When Trees Were Trees

DavidC

It's not the first time I've seen it. In fact it's fairly common around here. But this time it is in my house and I had time to just look at it and be awed a little.

Doing a kitchen remodel for the wifey. Stripped a wall that used to be the exterior of the original house, built around 1865. Since then the house has been added on enough to engulf most of the original structure.

I think this type of construction was called plank construction. Basically slabs of trees are stood up side by side and another row offset on the other side. Each slab is full 2" thick, making a 4" nearly solid wood wall. And they all go from foundation to eaves.

The one that really caught my eye is 21" wide with no bark edges. I mused for awhile thinking how that plank came from inside a tree, probably the product of a saw pit. The house being as old as it is, is predated by the amount of time required to grow trees that size. That board was likely a sapling before the Revolution.

One thought was to salvage that board and make something out of it to display in the house. Then I realized I would be to intimidated to saw it down.

Good Luck
Dave

bobdog

I go ga-ga over a 15"or 16" board. I cant imagine a 21".Are the growth rings compact or "wide"?

neolitic

Bet the rings are tight....
and I'd bet it was already a
good sized tree way before
the Revolutionary War!

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Jason Whipple

I salvage this kind of stuff any time I can get my hands on it I found several 27" wide boards on a preservation job I did a few years back. They were about 6' or 7' feet long. When I got them home and cleaned them up, I found they were Oak. I made some nice stuff with those boards, beat the st out of a set of planer blades though.

I've never seen the type of wall construction you're talking about. Any pic's?

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neolitic

"Palisade" is the word that comes to mind,
but I'm sure there is another term for it...
Maybe later when I'm not thinking.

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Morning Wood

Cool. But tough to insulate.

DavidC

When we first moved in I set up the laundry here for the misses. I had already figured out the construction technique when I tried to insulate the walls with cellulose. But I couldn't figure out why there was no meat to anchor the pipes to the wall until yesterday.

[IMG]file:///C:/My%20Documents/My%20Pictures/2008-03-31/DCP_0002.JPG[/IMG]

I tried everywhere except the center of the opening for the original back door.

Here is the section with the 21" plank. Aside from this there are 2 at 17" and another at 16".

[IMG]file:///C:/My%20Documents/My%20Pictures/2008-03-31/DCP_0003.JPG[/IMG]
21" 17"


According to my wife's Dad a back porch was here originally. I'm guessing it was closed in because they had plastered.

I can't say about the rings until I cut some out. The plan is to widen an opening to about the right side of this pic. There won't be much of interest to salvage unless I can't resist.

For this type of construction they set another row of planks on the other side, offsetting the gaps. Some gaps are small enough to make me beleive they are just shrinkage but some are a couple of inches elsewhere.

Good Luck
Dave

Teetorbilt

I have done a few old FL homes where there were true 2X4's. The exterior walls were 3/4" on the diag and 3/4" horizontal siding. The interior walls were 3/4" diag. opposite to the exterior with 3/4" vertical panelling. Everything is Dade County pine which is harder than a whores heart. Small wonder that they're still around. Even the termites find better feeding grounds.

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DavidC

Currently seeking advice on how to post pics.

Good Luck
Dave

Jason Whipple

This should do it. PM me if you need some more help.

http://www.contractortalk.com/f45/how-attach-photo-post-6001/

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Double-A

Here is another.

http://www.contractortalk.com/f45/how-post-picture-image-36658/

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cleveman

What if you click on "manage attachments" and nothing ever happens?

TempestV

I tore down an old grainery last summer that had some 25" wide boards used for plank siding. That's the largest I've ever seen.

dutchlegacy

the coolest find I've had so far was on a tear-down here in Ohio. We opened up the walls to find true 2x4 wormy-chestnut studs. I almost peed my pants when the HO said I could have them. The gables were 5/4 material, stacked one on top of the other from ceiling to gable peak. I still have the stuff, and was thinking about making some flooring out of it one day.