Looking for some general advise and recommendations about this process for future project some time over the next couple of years. I'll tell you what I know, and be pleased to take on board all suggestions and pointers towards books, websites and designs.
Current situation; Got the woodland. Got 150 mature (bit crowded) oak trees, which need some selective thinning, mostly about a century old. Sorted the access, a mobile sawmill can now get in. Forestry commission happy. Got positive noises from the planners, no problems foreseen using prior notification on a fairly decent size wooden building for forestry purposes. Not in an AONB, National park, next to a dual carriageway or danger to incoming aircraft (?*!!$*!).
Pleased to learn there's a 75% chance of the (very limited number of) felled oaks coppicing after felling. Trying to do the Cabin from timber sourced from the wood. Have contacts with locals who've done green oak frames- trying to establish if we can do the whole thing in oak, including floors and cladding. There is overstood sweet chestnut coppice on site which would be great for roof shingles.
A big ?? is over seasoning of the oak is whether some could be planked up by a mobile saw mill and used after maybe a years air drying as the cladding and floors, or whether I'd need to use kiln dried timber purchased from suppliers. I know oak shifts a lot as it dries.
Thinking of standing the building off the ground, don't want to leave a 'footprint' of foundations.
Time is not in short supply, want to do it tastefully and with character rather than quickly and cheaply.
Anyone got experience, or pointers towards good reference material to digest please?
) and the info would be too complex for me to relay back to you - but if you really want to talk to somebody about this and other projects - you'd be more than welcome to visit him at our little patch of woodland and chat away to your hearts content.