turning a tree into building materials

Here is our diseased Port Orford cedar, which has been slowly dying for a couple of years.We had a tree guy take it down in 9 foot sections. It took him over two months, due to weather and flakiness. He finally finished the major work last Saturday (although there is still a big brush pile, which he's supposed to clean up this afternoon - we'll see).

So, we are envisioning a structure to be built over our slowly-being-restored backyard well, and, since we now have some pretty big chunks of cedar, it made sense to get it milled. Karen found a local guy on craigslist, who has a portable mill.

Justin arrived on time this morning, got his monster set up, and we rolled the logs over to the staging area.


He's a real artist, constantly making measurements. Our goal was to get six 6x6's, a bunch of 4x4's, and whatever else could be created.


Halfway done, and the pile of finished lumber is growing. Zacky was enjoying the view and sounds (not to mention the pungent cedar smell permeating the yard).


And here's the finished pile. Beautiful 6x6's, 4x4's, a bunch of 2x4's, and assorted other pieces. Total cost of transforming all those logs: $115

Pretty amazing. Don't forget to call Justin for all your wood-milling needs!