Tim Fox

I haven’t looked into that.

I don’t cross the lines much myself, but if you do I would like to know!

Could be something we could do for sure.

It would give me a project until things settle politically here.

You looking at several?

This is exactly what we had planned.

I was going to use the logs from the Acadian forest restoration project to make timber framed cabins out of natural materials using local historical architecture techniques, and have a screened in deck to extend the living area overlooking the stream, then have a d fired log sauna and hot tub and/or cold plunge in the deck.

There are lots of geodesic dome competitors in the area, and I preferred to use native materials that integrate into the natural environment better, and are hyper-local, vertically integrated, sustainable, are a revival of local heritage, etc.

Sounds very similar to what you have planned.

This was always the plan. Build the home, then this winter I was to go to the woods for that project.

And then… Canada saw a massive and abrupt spike in demand for housing almost overnight, and homelessness surged almost overnight as well. Housing prices spiked. The government decided to shift the blame on short term rentals instead of them. Better to get us pointing the the fingers at each other instead of them of course.

BC banned short term rentals almost entirely, the federal government made things more difficult, and now NB government has launched a study mulling over banning or restricting them as well.

It’s too politically unstable at the moment for me to pour the amount of blood, sweat, and money into such a project only to risk being political collateral damage.

So I have to figure out something else for the time being and maybe revisit this if the whole thing blows over.

But yes we are ideally situated for such a business. And there is a lack of this sort of thing and similar operations are booked solid. It’s sad.

I am not totally sure how we could support each other, given some of the challenges the border gives us. Would be cool to build some of these things for you or something like that. I have the plans. I am set up for it. Just don’t think we could export them to the US. But I am all ears!

My wife and I have a homestead on a beautiful piece of property in beautiful Southwest NB. It’s mostly forested, and our homestead is right in the middle of it, made mostly from materials harvested from the forest using principles that will hopefully one day result in the restoration of the native and threatened Acadian Forest that once covered Atlantic Canada.

The property sits quite far back from any trafficked  road, and there are no visible neighbors, and a good size stream runs through it, so it makes the place ideal for nature lovers like us. It is a short 15 min or so drive to towns where you can get everything you need.

After building our small home, and two winter seasons of logging, it became clear that we have far too much land to make full use of. I would love to pull more value out of these woods as the first batch of pioneer trees, a good size and species for log buildings or timber framing, are fully mature, ready for harvest, and blowing down faster than I can harvest them and build with them.

It’s a shame of course, but there is no way I am getting commercial foresters in, because it doesn’t pay, and they will destroy the second growth in the understory, which will harm the restoration to Acadian Forest conditions.

I have a band sawmill mill to help me turn this stuff into valuable buildings, but I have no hope of staying ahead of the blowdowns and making full use of the trees using my light touch techniques.

I have many ideas of what to do with the wood, and the tools and skills to make it happen, but there just isn’t enough time.

I wonder if there aren’t other folks in the area keen on some sort of arrangement. With some of the skills, or a keen interest and willingness to learn, and inclination to spend a certain fixed amount of time on this project to help get ahead of this stand that is blowing down faster than I can cut it.

I would like to turn these dying trees into bunkies, sheds, guest cabins, and other useful things to be sold locally, or to help expand the homestead, and I need help in the woods doing selective forestry, need help in sawmill operations, and in the construction phase as well.

If you have mobile accommodation, like a Vanlifer or RV lifer, you are welcome find a quiet spot in the field by the stream, and we can work out ways in which we can share resources and make things easier for you.

I can’t pay you in money, as I don’t have any income from the operations yet, and it isn’t that lucrative anyways I am sure! But I can offer a beautiful place camp for a while, close to town but a quiet spot deep in the woods to spend some time, and some experience with sustainable light touch restorative forestry, saw-milling, and timber framing. You are also welcome to hunt, trap, foraged, and grow on the land if you wish. (With some limitations of course) It has lots to offer.

You could also put up a temporary hard camp if you like. Yurt, wall tent with plywood, small log structure, or similar.

Open to ideas, but a fixed length of time is critical as I don’t know how long this stage of the project will take.

Let me know if anyone is interested or has any other proposal they would like me to hear!
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My wife and I have a homestead on a beautiful piece of property in beautiful Southwest NB. It’s mostly forested, and our homestead is right in the middle of it, made mostly from materials harvested from the forest using principles that will hopefully one day result in the restoration of the native and threatened Acadian Forest that once covered Atlantic Canada.

The property sits quite far back from any trafficked  road, and there are no visible neighbors, and a good size stream runs through it, so it makes the place ideal for nature lovers like us. It is a short 15 min or so drive to towns where you can get everything you need.

After building our small home, and two winter seasons of logging, it became clear that we have far too much land to make full use of. I would love to pull more value out of these woods as the first batch of pioneer trees, a good size and species for log buildings or timber framing, are fully mature, ready for harvest, and blowing down faster than I can harvest them and build with them.

It’s a shame of course, but there is no way I am getting commercial foresters in, because it doesn’t pay, and they will destroy the second growth in the understory, which will harm the restoration to Acadian Forest conditions.

I have a band sawmill mill to help me turn this stuff into valuable buildings, but I have no hope of staying ahead of the blowdowns and making full use of the trees using my light touch techniques.

I have many ideas of what to do with the wood, and the tools and skills to make it happen, but there just isn’t enough time.

I wonder if there aren’t other folks in the area keen on some sort of arrangement. With some of the skills, or a keen interest and willingness to learn, and inclination to spend a certain fixed amount of time on this project to help get ahead of this stand that is blowing down faster than I can cut it.

I would like to turn these dying trees into bunkies, sheds, guest cabins, and other useful things to be sold locally, or to help expand the homestead, and I need help in the woods doing selective forestry, need help in sawmill operations, and in the construction phase as well.

If you have mobile accommodation, like a Vanlifer or RV lifer, you are welcome find a quiet spot in the field by the stream, and we can work out ways in which we can share resources and make things easier for you.

I can’t pay you in money, as I don’t have any income from the operations yet, and it isn’t that lucrative anyways I am sure! But I can offer a beautiful place camp for a while, close to town but a quiet spot deep in the woods to spend some time, and some experience with sustainable light touch restorative forestry, saw-milling, and timber framing. You are also welcome to hunt, trap, and forage on the land if you wish. (With some limitations of course) It has lots to offer.

You could also put up a temporary hard camp if you like. Yurt, wall tent with plywood, small log structure, whatever.

Open to ideas, but a fixed length of time is critical as I don’t know how long this stage of the project will take.

Let me know if anyone is interested or has any other proposal they would like me to hear!

My wife and I have a homestead on a beautiful piece of property in beautiful Southwest NB. It’s mostly forested, and our homestead is right in the middle of it, made mostly from materials harvested from the forest using principles that will hopefully one day result in the restoration of the native and threatened Acadian Forest that once covered Atlantic Canada.

The property sits quite far back from any trafficked  road, and there are no visible neighbors, and a good size stream runs through it, so it makes the place ideal for nature lovers like us. It is a short 15 min or so drive to towns where you can get everything you need.

After building our small home, and two winter seasons of logging, it became clear that we have far too much land to make full use of. I would love to pull more value out of these woods as the first batch of pioneer trees, a good size and species for log buildings or timber framing, are fully mature, ready for harvest, and blowing down faster than I can harvest them and build with them.

It’s a shame of course, but there is no way I am getting commercial foresters in, because it doesn’t pay, and they will destroy the second growth in the understory, which will harm the restoration to Acadian Forest conditions.

I have a band sawmill mill to help me turn this stuff into valuable buildings, but I have no hope of staying ahead of the blowdowns and making full use of the trees using my light touch techniques.

I have many ideas of what to do with the wood, and the tools and skills to make it happen, but there just isn’t enough time.

I wonder if there aren’t other folks in the area keen on some sort of arrangement. With some of the skills, or a keen interest and willingness to learn, and inclination to spend a certain fixed amount of time on this project to help get ahead of this stand that is blowing down faster than I can cut it.

I would like to turn these dying trees into bunkies, sheds, guest cabins, and other useful things to be sold locally, or to help expand the homestead, and I need help in the woods doing selective forestry, need help in sawmill operations, and in the construction phase as well.

If you have mobile accommodation, like a Vanlifer or RV lifer, you are welcome find a quiet spot in the field by the stream, and we can work out ways in which we can share resources and make things easier for you.

I can’t pay you in money, as I don’t have any income from the operations yet, and it isn’t that lucrative anyways I am sure! But I can offer a beautiful place camp for a while, close to town but a quiet spot deep in the woods to spend some time, and some experience with sustainable light touch restorative forestry, saw-milling, and timber framing. You are also welcome to hunt, trap, and forage on the land if you wish. (With some limitations of course) It has lots to offer.

You could also put up a temporary hard camp if you like. Yurt, wall tent with plywood, small log structure, whatever.

Open to ideas, but a fixed length of time is critical as I don’t know how long this stage of the project will take.

Let me know if anyone is interested or has any other proposal they would like me to hear!

I am building a log home.

I also love the simplicity of it, and the honest materialso the biophilic aspect of the architecture.

I also just enjoy every bit of the process of building with wood. All the way up from forest management and cutting the trees.

That being said, it’s time consuming, at least the method I chose. I am doing an Appalachian style log home. The tolerances are about the width of paper. And when you are starting with chainsaw milled logs, getting that sort of precision is time consuming. That being said, I feel this design will last the longest. And in the grand scheme of things, spending a year or two and close to no money on a home you couldn’t buy even if you could afford it, the time isn’t that big of a deal. Better than paying off a mortgage for 30 years.

The cost is mostly windows, roofing, insulation, and tools which are all very multi-purpose and can build more structures.

The ecological cost is probably net positive since I only harvest pioneer species at the end of their life thinning to make room for second growth species in my mission to restore old growth conditions on my woodlot eventually.

But yes, I agree that if you want to add onto a log structure, stick framing is probably most convenient, BUT certainly not the only way. You could also timber frame it, and just mortice it into the main structure. Although I have taken a timber frame course, and came to the conclusion that it is a wildly impractical way to build. The founder of the institute even told us that. He said he wouldn’t be teaching that way if the market didn’t demand it. All the trouble of working with logs, but more skill needed, tighter tolerances, but just as many steps as stick framing, but the framing let is just a way bigger pain. And in the end you have something that looks the same, except for inside. That being said, if you aren’t a purist, there are some huge hacks to timber framing to make it practical. It may annoy traditionalists though.

You can also add on with logs. You could also just age the logs for the addition for a year. Wood loses most of its moisture the first year of drying anyways, so it would be a close enough match to be within a reasonable tolerance.

My advice is learn about wood. The craft of log building is a good book to start with. Start building stuff out of wood. Once you understand how wood works and all of its properties, you can understand the limitations of designs with wood. The possibilities are infinite. If you are smarter than the wood, you can build with it.

Does it mention brands? I know some manufacturers coat the metal in something to deter growth of organisms on the roof. Such a think is potentially not something you want leeching into drinking water. And it’s the sort of thing that may be proprietary and not have to be even disclosed to the consumer.

The problem is they put that on pure wood products as well because inhaling wood dust in high quantities chronically can cause cancer. A little context on those warnings would be nice to keep it from being the label that cries wolf.

That really depends on how it's harvested.

If it was harvested in a clearcutting operation, the soil disturbance in such an operation releases a lot of sequestered carbon. Then it needs to be transported and processed. If you felled, skidded, and processed it by hand, it's carbon neutral. The carbon isn't just sequestered in the tree itself, but also the soil under the tree. If you have to kill the soil to get the tree, then you do release a substantial amount of carbon in that process.

I also bought some acreage in Southwest NB.

There is very little red tape to get around. None as far as I know if. That link you posted seems to conflict with this one:

https://stcroixcourier.ca/building-the-southwest-new-brunswick-service-commission-reminds-residents-you-likely-need-a-permit/

It needs to be in a rural area, and it will be classified as a camp. You just build it to 625 sqft. Camps don't need to meet any building codes. You can build it however you please.

The permit is just to make sure you aren't building it anywhere that would put wetlands in danger or where you aren't running afoul of any provincial regulations when it comes to land use.

This is one of the most relaxed areas in Canada I have heard of when it comes to permitting and codes. They seem to encourage alternative living