Got a question to post for a friend.
The project is gonna be a log cabin on his family’s vacation property. The lot is wooded with mostly cherry trees. The plan is a semi-rustic cabin……which he’d like to build with logs off the property…….
his main question…….lotsa other log cabins in the area…Titusville PA……some hundred or so years old…some brand new…..but he said he’s not noticed any made out of cherry logs……..
So……is cherry a suitable wood for building?
I have no idea……..are there any real obvious drawbacks that we’re missing?
Cost certainly isn’t one……as enough would have to be cleared no matter how it’s built…..and he said enough could be selected to drop ….still leave a well wooded lot…..and have plenty to build from.
Who knows what about a cherry log cabin.
Jeff
…gotta get back with a good answer as he just fixed our furnace….parts included…for beer and pizza…tonight!
…….Sometimes on the toll road of life…..a handful of change is good…….
Edited 10/16/2002 8:50:12 PM ET by Jeff J. Buck
Replies
"Straight" cherry trees? That would be one concern of the top of my head....rot resistant?, dry straight?, easy on tools, not too hard, not too soft,JUST right?
Cheers,Phil, ex-Whistler log guy...
If it is to be, 'twil be done by me..
I'll double check.......but he's a pretty sharp guy...so I'm guessing there's enough straight in enough length's to get the job done.
Maybe the old cabin's avoided cherry because the trees were too young at the time?
Good thoughts so far....keep it coming......
the furnace just cycled again...we're still good to go.
Jeff.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
Jeff
Wouldnt the cherry trees be worth much more sold as cherry lumber? With the money you could buy whatever trees are good for log cabins and still have money left over, just my curiosity getting the best of me.
Doug
Im with doug ! Arkansas doesnt have any that Im aware of , and cherry is high dollar shipped in . MMMM Id shore like to trade some spuce studs for them cut and milled ! Man !
Reminds me of a friend that bought a load of 27 ft 2x14 yellow pine clear and straight from a school tear down . joices . He rippped them up and cut them into studs ! I actually got POed at him.
Tim Mooney
Some varieties of cherry will grow pretty straight and upright if in a grove. My concern would be that the sapwood has very little rot resistance. And if he plans on peeling the logs he'll have a REAL fun time unless he can con you into doing it. Cherry bark is like birch bark and, unless the peeling is done in the Spring when the saps up (a poor time to peel building logs) it will be like removing a 1/4" buildup of high quality duct tape. Leaving bark on has been done on some log structures with other species, like Doug Fir, but it's generally not a good idea because it creates prime bug and fungus habitat.
Check on selling the logs or having someone saw them that can get them into a dry kiln or a well-stickered, out-of-the-weather drying pile with ends sealed.
Edited 10/16/2002 10:20:38 PM ET by Notchman
Jeff,
That's sorta in my direction. Cherry is bringing big money right now. At least have him get bids from some logging operations. Then compare the cost of a log home kit to the value of the stumped cherry.
Ditch
I agree with the others. the lumber is far too valuable to use for logs. For the first time since I have been messing with wood , cherry is selling for more than walnut. Also I am not experienced at log building but I do know that powderpost beetles love the sapwood of cherry, so I know , at least in the south, that they wouldn't last long. I would have the logs milled and sell the lumber.
Brad
A year ago I was working a log cabin reconstruction project that had one crib with several cherry logs - this is 150 year old material, 8" thick, 16" to 24" faces - nice stuff in good condition - sap wood and cabins is always a concern - rot resistance is less, gotta keep all but windblown moisture off the logs - so... I think the species is suitable for cabin construction, which traditionally has relied on material from the immediate area -
One problem with milling cherry for lumber is that a significant part of the tree is sap wood. So it they have to be fairly large in diameter to make them worth much.
I am not sure, but I think it is about 18", but I might be wrong.
Ask him if he would consider building a timber frame building out of them. A timber frame has many of the charcteristics of a log home but without the tendency to rot that a true log home does. In additon the problem of sap wood wood and peeling bark would be eliminated. He'd be left with wonderful looking wood that over time would gently turn a deep rich red. I can see it now, deep red timbers contrasted with a lighter wood like eastern white pine as purlins.
Cherry would make an absolute stuning timber frame and a lousy log home..
Frenchy,
Great creative thinking. I can picture Cherry timberframe and Ash or Maple purlins. I live in that region of Pa. I'll bet if he has a decent parcel of property he has as much Maple and Ash as he has Cherry.
Then do the floors in Maple with Cherry accents.Ditch
Wow....you kids are certainly fancy-ing up this cabin!
Which.....might suit all involved. It's family land..and will be a family cabin....as in...lotsa family members kicking in to get it done......my buddy's about the only one excited to build it from the land...the others see a kit as the quick and easy(er) way to go....with him still doing the bulk of the work.
I'll make a print out and show him the logic.
Me....I'll help either way......I'm just in it for the beer!
Jeff.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
hire a mobile band saw mill
cut all into 5/4 or 6/4
plane down enough for wide plank floors in cabin
sell rest to buy logs that are prebarked (whether it's a kit, or just milled logs; you'll both be happier working the stuff).
I've de-barked logs before..tain't a pretty job.
Wishin' I had some land with nice cherry....