Big J

Oak frames are incredibly expensive. As much as I hugely respect the effort and skill it takes to construct one, I feel that given the fairly limited amount of Oak in the UK that perhaps another species would be better. Have you considered a high end softwood like douglas fir? Combined with subtle elements of metal work, they can look really striking. Here is a picture of the main trusses on the visitor centre my wife worked on:

I think that that is a very reasonable price for the store. It's far better finished than mine, and the slate roof is a really nice touch.

42 inches is best halved prior to going on a Woodmizer. Better quality and more stable boards anyway.

No need. I can easily build up 20CM in crates at the yard and then replenish in summer once the previous year's supply is done.

Good call. Very good curry at a very cheap price. I would say though that even better than Kebab Mahal is Mother India, just down the road. Tapas style and we always struggle to spend much money in there as the portions are huge and the chapatis are second to none.

Good questions! Everything is overbuilt and braced. The floor is braced in the middle with an additional support. The main posts are 6x6, the main beams 8x2.75. There is effectively no load on the beams though as the vertical cladding if fixed every 8 inches onto the beam and then onto the beam on the floor (4x2.75) which rests on the ground and is cross braced by the floor. Each point where the wood pushes on the timber it pushes only against another piece of wood, rather than a screw fixing. It's all screwed together with a coach screws at 70/90/160mm in length. The roof is 18mm OSB sitting on 5x2 oak beams at 600mm centres. The roof covering is heavy weight felt meticulously bitumined and tacked down. I had considered putting a diagonal cross piece across the back but it's not required. When the store is loaded with firewood, it will in itself act as a brace. This is really the only time that it is going to be empty, and any wind can pass straight through at the moment. Thanks for all the other responses regarding pricing - £2000 was about what I thought. Jonathan

Best beach (reasonably) locally is Belhaven Bay, near Dunbar. A couple of miles of golden sands. Not much surf forecast though, so it won't be that spectacular. Best views of Edinburgh as a city are obtained from the top of Blackford Hill. Arthur's Seat is well worth the climb, but the problem is that once on top of it, you can't see it and it really stands out on the skyline from Blackford Hill. I don't come into the city much any more (happier in forest and fields really), but as cities go, there aren't any in the UK that can really rival Edinburgh. Enjoy your stay!

Thanks chaps! Bear traps have been laid - we certainly don't want any for when we move in! Merely out of curiosity, what would you reckon would be a fair price for a store like that? It's a little rough around the edges as it's only for me, but it cost £850 in materials and labour (my own labour not included) and took 4.5 days to mill, collect materials and erect. I ask only as it would be a good summer activity to erect a few Oak stores for July when other work is quieter. Jonathan

Very good. I assume it's festival related holidaying? If you want any recommendations for stuff to see and places to go, just ask. We've been here 8 years now and we've done almost all the touristy stuff.

We are moving house next month from the estate we live on now to the neighbouring estate from whom I rent my business premises. We were generally fairly happy with our living arrangements, but to cut a long story short, the estate office took exception to my plans to remove the aesthetically lacking woodstores (previously hidden by a couple of large Thuja they had removed) I'd had for 4 years and replacing them with one, smaller (in footprint) solid oak store. What's the use in giving someone permission to install wood fired heating and then claiming that the insurance won't allow a woodstore larger than 2.5 CM? Madness! So, we've got a much nicer house, detached, half and acre of garden with an estate that I have a far better relationship with. We're putting in an 11kw Bullerjan stove in the main living room (will heat most of the house) and whilst we've not even moved in yet, we've put up the wood store. It will hold 20 CM of timber, is fully constructed from green/semi green oak (1.5 tonnes of the stuff) and I'm very happy with it! I hadn't realised how important a wood store was to me until I was told that I couldn't have one! And the house itself: Jonathan

We are having some pretty epic showers at the moment - about 4 inches of rain so far this week! Where abouts are you staying?

A702 is a good road. Bit of a pain if you get stuck behind lorries, or at least until you've passed Biggar at which point overtaking becomes easier.

My wife is by profession an architect specialising in sustainable design. The largest project that she has done is the mountain bike centre for the Forestry Commission at Glentress at Peebles: She is very very good at what she does, and it's just a shame that there is no real money in architecture, no accommodation for family life (long hours, male dominated environment) and little demand in the UK for sustainable buildings. So, instead of working full time in architecture, Kathryn helps me and has helped me extensively since the inception of my business. She off loads the sawmill, scrapes sawdust from the boards, loads the log splitter and just about everything else. She does all my books and even (very kindly) makes my pack lunch each day. I am very lucky and I know it. It will be our ten year anniversary on Monday, and frankly, things just keep getting better and better. Jonathan

Ach, I don't mind a leisurely pace of driving to get to site! I like to think that the sight of a Unimog towing a massive sawmill gives young boys enough excitement to mitigate any road rage I might be at the receiving end of! Not set on an old one, but just wanted to illustrate the condition you find them in in Germany. Type in Unimog into ebay.de, sort by price and enjoy!

Prince George you say?

I think that I am settled on getting a Unimog to tow it once I can afford it. I cannot risk towing it with the Navara as it's so much over length. I did have a long chat with a very good mate who's a policeman. It also avoids the need to change axles, take the C1+E licence, get a tachograph, an operators licence, pay tax, get a vehicle through it's MOT, have extensive documented maintenance or use white diesel. I will get one from Germany though, as there is a much bigger choice, and they are in far better condition for their price. I love the advert for this one - it's immaculate yet only described as being in 'Clean condition'! The Germans are very understated! unimog 406 | eBay Jonathan

I was especially impressed with the quality of the fabrication. Here is one of the progress photos: Very excited about it showing up, even if moving it around is going to be a headache! I don't do much mobile work, though I do intend to do more through actually advertising it now and again!

Oh, trust me, it's been thought through extensively! The difficulties arise from the various options, the various legalities and the fact that the various legalities for the various options are as clear as mud! Fundamentally I chose to buy a mill that is not the standard product here as I hate monopoly. Why should I pay nearly twice as much as for a mill that does the same job, but with hugely expensive and complicated maintenance needs? Here is a picture of my mill in it's final test cutting red oak: Tell me that's not awesome!

That is not a bad suggestion at all! Thanks for that!

As I said in the original thread started by Jonesie, I would be very intrigued to see what kind of drop off in sales Stihl have seen from this policy change. I think that it's a falsehood to say that we are a small percentage of the market - professional users drive innovation as they are the biggest spenders. To alienate that customer group in one fell swoop is lunacy.

As a Stihl user in Scotland, it has been my experience that my two local dealers are either very expensive, completely (and I mean utterly, totally and laughably) useless, or both. I used to give them a chance to at least try to come within £50 of the price offered online, but no effort was made, so I ordered online. The fact of the matter is that it is more convenient and cheaper to use online retailers. I order the saw online, it arrives next day without my time or money on fuel being expended. If I have a warranty issue, I send it back, again using less money than driving to my dealer. Once out of warranty, I'd use someone like Spudulike for major repairs or do other maintenance myself. The age of protectionism and actual shops charging a premium is over. Retailers (and indeed manufacturers) need to wake up that the world is only a click away. I will not purchase another Stihl machine until this new and misguided policy is reversed. Jonathan

I have Deodar Cedar - perhaps the odd inch board, but more at 1.5 inches. Not had Cedar of Lebanon before so can't comment on similarity.

Oooh, very nice. DCS7901 equivalent?

I don't cut grass bar my own, but it's been nearly two weeks now since it was last cut and it's not needing it. Some of it has browned too, though not as bad as the golf course which is fully 50% scorched.

Far too much. I'd expect to get middling grade Oak for that. Single logs are invariably worth less too due to increased haulage costs - my cedar was part of a 15t parcel with some nice sequoia.