New Sawmill Shed

Citydude · Jan 1, 2021

I follow a YouTube guy that lives not to far from me. He built a post and beam barn from rough sawn ponderosa pine. Beautiful build. He used a mixture of diesel fuel and used oil to stain it.

s219 · Jan 2, 2021

Got all the battens on today and had to work past sunset to finish up the front. Rain is coming tomorrow, and I was so close to finishing it would have been a shame to put away all my tools with just a dozen battens remaining to put on. So I broke out the spotlights and kept going until about 7pm. Looks real good.

I used GRK construction screws to put the battens on, #9 (slightly narrower than a deck screw) 3-1/8" long. Worked out very well and gave me nice control.

Last thing to do -- I need to figure out how to put on some corner trim that will adapt as the wood shrinks, and not tear apart or gap. I have a few ideas that might work, need to ponder a bit...

GLyford · Jan 3, 2021

Make an "L" with two pieces of trim stock with closely spaced fasteners, then mount them on the building with just a few?

s219 · Jan 3, 2021

Yeah for sure I would pre-fab an L. What I am leaning towards is making the corner trims out of seasoned white pine (have a few boards left over from siding my barn) then attach them with screws that pass through the siding boards. I can either aim the screws through the joint between the corner boards, or I can drill holes through the siding and wallow them out (to make a slot) so those screws don't fight against the siding when it shrinks. I am estimating 1/2" to 5/8" shrinkage for the siding boards in width.

Other option is to do nothing for a few months until most of the shrinkage happens, and deal with the corners afterwards. I have read that most of the shrinking happens in the first 2-3 months.

EddieWalker · Jan 3, 2021

What about using Hardie for the trim and painting it a nice accent color to the natural color of the wood?

s219 · Jan 3, 2021

Yeah, Hardie would work too, I'd just need to be real careful it doesn't get tugged on by the shrinking siding boards, or that fasteners don't constrain the boards from moving under the Hardie.

This is my first time building with green wood and I am paranoid about what is going to happen, so I am pre-thinking about all the movements. I think about what I have seen with wet treated lumber when it dries out, and this will be even worse!

fried1765 · Jan 3, 2021

s219 said:
Yeah, Hardie would work too, I'd just need to be real careful it doesn't get tugged on by the shrinking siding boards, or that fasteners don't constrain the boards from moving under the Hardie.

This is my first time building with green wood and I am paranoid about what is going to happen, so I am pre-thinking about all the movements. I think about what I have seen with wet treated lumber when it dries out, and this will be even worse!

I think your idea of WAITING for several months of natural drying before doing anything is a good idea.
I would wait until August or later!

s219 · Jan 3, 2021

By the way, I cut the battens on the mill yesterday by stacking and clamping 9 boards up against the log stops. The boards were 7" wide and I planned to cut them into three 2-5/16" battens with two passes. The first pass cut nice but the 9 battens spread out like spaghetti. Second pass was even crazier. It was like the Play-doh barbershop with the hair squirting out in all directions.

I had seen a little bit of movement while sawing the boards last week, but the wood really went wild when cut down into battens. These were from logs that had sat a year, and I was told that builds up a lot of stresses in the wood. Sure enough, when I ran out of those battens and cut another dozen from a fresh green log, they stayed completely stable and straight.