Good day RGATOR,
First I would ask why you are choosing a non regional species?
ON TO DOUGLAS FIR:
Before I switched to Forest Stewardship Council Certified Douglas Fir, I would speck out Green, FOHC, Dense, #1 and Better (+ end grain sealed and anti stain treated).
On occasion I speck out Select Structural, however the mills that I receive timbers from send out at least 50% + Select Structural even when ordering #1 and Better.
DRY WOOD:
Drying is unnecessary except in very specific applications and
common residential work such as your project is typically not one of them.
The net gain of conventional kiln drying large beams does not warrant the additional expense due to the fact that they can only dry 2"+- into the timber.
RFVKD works, but it is important to initially order oversized timbers and have them re-sawn to square and size after the RFVKD process is complete.
Rather than drying which increases the costs dramatically, I would focus on finding a saw mill that would provide you with the densest, highest grade material possible.
Dense in the grade books only specifies around 5 growth rings per inch, which in the Timber Frame world is not very dense at all for Douglas Fir.
Each mill's timbers may match up evenly according to grade, but it is the mill that will provide you with material well beyond the minimum grade standards that you want.
In the US, it is timbers from coastal southern Oregon such as Starfire, Herbert Mill and others that can supply this. In Canada it is the coastal BC mills such as TF Sawmill and others.
Will's comments regarding Douglas Fir's workability are of the highest importance. The denser the material is, the better it will be to work.
In summery,
20K price difference is not worth the additional expense (except for very specific applications)
Instead, I would put your money into finding the very best saw mill and material possible.
For your consideration:
Another avenue is to purchase Forest Stewardship Council Certified Douglas Fir and let go of the "best" grade (which will undoubtably come from old growth forests) and instead choose a more ethical source of Douglas Fir.
