This is my first post to the Guild, so please go easy...
We're building a hybrid timber frame in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. The timbers were fabricated and installed last Oct/Nov by the Cascade Joinery out of Bellingham WA. Thanks to Cascade Joinery's expertise, the timbers look stunning and the installation came off without a hitch. We got a roof on the place about three weeks back so everything is starting to dry out. I'm wondering what I can do from here on out to help minimize checking and twisting as the frame "cures".
I should probably provide a little more detail. The timbers themselves are green, structural select Douglas fir, FOHC, dense. The wood was salvage logged from the Biscuit Fire in SW Oregon so it may be a little drier than average. It was milled at East Fork Lumber in Norway, OR. The beams are mainly 8x10 and 8x12 with 8x8 and 6x6 posts. The timbers are planed smooth and all the edges are rounded over with 1/2 and 3/4 radiuses. The joinery is mainly lap joints in the beams with pegged mortise and tennon for the posts. The overall effect is vaguely reminiscent of Greene & Greene.
This is absolutely beautiful wood made more so by the outstanding work done by the craftsmen at the Cascade Joinery. I really want to keep it looking great. I believe Cascade Joinery put one or more coats of Land Ark oil finish on the timbers prior to installation. This is a natural Tung/Linseed oil mix, with citrus extract, beeswax, and pine rosin added. I has no chemical driers, so it's supposed to really soak in. I just put another coat of Land Ark on this week. Right now, I'm thinking about adding one more coat prior to firing up our (radiant) heat next month. I'll then follow up with another coat this summer. Does this seem like a reasonable approach? I'd like to achieve a deep satiny finish on the timbers, so I don't mind building up the coats and buffing them out.
Thanks.
Rich Johnson
Camano Island, WA
