What to do with 8"-10" slash pine trees?

I've got to clear an acre and a half of 8"-10" slash pines for my homestead. There seems to be some debate about the value of those trees for building/construction. I would love to build log cabins with it but one guy I talked to said it rots very quickly if exposed to the elements and really isn't worth building log cabins with. Being small trees, I wonder if its even worth milling into dimensional lumber. Are there other good building uses? Is it even worth messing with? I guess if nothing else, its a lifetime supply of fire wood. Thanks.

I'd think about all the accessory structures you could build from that wood. Sheds, animal shelters, chicken tractors, firewood sheds... things you could save money on by not buying the lumber. Many could be round wood timber framed, so no milling.
Joel Salatin talks about the value of having a sawmill and milling your own lumber. He cuts his own for chicken tractors, and barns, etc... as he needs it.
I'll bet it's economical to hire in a portable sawmill, especially if you've got all that timber all at once to deal with, at a time when you have more to do than learn how to be a sawyer.

If you have some ideas ahead of time, you could set aside the choicest timber, at the right lengths, for those things. You might even seek out a sawmill operator to know what sizes they could handle, before you do your clearing/cutting/planning.

Hi Paul,

I am with the above poster.  You may want to find out what “rots quickly” means.  Or, for that matter, what “rots” means.  I have found that such terms can be highly subjective.  For a log home to rot quickly in 20 years would be a problem for me. For a chicken coop ... not so much.  I have had rotted logs given to me because they were dark on one side.   Yes, they were soft to about an inch ... but they were a foot in diameter.  I got plenty of use out of them.