Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 07:07am | #1

   *
   My local SPF is fine...Kiln dried to 19% and toss tested ala Alex's explaination.

   On the mountain, pines everywhere,

   J

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 07:44am | #2

   *For what?

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 08:09am | #3

   *Jon,For beatin the kids with!@J

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 08:12am | #4

   *Aircraft quality Sitka Spruce.

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 08:16am | #5

   *Send that Sitka my way!!!...Love my planes...J

2. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 08:22am | #6

   *White oak makes a "beasty" timberframe for sure.On the mountain near the stream under the old oak tree,J

3. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 08:36am | #7

   *Too Friggin' heavy. . . ya wanna give Blue a hernia???

4. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 08:58am | #8

   *Strength to weight ratio boys, Western White Ash actually does much better than eastern white oak( and I've got 40 acres of it). But not near the S/W of aircraft quality sitka spruce. Howard did not build an oak or ash goose

5. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 09:21am | #9

   *Steel - preferable welded steel. Have never done it, but have seen it done. Environmentally friendly, unless you live near a steel mill. Walls are twelve inches thick to get enough insulation in them, but the darn house doesn't need a lot of cross bracing - and sheathing is optional. Dennis

6. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 09:27am | #10

   *If you drill holes in those ash studs, does that make you an ashholer?

7. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 03:48pm | #11

   *Definitely go with oak. What I hate about framing is all those thousands of mortise and tenon joints.

8. 
   Guest_ | Mar 24, 1999 05:35pm | #12

   *For walls go with whatever is straight. The species and grade doesn't seem to matter as much as how the studs were stored. I have seen #1 DF that you could plank the side of a boat with and SPF common that you could use for a straight edge on a drafting table. For joists I have used wood I-beams about 95% of the time for about the last 20 years. I don't like steel for exterior walls because of the horrible thermal bridging.

9. 
   Guest_ | Mar 25, 1999 07:34am | #13

   *AdrianIsn't that why the geezers invented nails???

10. 
    Guest_ | Mar 25, 1999 09:09am | #14

    *The only thing I do with white oak is cut into logs for the wife to burn!Blue

11. 
    Guest_ | Mar 25, 1999 09:14am | #15

    *Gerard, that question is like asking what grass is the best for a lawn. There is not one best grass for all conditions, and there is not one best lumber species.Oak splits, oak is too heavy, pine is too weak, hem fir is splitty and stinks, cedar is too soft, yellow pine is to hard to nail,etc.OK, OK, the best framing lumber, is balsa, cause it's light, and even I can cut a straight line through it! and it's even a hardwood!Blue

12. 
    Guest_ | Mar 25, 1999 02:46pm | #16

    *Obviously, noone here has heard of electro-magnetic plasma framing.Brian

13. 
    Guest_ | Mar 25, 1999 04:03pm | #17

    *Nails? Please elaboarate.

14. 
    Guest_ | Mar 25, 1999 08:04pm | #18

    *The plasma framing is okay until the power grid shuts down.

15. 
    Guest_ | Mar 25, 1999 10:36pm | #19

    *How about solar to provide back-up power to protect the plasma framing while the grid is down?"Shields Up"

16. 
    Guest_ | Mar 29, 1999 05:55am | #21

    *Gerard, your choice of framing lumber may be limited to what is available locally at reasonable prices. In our area (Tidewater VA) we use hard souther yellow pine for girders, beams, joists and headers, and SPF for platform-framed vertical members and plates. All is #2 kiln-dried, and my supplier sends incredibly straight material. I like TJI's for floor systems, but that's another issue for some builders.Hope this helps, Steve T.

2. 
   gerard_yankowski | Mar 29, 1999 05:55am | #20

   *
   For framing what do you consider to be the best species and grade of lumber?