Friday, October 30, 2009

Milling Lumber



Milling Local lumber isn't the easiest thing to do. It costs more, an independent rig is required to process the wood. Mills are an option but sometimes it's just simpler to mill the wood on-site. Access issues, seasonal industries are available at good prices certain times of the year.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Ontario Lumber: Species and Limits

dispatch:

Ian Whittington - iws wood products

http://iwswoodproducts.com/

Lumber availability in Northern Ontario

White Cedar, Pine, Eastern Hemlock, Oak and Larch (not western)

White Cedar: Issues center rot. 8x8 max, 18'length

Hemlock, Stronger and Stiffer than Pine: 12x10 (Easily 20' length), 12x12, 8x16

Structures that are a space frame using smaller sizes to achieve larger spans. 3x6, 4x4, 6x6 etc

Oak: Extremely strong hard and durable for weather - More availability out of North Eastern US (Pennsylvania), smaller up her. Timber frames in White Oak
In Ontario: 8x12, 8x14 with 18-20' lengths achievable, must be cut green and then its dried. Way too hard to cut dry.

sustainable architect-visionaries in Toronto

a short list:

Solares
WILLIAM WOODWORTH
Levitt Goodman
Chris Walker
David Elfstrom
Ingrid Cryns (SomaEarth Architecture)
Our Cool Blue Architects
Cool Earth Architects
Francis Lapointe
orchid


c/o
Anthony Spick,
BlackwellBowickPartnership Limited
Structural Engineers
Suite 405, 19 Duncan Street
Toronto, ON
M5H 3H1
aspick@blackwellbowick.com

Friday, October 16, 2009

north, central and south american issues

Wood, farming, trains, development and a how-to on training processes that we need to encourage as sustainable thinkers.

Canadian Builders Publication headquartered in Chicago publishing news articles on north american buildings.

When are we going to develop a wood-lore in our faculties of engineering on this continent, a lore of sustainable building materials, organic farming, agro-forestry gardening in our drying hot climes, we need to be thinking in stick-frame construction and sustainably harvesting our north american lumber, developing industries in our local woods just like we like to eat good food grown locally and in season. Imagine, eastern fir trim on our windows, black walnut interiors, black willow decking stained with the best products developed in the sustainable wood finishing area?

A good example is engineers without borders, they are training farmers in accounting, but still farming in africa using industrial agriculture as a model with albeit a good accounting system, training program, staff in the field and local liaisons to help farmers get better organized and with the establishment of training programs, the work can reach its natural function, re-building wealth and local food density targets.

Training Program: CUBA and ORGANIC GARDENING at an island scale on planet earth; EXPERIMENT #1
Their should be special envoys of students in collaboration with UNIVERSITY faculties, studying the model and figuring out how we can take it to an industrial level, the CUBAN model
island-wide sustainable, organic farming even in the cities. We all need to go to CUBA on a field trip to see how organic farming works, and why it was the only possible solution for Cuba, in the face of an energy winter created by the fall of the soviet block in what is referred to as the special period. An energy winter you say? Can you feel them in your life, the changes that we have wrought.

Training Program: AGRO FORESTRY study trips to study AGRO Forestry projects in the rift valley and the works of Waingare Maathai (SP?)

Training Program: Geothermal Resources and small-scale development of sustainable earth-centred sources of energy.

Training Program: Bio-Digestors at a village scale or even an extended family. Workshop them, build them, write about them, disseminate knowledge.

Set-up a micro hydro water Workshop in the cities for cottagers edification complete with mathematics and a test.

Micro HYDRO wind, same

Sustainable Hot Tub, kit

Temp CAST masonry heaters, installation

SOLAR thermal retrofit-heating system

RAIN WATER diversion to long term storage and gardening sub-soil water distribution

Nicaraguan retreat centre, Ometep and Concepcion.









We need an american based currency like the EURO that represents Mexican, central american even, maybe south american as well unilateral currency.

Why is there not a high speed train to Buenos Aires?

These are good questions we need to ask ourselves.

Orchids are a rare plant grown in habitats that are threatened in subtle, potent ways. They are hard to grow and require careful care, not unlike our planet as it heads into an over heated, over populated future.

We are the custodians of our planet whether we want top acknowledge it opr not, we need to do our part and stretch our limits.

cristofero

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Timber Fabricator/Builders

Structurlam Products www.structurlam.com Sales: Michael Kascak
2176 Government Street
Penticton BC V2A 8B5

Nordic www.chibou/english/contact.html Sales:Tony Saad, Mississauga

Normerica 150 Ram Forest Rd
Gormley ON LOH 1GO
1-800-361-7449

Timber Framers Guild www.tfguild.org Directory of Timber Framers

Thor's Hammer Joshua Thornton
benigncraft@gmail.com
Durham ON

Spearhead Timber Works Inc. Ron McDougall


Builders:
Spring Valley Classic Custom Corp. Owner: Eric Sommer, John Seeton
213 Randall Street
Oakville ON L6J 1P5

KD Clair www/kdclair.com Owner: Dale Clair
Barrie ON Work throughout Canada
705-459-9380

IWS Wood Products Ian Whittington, P.ENg. www.IWSWood Products.com

This information was care of:
David Moses, P.Eng.
Equilibrium Consulting Inc., specializing in Timber Structural Engineering
19 Duncan Street, Suite 405
Toronto ON
M5H 3H1
416-255-3337

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

childsplay.: Local Climate and Design - Toronto

Tues May 5, 2009

Wind rose - you are right, in the centre of the city how consistent are the winds? They are affected by tall buildings, concrete heat sinks and densely packed buildings. However, in Toronto and at 27 Farnham, we are blessed to be far enough away from the tall buildings, surrounded by tall deciduous trees and on the ridge of the glacial Lake Iroquois shoreline and therefore a bit above the density at the roof terrace level. The wind patterns are basically the same as before the city was built. Northwest prevailing wind is cooling and freezing. Occasional breezes from south west feel tropical, in summer only. Southeast winds bring rain and violent thunderstorms. We don't get nor'easters like the east coast. That's it, unless you can add to these.
Therefore, our north terrace provides a place to sit outside and be cooled from the prevailing northwest breeze in the summer and to enjoy the sunset. The south terrace is protected from the cooling wind by the studio structure and receives direct sunshine - this is where we warm. In the winter we are in the studio, protected from the weather and perhaps warmed with a fireplace.
We should always be able to access the roof of the studio for the fabulous panorama and to experience the wind/breeze from any direction.
Include these spaces in the design.
Bill
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device



http://www.dewson.com/

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

FSC LUMBER SUPPLIER

I have come across a local company that supplies FSC, reclaimed,
local engineered flooring options, as well as FSC certified
lumber.

Nadurra Wood Corporation
www.nadurawood.com
(905) 947-1688

Monday, October 12, 2009

Uno Prii

Uno Prii

Reclaimed Lumber Suppliers


Manotick

Timeless Materials

Nadurra Wood Corporation
www.nadurawood.com
(905) 947-1688

1)
http://www.wood-source.com/
Manotick Station, Ontario (near Ottawa). They have a reclaimed wood division.


2)
http://www.thistlewoodtimberframe.com/content/view/35/36/

From time to time, Thistlewood acquires reclaimed structures that can form the basis of a new design or an interesting addition or element with an existing structure

Markdale, Ontario


3)
http://www.centurywood.com/beams.php
near Orangeville ON

4)
http://www.timelessmaterials.com/lumber.php
Waterloo ON

5)
http://www.antiquewoods.com/
West Lincoln Barnboards and Antique Flooring Inc.
240 Hwy #20
Hannon (Hamilton), ON
L0R 1P0

6)
http://www.historiclumber.ca/salvage1.html
Salvage and Material sales,
Historic Lumber
12478 Sixth Line, Nassagaweya
R.R. # 1
Acton, Ontario, Canada
L7J 2L7

near Milton

7) or a little further afield

http://canadabarnwood.com/
Lower Canada Reclaimed Lumber Company
14 Beausejour Road
Chelsea, Quebec
J9B 1J7
Canada

Geoff Bleich
General Manager
gbleich@canadabarnwood.com