[Cob] RE:roundwood

[claysandstraw]

Actually, I would call an engineer.  Ask your inspector if they will accept
a "reccomendation" of an engineer rather than a stamped plans. If so, you
could easily get the work done in 2-3 hours for about $200-300.  Make sure
you get an engineer who knows roundwood, most especially that it is infact
stronger becuase its cells haven't been ripped apart by a saw.  You would
also prove your roof issue at the same time.

Also grading .... Technically the UBC requires "grading" of all lumber.
Most lumber is graded at the mill (#1,#2 etc.)  If you use your own trees
you can (or rather the UBC requires) hire a lumber grader (several available
through a web search or drop by your nearest lumber mill), the cost tends to
run around $300 per visit.  All logs must be cut and peeled, but not
necessarily dry to be graded.

Also, the US Forest Products Labratory (Madison, Wisconsin) department is
very much into roundwood research at the moment.  They would be a good
source for engineering expertise as well.

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/tmu/smdiameter_roundwood_util/small_diameter.html

Kindra



original message from Anna......

We are doing a fully permitted and coded timber/pole frame house with cob
and strawbale infill in BC. We are putting our plans in to our local
building inspector with the change he suggested from round horizontal poles
to dimensional lumber to avoid having an engineer involved. He has been
extremely helpful in our building process so far, but says there is no
recognition in the municipal building codes for a reduction in snow load
with an increase in roof slope, and as a result is asking that we beef up
our roof beams to giant 5-ply 2x12 monsters, as the snow load here is now up
to 52psf after a blizzard a few years ago. Most of our roof is on a 45'
slope and metal so any snow will not be there for long! However, a reduction
makes sense to us, plus there are reduction tables available in a
timberframe book written locally. Can anyone suggest engineering books/
websites, mainstream building books/ websites, which would support a
reduction in the calculated snow load? (or not, we are trying to keep an
open mind here, though the physics is awful convincing).