Thanks for the response. My house is not a frame house, but just has
wood in the interior floors and floor joists. The outer walls are all
stone (about 2.5 feet thick). A stone house is interesting because the
outer walls don't change position much at all but the interior wood
structures do sag somewhat.

Rob



Wilson Lamb wrote:
I took enough of this stuff out of a house of mine (RI, 1680) to ring a
large garden.
DON"T leave the bark...BUG CITY.

IF you can find some nice trees, have one side straightened by a sawmill and
do as you like with the rest.
If you want to stay round, strip the bark, otherwise just square them up
with the mill. Or maybe cut to 4-5X10 and beat them up with an axe if you
like. Unless the house has real historic character, I think most buyers
will be indifferent to your concern. I've sold a few houses and NO ONE has
shown any sensitivity to their structural details. They want a clean
inspection, good kitchen, and clean bathrooms!

If this is like my old ones, it would benefit from more joists closer
together. The floor structure was usually marginal. Don't forget, it's the
strongest houses that have survived. MANY old houses were built very
lightly and have fallen down. Wood was very dear in the not so good old
days and people were prone to skimp. Not to mention that real engineering
was not generally available. I've seen 4X4 rafters that had sagged several
inches in the middle. Many attics had no collar ties.

Wilson

Rob Gray" wrote in message
...

My house was built in 1820 and the beams (floor joists) in the basement
below the first floor are "and hewn" beams where the two verticle sides of
the beam still show the shape of the tree and some still have bark on them
whereas the upper and lower surfaces of the beam show the marks where the
beam was cut amd leveled out by hand. I'm not real familiar with exactly
how they cut beams back then by hand and was just curious about it. Does
anyone know of a website that shows the tools and methods used?

Also, there are a few of these beams that have been damaged over the years
by water and such and I was interested in replacing them with beams that
fit in with the rest of the construction. Is this something that is done
often, or would replacing the beam with a beam from the lumber yard be the
wisest move? The beams vary in size but most are probably around 10"
square or thereabouts.

Rob
NE PA