Can I use untreated lumber to frame a new house?
Question:I recently cut some trees from my property into dimensional lumber. The idea is to use that lumber for framing a new home. Is there any precautions or pitfalls I should be aware of?
Answers:
You absolutely can frame a house with untreated lumber. They don't use treated stuff when they frame the house typically. One thing you might want to be cautious of is the fact that your recently cut lumber may warp. The untreated framing wood you buy at your local home improvement store is all center cut and is kiln dried to remove the moisture. As that moisture comes out of the wood you may experience warping in all that newly cut lumber. I commend you on taking the time to make that tree into useful materials though.
You have to let the wood dry completely, you can use it for framing interior but not exterior.
treated lumber is only used when the wood comes in contact with the foundation or footings, the rims and bottom plates. the framing lumber you buy at a lumber yard has been graded, depending on your building codes you may have to have your lumber graded before it will meet building requirements.
You don't use treated lumber in a house because it is treated with arsenic and it would be toxic in a closed up house. Your tree lumber should be fine as long as it is dry.
I've attached a link that discusses the idea of using your own "home grown" lumber for framing. The biggest issue I can see is that commercial lumber has been inspected and classified. Apparently, some states have regulations about the quality of lumber that can be used in home construction. You may want to find what your local building codes and the insurance company require. You would not want to build a home that would not pass building inspection, or one that you could not get insured.
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