# milling and drying ash beams for a barn



## SweetBJ (Dec 3, 2011)

As I mentioned in another thread, I recently got a mill, and part of what I want to do with it is make beams out of ash trees as replacements for beams in my 200+ year old barn, as well as floorboards and perhaps even clap boards. I've got about 18 acres of forest that's mostly ash, and want to take them down before the beetles arrive (live trees are much easier to take down than dead trees). 

What I'm wondering is whether the beams need to be dried before use, or maybe they can just be used green? The heavier (longer) beams will be 8" and 12" square, smaller ones 6"x8", and the floor boards 10/4. 

I definitely wouldn't want to kiln dry them, but have plenty of space (inside the barn and out) to air dry.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

Sticker and air dry them all, watch for bugs and mold like a hawk.
The problem with putting them up green is they are at their most pliable and
will develop a "set" when loaded in service as they dry out.
Air dried, the set just takes so very much longer but you can still see the "sag"
in the roof-lines of very old wood structures. Some of that had to be green.
No, it can't be jacked up level without trouble at the ends.
If you could recover that particular timber, you'd have a banana.


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## ETWW (Mar 27, 2011)

I agree with Robson. While there are timber-framed buildings built with green timbers, for load-bearing beams, I would let them air-dry for a while.

After milling, spray the beams with a borate product like Tim-Bor or Bor-a-Care to prevent any new infestation. Let them air dry for a while...I'd guess at least six months and then use them. They should be dry enough to use by then.

Dry wood (20% MC) is twice as strong as green wood. It's also a lot lighter which will be appreciated when building with those beams.


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## SweetBJ (Dec 3, 2011)

Ah, okay. That actually explains why the room that needs the floorbeams replaced need them replaced. The beams are solid, just sagging down like bananas, which doesn't make the room usable for stacking the other wood. 

Play that "hole in the bucket" song one more time, maestro!


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

SweetBJ said:


> ...The beams are solid, just sagging down like bananas, which doesn't make the room usable for stacking the other wood....


Why can't you stack green lumber on a banana-supported floor? It's mainly a question of bearing-capacity of the beams, sheering of joints, and load-path to the earth, right? If you have access from below seems like you could add one or more mid-span supports under the bananna's low spots (and any joints in the beam) and then just lay cribbing on the soup-bowl floor above until the cribbing is level, even if the floor itself is not. Or am I missing something?


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## SweetBJ (Dec 3, 2011)

SteveEl said:


> Why can't you stack green lumber on a banana-supported floor? It's mainly a question of bearing-capacity of the beams, sheering of joints, and load-path to the earth, right? If you have access from below seems like you could add one or more mid-span supports under the bananna's low spots (and any joints in the beam) and then just lay cribbing on the soup-bowl floor above until the cribbing is level, even if the floor itself is not. Or am I missing something?


Well, some of the floor boards need replacing too, and it doesn't seem to make sense to put new boards on warped beams. Two of the other "rooms" have had their floors and beams done more recently (20th century... the previous owners had tractors and cars parked there), and I can dry smaller cuts of wood in those for now while I air-dry the beams outside under tarps (maybe ready for use in a year?).


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

If tarps outside work as well as proper bracing and cribbing in a barn room with imperfect beams and flooring, great. I'm just saying neither a bowed beam nor crummy floor boards are a deal breaker from the get-go. Your talking about stickering your pile of lumber and letting it sit for a long spell, right? You want the pile under tarps, or in the barn? Whatever, if it works, its all good.


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## SweetBJ (Dec 3, 2011)

SteveEl said:


> If tarps outside work as well as proper bracing and cribbing in a barn room with imperfect beams and flooring, great. I'm just saying neither a bowed beam nor crummy floor boards are a deal breaker from the get-go. Your talking about stickering your pile of lumber and letting it sit for a long spell, right? You want the pile under tarps, or in the barn? Whatever, if it works, its all good.


Well, the stuff I'm going to be drying up there in the meantime will be walnut, holly, yew, cedar, (etc.... takedowns from work), and a wapload of black cherry (the other reason for getting the mill is that I have to remove a large number of those from the pasture areas... cherry is great lumber, but also a serious hazard for ruminants). The ash will be used for various purposes on the farm, so I'm not going to worry so much about checking since it's not going to be sold on to actual woodworkers (like you) who want quality . The ashes need to come down, but there's too much of them to be used exclusively for firewood, so no sense letting them go to waste!


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

BJ,

In the old barns and timberframes were and are still mostly done green....main reason is most people can't afford the cost to KD down to 6% internally on timbers.....yes they're PUT in kilns BUT to kill bugs not correct the MC.

Yes I understand your ADing....MOST older barns have sags for a few reasons.....1) some timbers had the correct strength BUT were laid flat for hewing of just one side saving time, also read from older books this was also done so a farmer could see from the sag how much weight was in the barn 2) some were undersized (common) 3) MOST were OVERLOADED!!!!

I wouldn't have any concerns replacing the timbers green provided they're sized correctly for the span and weight. TOOO many frames are done green.....my sawshed has 2- 22' spans and 1-24' span without any problems....fixing to add 4 more 24' beams.

find Jack Sobon's "Build a classic Timber frame house", it has LOTS of GREAT info re timbers and frames.

Enjoy the venture!!!

Have a Blessed and Prosperous day in Jesus's Awesome Love,
Tim


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## skip.allocco (2 mo ago)

I built my small barn 32 x22 with green milled local lumber. I supported the second floor with a green ASH bean 7 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 22 feet long (hey, you take what the tree gives...) I supported the middle of the span with 1) 6x6 post for 7 months. Then knocked it out. That was 26 years ago, and the ASH beam never sagged. So if you can live with a couple of temporary posts. Go for it!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

SweetBJ said:


> As I mentioned in another thread, I recently got a mill, and part of what I want to do with it is make beams out of ash trees as replacements for beams in my 200+ year old barn, as well as floorboards and perhaps even clap boards. I've got about 18 acres of forest that's mostly ash, and want to take them down before the beetles arrive (live trees are much easier to take down than dead trees).
> 
> What I'm wondering is whether the beams need to be dried before use, or maybe they can just be used green? The heavier (longer) beams will be 8" and 12" square, smaller ones 6"x8", and the floor boards 10/4.
> 
> I definitely wouldn't want to kiln dry them, but have plenty of space (inside the barn and out) to air dry.


If you were building furniture then the moisture content would be more important. It's not at all uncommon to use green wood for barn framing. What would happen if you made floorboards out of green wood is you would eventually have 1/4" to 1/2" gaps between the boards when it dries. If that would be an issue you could put the boards down with decking screws and when it happens remove all the screws and put the boards together again and re-fasten it down again. 

I would though stack and sticker the wood for a while and keep an eye on it for insect infestation. You may need to treat the wood with insecticide before you use it.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Nine year old thread revived from the dead ......


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