Thought this might interest the group...
I was at a furniture store in downtown Richmond, VA this weekend. The
store was in what was originally a warehouse or factory, built at
least 100 years ago I'd guess, based on the 20' ceilings built
entirely from rough 2x12 joists and diagonally-laid solid-wood
subfloor.
In a back room I saw a 12' high post that was the single most massive
piece of wood I have ever seen, by far. I didn't have a tape measure
with me, but it was at least 12x14 inches, possibly 14x16. I have no
idea what species it was, it was just a weathered grey color from all
those years in an unheated space.
What do you think such a piece of wood would cost nowadays, if it is
available at all?
Michael
On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 20:15:54 -0600, Michael Press wrote
(in message <[email protected]>):
> What do you think such a piece of wood would cost nowadays, if it is
> available at all?
I won't guess on price, but stuff like that is still available. Look at some
of the church structures in your area. Chances are you'll find some nice
beams like this. Recently I was reading Norm Abram's book Norm's New House.
He talks about a place in VT?? that specializes in making beams and while
price isn't mentioned, other than certain varieties were a lot more expensive
than he was willing to pay, I would gather all are out of my price range. ;-)
Wayne
You can get wood like that most anywhere. In the south, it's oak or SYP.
In the northeast, we used white pine 10x12x30' for timber frames. Some of
those timbers didn't have more than a knot or two over the whole 30'. Out
west, it's douglas fir or port orford cedar.
--
Ross
www.myoldtools.com
"Michael Press" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Thought this might interest the group...
>
> I was at a furniture store in downtown Richmond, VA this weekend. The
> store was in what was originally a warehouse or factory, built at
> least 100 years ago I'd guess, based on the 20' ceilings built
> entirely from rough 2x12 joists and diagonally-laid solid-wood
> subfloor.
>
> In a back room I saw a 12' high post that was the single most massive
> piece of wood I have ever seen, by far. I didn't have a tape measure
> with me, but it was at least 12x14 inches, possibly 14x16. I have no
> idea what species it was, it was just a weathered grey color from all
> those years in an unheated space.
>
> What do you think such a piece of wood would cost nowadays, if it is
> available at all?
>
> Michael
In article <[email protected]>, Joe
Willmann <[email protected]> wrote:
> Michael Press <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
> > What do you think such a piece of wood would cost nowadays, if it is
> > available at all?
>
> You need to get out more. Timberline Lodge near the top of Mt Hood
> Oregon has some timbers that are 36"x36"x20' - clear cedar! Impressive!
There are some very nice apartments in Shreveport, LA, in a renovated
19th century building. Part of the lease agreement is that you will
not, under penalty of having your toenails yanked out, put nails in or
otherwise harm the posts. Said posts are 14x14, and support 12x14
joists. The ground floor has 12' ceilings; I'm sure upper floors have a
bit less headroom, but they still have the posts.
Appropriately, it's the former Lee Hardware building. No relation to
Robin, et al, I'm sure. :-)
Kevin
On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 21:15:54 -0500, Michael Press
<[email protected]> wrote:
>In a back room I saw a 12' high post that was the single most massive
>piece of wood I have ever seen, by far. I didn't have a tape measure
>with me, but it was at least 12x14 inches, possibly 14x16. I have no
>idea what species it was, it was just a weathered grey color from all
>those years in an unheated space.
>
>What do you think such a piece of wood would cost nowadays, if it is
>available at all?
You're not drinking enough beer, Michael :-) If you hang out in brew
pubs in the Paciific Northwest (these are often converted warehouses,
built 70-80 years or so ago), you'll see lots of wood this size. - it
was in common use for all sorts of industrial buildings. As another
poster mentioned, if you really want to see massive posts, check out
Timberline lodge (a WPA project, I think) on Mt Hood near Portland,
OR.
Tim Carver
[email protected]
"Michael Press" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Thought this might interest the group...
>
> I was at a furniture store in downtown Richmond, VA this weekend. The
> store was in what was originally a warehouse or factory, built at
> least 100 years ago I'd guess, based on the 20' ceilings built
> entirely from rough 2x12 joists and diagonally-laid solid-wood
> subfloor.
>
> In a back room I saw a 12' high post that was the single most massive
> piece of wood I have ever seen, by far. I didn't have a tape measure
> with me, but it was at least 12x14 inches, possibly 14x16. I have no
> idea what species it was, it was just a weathered grey color from all
> those years in an unheated space.
>
> What do you think such a piece of wood would cost nowadays, if it is
> available at all?
I'd venture to say anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred, depending
on species. I have a few pine logs sitting on my property right now that
are 34" dia by 22 feet long. According to my calculations, and assuming the
log is straight, I can get a single boxed-heart timber 24 x 24 out of each
log. I'm cutting for a timber-frame home, and most of what I'm cutting are
8x12 and 8x8, but all my logs are capable of producing a 14 x 16 beam.
Jon E
Michael Press <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
>
> Thought this might interest the group...
>
> I was at a furniture store in downtown Richmond, VA this weekend. The
> store was in what was originally a warehouse or factory, built at
> least 100 years ago I'd guess, based on the 20' ceilings built
> entirely from rough 2x12 joists and diagonally-laid solid-wood
> subfloor.
>
> In a back room I saw a 12' high post that was the single most massive
> piece of wood I have ever seen, by far. I didn't have a tape measure
> with me, but it was at least 12x14 inches, possibly 14x16. I have no
> idea what species it was, it was just a weathered grey color from all
> those years in an unheated space.
>
> What do you think such a piece of wood would cost nowadays, if it is
> available at all?
>
> Michael
>
You need to get out more. Timberline Lodge near the top of Mt Hood
Oregon has some timbers that are 36"x36"x20' - clear cedar! Impressive!
Many of these beams or columns are old-growth longleaf yellow pine. It is
considered a prime piece of wood to resaw into flooring, wood for doors,
etc. The coloration and tight grain cannot be found in newer, similar
woods. In my case, I built a kitchen island with a 4' x 9' top of resawn
old growth longleaf pine. My price for the unfinished top was over $3,000.
Preston
@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Thought this might interest the group...
>
> I was at a furniture store in downtown Richmond, VA this weekend. The
> store was in what was originally a warehouse or factory, built at
> least 100 years ago I'd guess, based on the 20' ceilings built
> entirely from rough 2x12 joists and diagonally-laid solid-wood
> subfloor.
>
> In a back room I saw a 12' high post that was the single most massive
> piece of wood I have ever seen, by far. I didn't have a tape measure
> with me, but it was at least 12x14 inches, possibly 14x16. I have no
> idea what species it was, it was just a weathered grey color from all
> those years in an unheated space.
>
> What do you think such a piece of wood would cost nowadays, if it is
> available at all?
>
> Michael
Michael Press <[email protected]> writes:
[...]
> In a back room I saw a 12' high post that was the single most massive
> piece of wood I have ever seen, by far. I didn't have a tape measure
> with me, but it was at least 12x14 inches, possibly 14x16. I have no
[...]
> What do you think such a piece of wood would cost nowadays, if it is
> available at all?
Maybe a hundred dollars or euros, provided you buy a complete tree
from the forrest owner. Shaping it into the post is of cource another
issue....
--
Dr. Juergen Hannappel http://lisa2.physik.uni-bonn.de/~hannappe
mailto:[email protected] Phone: +49 228 73 2447 FAX ... 7869
Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
CERN: Phone: +412276 76461 Fax: ..77930 Bat. 892-R-A13 CH-1211 Geneve 23