Species worth milling

[Stereo]

Yeah, it's a thought I've always had but that has inspired me a bit. Aside from all the poo related stuff of course.

[agg221]

I wouldn't use sycamore for floorboards myself - not very hard wearing so it will mark up easily and not very durable so if it's damp underneath the fungi and woodwork will love it. You can treat to slow/delay this but it will still be vulnerable.

 

You could use it for cladding if you're going to treat it regularly.

 

Alec

[Stereo]

What about the hazel for interior stuff? Is that just a no go? Would it just split up? We've got more of that than anything else.

 

I'm hoping to avoid too much wood treating to be honest.

[muldonach]

What about the hazel for interior stuff? Is that just a no go? Would it just split up? We've got more of that than anything else.

 

I'm hoping to avoid too much wood treating to be honest.

 

Do you have any birch? Soft and easy to work with when first felled - hard as nails when seasoned - not suitable for outdoor use but makes good floorboards and internal panels

 

Cheers

mac

[Stereo]

None to speak of.

[farmerjohn]

Hi,

This is my first post apart from introducing myself, I am not in arbo industry, but my company does a lot of traditional building restoration and I work a lot with timber.

Chestnut has excellent durability against rot, one job we priced it had a specification on for a fence with either treated timbers for the posts or ‘green sweet chestnut’. This would leed me to believe it is very durable at the point where the timber comes out the ground, at this point the timber is exposed to the air and is often damp so very susceptible to fungal decay. I am not sure on the compression strength of chestnut but I think it should be strong enough for the uprights.

Or you could concrete a pad at ground level and make a upside down T shape piece of steel cut a slot into the bottom of your upright and bolt it through, this would keep the timber off the ground. If you do go down that route it would be best to use stainless as expecially in oak the tanning rots ferris metals very quickly.

Regarding the flooring, I would think sweet chenut would be a good option for same reasons as the upright, but on another few jobs we have looked at larch has been specified as a timber to clad or make shingles out of, I believe it is similar tannings and durability to cedar (this is what I have heard from speaking to people but if anyone has more clarity on this it would be interesting to know) and a lot cheaper as a lot is getting felled at the moment (especially around my area anyway.)

Lastly, if you do go down the lime mortar route don’t attempt anything this time of year, we only do external lime work between the months of April – October as it is easily effected by a bit of frost. If you want any advice on lime work let me know.

John

[Rob D]

Thanks for taking the time for an indepth post John

[gensetsteve]

What about the hazel for interior stuff? Is that just a no go? Would it just split up? We've got more of that than anything else.

 

I'm hoping to avoid too much wood treating to be honest.

 

dont thatchers use hazel for spars if it lasts 40 years on a roof must be ok outside ?

[farmerjohn]

i'm not sure on that one, i'm too far north for thatched roof's to be used never worked on one, old buildings are mainly slate roofs with riven oak laths and iron nails that have rotted in the oak. 'nail sickness' as we call it.

[agg221]

Thatchers do use hazel spars, but the environment is very benign - longstraw thatch is grass, which lasts indefinitely. Some hall houses which were subsequently closed in have been found to have soot on the innermost layer of thatch, which dates it to 450yrs old or so.

 

Interesting to hear from you farmerjohn - I'm currently sorting out our house (on an ongoing basis) which is old enough to use very traditional materials. Reasonably familiar with lime now, but I'll remember who to ask!

 

Alec