You can find sawn timber pre-cut and stained or left natural. When it comes to the stiles used to support the roof, the size will affect the length of the beams and joists. You can use beams as small as two feet to support a single story if you know what size of beam you need.
Plenty Of Options
The timber can be cut into different sizes and lengths, so you have plenty of options when it comes to how you use it. You can also choose to buy sawn timber that is already graded based on the hardness of its grains or it can be pre-grading. Pre-grading hardwood timber comes with a number of benefits including its durability and strength, but it also adds considerable cost and time to the sawn timber cutting process. If you do not have time to grade your own timber then you might consider buying pre-graded softwoods.
Softwoods Versus Hardwoods
In order to get the best from your sawn timber, you should follow the grading rules that apply to softwoods as well as hardwoods. For softwoods the wood should be roughly half inch to one and a half inches in length; the wood should also have medium to good sized knots and the grain should be even. For hardwoods the requirements are quite different. Hardwoods require a minimum of 0.75 inches of cross-grain timber, the cross-grain should be straight and the timber should have a minimum of five knots per inch. It’s important to learn more about lumber grades as well, a quick research online should lead you to related articles.
In order to get the best from your building materials, you should use a supplier that deals exclusively in south western hardwood sawn timber products. This means that they cut and prepare the sawn timber in their area and then transport it to the best of moulds and granulations that are suitable for use in building materials. The quality of the wood is paramount, the more even the wood grains are the more durable the building product will be. This means that if you use an imported product that is not cut or prepared in your country, it may be difficult to match the durability of the domestic product.
Moisture Content
When it comes to the moisture content of the timber, although naturally occurring, this material will change as it ages due to the climate and the natural conditions in the forest. It should always be tested in an outhouse just to be certain. The moisture content should range between eleven and fifteen percent. This should be an average figure, however no two sawn timber samples will ever be the same.
Ensuring Quality Wood
Once the timber has been cut into slabs, it should then be sanded very thoroughly to remove all sawdust and to ensure that there are no defects. It is important to check the boards for any cracked or rotten sections. It is extremely important that boards are treated with a water resistant resin prior to being sent on to the mill for finishing. Once the sawn timber has been removed and all the pieces have been assembled, they should then be placed in their box, which will need to be sealed before being returned to the sawmill for final assembly. You can go to reputable stores offering different kinds of timber, or if you live in Suffolk, you can go to Ipswich timber merchants to help you find the best type of timber to use.
There will also be some small pieces of timber left over from the sawn timber that will not be used for the finished timber, these are to be handled and stored in a separate place.