ᐅ Cutting Your Own Timber for the Roof Frame – Moisture Considerations – Scheduling

Hello dear forum,

We are currently planning the construction of our house.
We are planning a solid masonry house with a pitched roof. All work will be subcontracted to individual trades.
Our plans are already quite advanced.
We have already contracted most of the companies and are basically just waiting for the completion of the new development area.
Originally, we wanted to start at the end of 2022, but due to the delayed start of the site infrastructure, we decided to begin in spring 2023 instead.
The construction company has scheduled our project as their first site once weather conditions allow.

Now to my main topic.
I have some questions regarding the roof structure. I have already tried to clear up my lack of knowledge by searching on Google, but I still don’t fully understand. I hope you can help me. Due to the sharply increased cost of timber, we want to fell our own wood. We have our own forest, and our carpenters with a sawmill are only 2 meters (6.5 feet) away from it.
I have already discussed this with them, and they said it would be sufficient if I cut the wood in winter 2022 and then bring it to them. The logs would then be stored outdoors until they process the wood.
If we start excavation at the beginning of March, we should be able to begin raising the structure around May.
My question is whether the timber will be sufficiently dry for that?
Or will it have dried enough by then?

The company has been around for a long time, and I haven’t heard anything negative regarding the quality.
Is this approach common in construction?

I would appreciate any help you can provide.
Thank you in advance.

What kind of wood do you have in your forest?
Since you can apparently arrange transport and the sawmill yourself, you can also buy directly from forest owners at a good price and continue to manage your forest sensibly and in a way that preserves its value. The price rally for raw timber has not started yet. At least prices for beetle-damaged wood have recovered.

Thomas.W schrieb:

If I cut the wood in winter 2022 and then take it to him. The logs would first be stored outdoors until he processes the wood.

So he wants to saw the wood while it’s still wet. That’s good. Either use wet wood or fully dry wood. Partially dry wood will warp.
By the way, drying an entire log naturally takes 1–2 years.

Thomas.W schrieb:

If we start excavation at the beginning of March, we should be able to raise the structure sometime in May.
The question I have now is whether the wood will be dry enough by then?
Or will the wood dry enough by that time?

Of course, he can also work with wet wood for the roof frame (cold roof?), which will then dry (and shrink) over time. For me, that’s a no-go.
Especially for a warm roof.

Wood is only considered "dry enough for construction" if it has been kiln-dried. Wood stored outside, I would probably only use in 2023 (they say about a year or more), and even then it won’t have the low moisture content of kiln-dried wood.

hampshire schrieb:

What kind of wood do you have in your forest?
Since you can apparently manage transport and the sawmill yourself, you could also buy directly from forest owners at a reasonable price and continue to manage your forest in a sensible and value-preserving way. The price rally in the roundwood market has not started yet. At least the prices for beetle-damaged wood have recovered.

We want to harvest spruce. In theory, we could also cut pine, but the spruce forest is simply located more conveniently for us geographically and it would be easier for us.

Benutzer200 schrieb:

So he wants to saw wet wood. That’s fine. Either wet wood or completely dry wood. Partially wet wood will warp.
Drying an entire log naturally takes 1-2 years, by the way.

Of course, he can also use wet wood for the roof structure (cold roof?), which then dries (and shrinks) over time. For me, that would be a no-go.
Especially for a warm roof.

"Dry" in the sense of "ready for construction" wood is only achieved in drying chambers. If stored outside, I would probably use it no earlier than 2023 (they say around a year plus some time) – and even then, it won’t be as dry as kiln-dried wood.

Yes, that’s how I understood him. Saw wet and then install it quickly. We want to insulate our ceiling between the first floor and the attic, and also the side rafters as high as the living area goes.
Why would that be a no-go for you? I think the company has built most of their roof structures like that.

Thomas.W schrieb:

Yes, that’s how I understood it. Wet cutting and then installing quickly. We want to insulate our ceiling between the first floor and the attic and insulate the side rafters as high as the living space allows.
Why would that be a no-go for you? I believe the company executed most of their roof trusses this way.

Because it can crack, shrink, and warp severely.
Our timber was stored as logs for three years, then sawn and kiln-dried. That wasn’t cheap either.
The carpenters don’t use wood that has been stored carelessly or glued laminated timber beams.