construction Archives - Page 3 of 6

Made for Maine: Rustic Eastern White Pine Log Cabin

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Jeff Easterling

The natural beauty and character of Eastern White Pine logs is so striking, sometimes it just needs to take center stage. That’s certainly the case when it comes to log homes, which put all of the architectural focus on the simplicity and charm of raw wood, resulting in a home that feels like it’s a part of the forest.

One example is this 1700-square-foot residence on Brassua Lake in Maine, designed and built by Grandview Log & Timber Frames. Set at the water’s edge, surrounded by trees, the home seems like a natural fit in its environment, the logs giving it a sense of weight and timelessness.

Full-round log homes use thick, smoothed-down logs stacked together with notched ends. Careful shaping as well as the weight of the wood create solid, well-sealed walls that don’t require any sort of mortar.

The striking simplicity of these structures, best seen when they’re still under construction and consist of nothing but the log frame itself, has been prized for century after century. See more Eastern White Pine log homes at GrandviewTimbers.com.

Moonstone Timber Frame: Full-Round Log Cabins Made of Eastern White Pine

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Jeff Easterling

Originating in Northern Europe, one of the oldest and most rustic form of log homes is known as round log ‘full scribe,’ a chinkless method of construction that uses wool or other soft materials to insulate between logs that fit together like puzzle pieces. The techniques used to build these homes are thousands of years old, but combining this ancient craftsmanship with modern cutting and shaping tools enables faster and more economical construction.

Some builders, however, still hand-craft the logs, cutting them with chainsaws but hand-scribing them and finishing them with hand tools. These logs are naturally-shaped and smoothly-peeled before being custom-fitted to one another. Saddle-notch corners help retain a tight fit between the logs as the home settles after construction.

Many log cabin builders offer round log full scribe construction as an option, and the wood of choice for these structures is nearly always Eastern White Pine. That’s because it’s renewable, sustainable, and remarkably easy to work with.

The end result is a home durable enough to stand for centuries, brimming with handcrafted charm. The structures pictured here were built by Moonstone Timber Frame, an Ontario company building custom timber frame log homes and cottages.

Eastern White Pine Flooring Options: Choosing a Grade

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Jeff Easterling

When you’re choosing new wood flooring, whether it’s for a single room or a large commercial project, there are a lot of factors to consider. You’ll have the option of solid wood or a manufactured wood product, raw or pre-finished. You also have to choose a wood species, a stain and a plank width, all of which can totally change the overall look, feel and durability of the flooring. But there’s one element to choosing wood flooring that many people overlook: selecting a grade.

All wood species are available in multiple grades. Grades describe certain characteristics found within the wood, and range from industrial grade to finish grade. So what makes one grade more suitable for a certain project than another?

The two top grades outlined by NeLMA for Eastern White Pine are C Select and D Select. C is the highest NeLMA pine grade. While some pieces are clear, most have minor characteristics that don’t affect their quality or appearance, making them excellent for natural or stained finish, fine woodworking or interior trim. While C-Select Eastern White Pine generally has a very fine, smooth finish, D-Select wood has more pronounced characteristics that give it a slightly more rustic look and feel. These two grades are combined by NeLMA into a single grade called D & Better Select.

The other four official grades are Finish, Premium, Standard and Industrial. These grades include varying amounts of certain limiting characteristics including knots, checks, slight knife marks, a bit or raised grain here and there, and a machine burn or two. You’ll get lots of natural color highlights and a very natural look.

For more information about wood grades, including photos, and to find a retailer of Eastern White Pine flooring near you, check out Nelma.org.

This Week in Wood: Are Wooden Skyscrapers Firesafe?

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Jeff Easterling

As wood grows more popular than ever as a primary material for even the tallest of structures, some people have asked: aren’t these buildings facing increased danger of burning down? It might seem logical that since wood is a combustible material, using it to build tall structures would present a significant safety risk to anyone living or working inside. However, that’s just not the case.

Fire safety is a challenge no matter what materials are used to build a structure. As we’ve noted previously, wood is more fire-resistant than both steel and concrete due to the fact that 15% of its mass is water. And now, with the arrival of ultra-strong cross-laminated timber (CLT), it’s safer than ever.

The question of whether wood construction made a structure more likely to fall victim to a catastrophic fire has prevented many countries from updating their building codes to allow wood structures at ten stories or more in height. But a new wave of interest in super-tall wood buildings has prompted research into the subject.

One fire engineer, Robert Gerard, explained the current conversation about the fire safety of wooden buildings in an interview with Arup Connect.

“One of the first major research projects was an initiative called Timber Frame 2000, out of the UK. The timber industry realized there was a desire to try to build to up to five or six stories using light timber, but the UK building codes limited timber buildings to three stories in height. This prompted a series of tests on a six-story light timber framed building. Results of the tests were used to demonstrate that light timber frame buildings could meet the functional safety requirements that would be required for non-combustible steel or concrete buildings. This motivated changes to the prescriptive code to increase the height limit to six stories for wood buildings.”

“Another major test was recently published by a group called FPInnovations in Canada. They tested CLT panels as walls and floors to demonstrate that the panels have a certain level of fire performance comparable to non-combustible building elements like concrete, for example.”

“The tests showed the walls and floors could be designed for up to three hours of fire resistance, in many cases exceeding the code requirement for structural element fire resistance ratings. As a result, the use of CLT has been adopted into the prescriptive building codes in the US and Canada. The researchers were able to present this information to the code councils and request changes in the building codes based on the demonstrated performance through fire testing.”

Trend Watch: Wood is the Most Advanced Building Material

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Jeff Easterling

There’s a lot of talk about the building materials of the future, as technology makes all sorts of hybrid and nano-materials (which can be made of wood, too) stronger, cheaper and more accessible than ever. But for all of those advancements, one of the world’s most ancient building materials remains at the top of the list: wood. Popular Science features an in-depth examination of why wood is the most advanced building material of them all – and how it’s going to transform city skylines around the globe.

The biggest step forward is the development of CLT, or cross-laminated timber. This isn’t some kind of plasticized or artificial wood product; it’s simply parallel strips of wood that are placed atop each other perpendicularly and then glued together to create enormous panels with steel-like strength.

CLT is cheaper, easier to assemble and more fire-resistant than steel and concrete. In an age of heightened environmental awareness, it’s also more desirable for the fact that wood is renewable and acts as a carbon sink. The strength of CLT beams make it possible to build wood structures taller than ever before, and many countries are changing their building codes as a result.

Much of the CLT that’s currently produced comes from sustainable forests, and a good percentage is made of beetle-damaged pine. Pine bark beetles are the single biggest threat to pine forests, but CLT ensures that the trees affected by this scourge aren’t lost. That makes it an ideal way to get a practical and lucrative use out of what might otherwise be considered a waste material.

Check out plans for large-scale wood skyscrapers and learn more about the top threats to Eastern White Pine and how these majestic, useful trees can be preserved and protected.

Image via: greenspec

Let the Sunshine in: Stunning White Pine Sunrooms

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Jeff Easterling

Adding a sunroom to a house not only provides an indoor/outdoor space that enables virtually unobstructed views of the outdoors, it also lets natural light flood into the interior. An easy and affordable way to add extra livable space to a home, sunrooms are often constructed with Eastern White Pine (also known as Northern White Pine) beams.

A wide range of sunroom companies across the country offer customizable packages for sunrooms ranging from basic square additions to beautiful geometric structures resembling glass cathedrals. Four Seasons Sunrooms, California Sunrooms, Better Living Sunrooms and Patriot Sunrooms are among those with Eastern White Pine options.

Known historically as solariums or conservatories, these spaces were initially intended for use as greenhouses, but in the eighteenth century, they became popular as ‘garden rooms’ that allowed enjoyment of greenery without exposure to the elements.

Many sunrooms cost less than $20,000 and can help save energy by capturing the warmth and light of the sun, cutting down on the need for electricity. Double-pane glass helps prevent heat loss in the winter. Sunrooms can be used as dining spaces, family rooms, playrooms, breakfast nooks or just a place to relax.