On Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:40:40 +0100, Tim S wrote:
B&Q will reliably sell you all warped timber.

At a premuim, no doubt. I don't have very fond memories of B&Q :-)

I've got some "yellow pine" for my shelves. It was pretty good stuff. Don't
know if there's "yellow pine" and "yellow pine".

It certainly seems strong enough - I've not tested it to destruction, but
a 2x4 of the stuff takes a lot of abuse. Throw enough of them into a
frame for a building and I don't think the side loading's evr a problem -
although I'm not sure I'd want to try a multi-storey building out of the
stuff (I bet it's quite explosive if given enough compression!)

Wool's an option too - Ireland's knocking out loads of sheep's wool in
insulation format. I think it's partly a way to get rid of the stuff
that's too rough for clothing - but it's good good attributes. Doesn't
support combustion readily, non irritant, about the same U value as
glass wool.

That's an interesting one. Wonder what the longevity's like (particularly
if it ever absorbs moisture - I suppose it's not much good if it
contracts and doesn't return to form once it dries out). Blown paper
concerns me similarly - sounds good, but I'm just not sure what it'll be
like 20 or 30 years down the line. Tried-and-tested might well be worth it
just for peace of mind.

The barn's going to be interesting - 40' up to the roofline, plus I
need to do some work on the frame behind the end wall, and shoring that
much weight up while working on it will be fun.

That's far too much fun to be having! I assume you have acres?

Not much - the old dear who used to own this place had sold nearly all of
the land off, so we've just got a couple of acres of trees and similar
for lawn. It's nice to have the out-buildings though (even if some of
them do need some serious attention) and that sort of space is a useful
amount for the kids to play in without being a major chore to maintain.
They won't let folk build new property on less than 6 acres where we are,
so we know we're not going to get anyone doing anything major right next
door or anything.

Good luck with it all.

Ta - you too. I'm following your exploits (a bit haphazardly) with
interest :-)

cheers

Jules