiln drying so it need not be used green. When dried properly, it distorts very
little and checks are small and scattered. It has a bold grain pattern and a color
range from golden brown to reddish brown as it ages. It finishes and stains very
well. Southern Yellow Pine is a commercial classification for four related species
naturally occurring in the southeastern United States. The species are Longleaf,
Shortleaf, Loblolly and Slash pines. The mix of species changes as you move from
the Atlantic seaboard to East Texas. In our area Shortleaf and Loblolly are predominant
with a fairly substantial quantity of Longleaf in areas with sandy soils. The majority
of logs that we buy are Shortleaf Pine.
We use Southern Yellow Pine in our own frames because of its strength and quality.
Should these attributes appeal to you, Southern Yellow Pine would be an excellent
choice for your frame. We used SYP for both our Layout Barn and Board Barn and plan
to use it for a future shop addition.
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Southern Yellow Pine
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Douglas Fir
Douglas Fir, like Southern Yellow Pine, is one of the most sought after structural
woods in the world. It is available in virtually any grade and size. It has a very
pleasing dark reddish brown color as it ages. It is very sensitive to ultra violet
radiation and darkens very quickly when exposed to light. The grain pattern of high
quality Douglas Fir is often even in both color and pattern. Planed Douglas Fir
seems to glow when a clear oil finish is applied.
Douglas Fir, although very strong, has an Achilles Heel. It splits very easily along
the grain. It is therefore necessary to design joinery in such a way to avoid this
characteristic. This is seldom a problem for experienced timber framers. We kiln
dry new Douglas Fir before using it in a timber frame. Kiln drying stabilizes the
wood and reduces movement in the timbers and checking.
Although we use both new kiln dried and recycled Douglas Fir, recycled material
has its own special characteristics and beauty. In addition to the environmental
benefit of using recycle wood, the material is often very dry and stable. The nail
and bolt holes present often leave character marks that are pleasing evidence of
its previous use. As either new kiln dried or recycled material, Douglas Fir is
one of the more expensive woods on the market. So, if a darker color and even grain
pattern are what you want in a frame, and the budget can support the added cost,
we certainly would encourage the use of recycled Douglas Fir for your frame. The
homes in Argyle Texas and
Nacogdoches were built with recycled Douglas Fir and each has its own particular
character.
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Douglas Fir
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Cypress
Over the years we have used a limited amount of Cypress, mostly for pavilions and
porches. High quality Cypress is rot resistant, has a very pleasing color much like
Southern Pine but with a more subtle grain pattern. It often has very high moisture
content when green. In our experience it shrinks and checks relatively little as
it dries. On the down side, high quality Cypress logs are hard to find and are usually
quite expensive. They also tend to come from environmentally sensitive areas. Cypress
is not a particularly strong wood and prone, more than most woods, to ring shakes
(separation of the wood along the annual rings).
If you have a situation that requires a high degree of rot resistance and the structural
requirements of the frame are not extreme, you might consider Cypress as a wood
for your frame.
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Cypress
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Walnut, Pecan and Other Hickories
Yes, we do have access to all these woods and we use them from time to time
for accents in a frame. All of these woods check and distort significantly (much
like Oak) as they dry and are not available in quantity and quality enough to warrant
their use for a complete timber frame. However, each wood has its own beautiful
and may be used for splines, wedges and other frame parts that are relatively small
but visually interesting.
Recycled Timber
In addition to new material, we also use recycled or salvaged timber. By recycled
timber we mean material that has been used at least once in a structure that is
now being dismantled. When possible, we will visit the demolition site to select
our materials from this "harvest" from the industrial forest. The raw
materials come to us for remanufacturing.
Other Choices
Occasionally we have a client who wants something just a bit out of the ordinary.
For these people we have access to numerous other species of timber such as Eastern
White Pine, Hemlock, Sitka Spruce, Port Orford Cedar and Western Red Cedar. We have
even used the local aromatic cedar (actually a Juniper) in a frame. Options are
limited only by your imagination.
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Recycled Timbers
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