The Rough Cut Revolution: How to Build Anything Legally with Home Sawn Lumber

Have you ever been told, “you can’t use rough cut lumber you cut yourself, in your house, or barn, it’s Illegal!”
Well, I am here to tell you that this is NOT true.
Read the full article and find resources related to this video on our website.
barngeek.com/how-to-build-any...

[@richardried4197]

Buddy, this was moving, I'm a carpenter that grew up in the timber industry in Washington state, I've since moved to Colorado and I'm telling you, you hit the nail on the head. I'm in the process of building my own mill and it helps keep me going seeing that there are others out there like myself. I'm sharing this with everyone I know

[@lambda4931]

You raise some good points. Got a quote for a 1500 sq foot house 50k for the lumber 25k for the trusses. I have a Woodland Mill 122 and a lot of Doug fir on my property. I will be milling my own. I can get it stamped for 750.00. I’d like to take a course and certify my own, but I live in California. Very unlikely they will allow self certification, but I’ll check it out. Thanks for the encouragement.

[@nathanrainwater702]

Thanks for the video! From Louisiana. You are right we need to change some building codes. It's a shame we can't use the trees that we own to build homes for ourselves and our families. The prices to build right now the average income family can't afford to build a home right now. I would sign a contract with my Parrish stating that I couldn't sell the home and it was for my homestead. The people of the United States 🇺🇸 need to stand up for themselves and not let the big shots tell us what we can and can't build on our own property!

[@johnprouty1702]

Thank you so much! I live in northern Maine. I just purchased a Woodland Mills sawmill yesterday, so that I can start building cabins for our campground, and knew nothing about this code, and was so happy to see that it does not apply to me.

[@jonathanmiddleton1141]

Thank you for caring for the little guys Bud!!! It truly means the WORLD!! God bless you!!

[@rodmosgrave7445]

When you said Tennessee was a native lumber exemption state, you made my day. Thank you!

[@BarnGeek]

Glad to help!

[@trevormartin5972]

I love your passion for this. The big businesses lining the pockets of the law maker has gone too far in many industries under the guise of some form of safety yet in so many cases it merely drives out entry level competitors and drives down the product quality. This is unfortunately the way of the future if things don’t change and your speaking up to help others make inroads to be able to take care of themselves provides hope that it’s still possible to change this path. Thank you for your venerability.

[@bretgatrell3700]

Thank you for your help,sheds new light on things

[@rogerjoseph2532]

here in Ontario Canada, 2 by 4 's went from 4 bucks last summer to 16 bucks, almost overnight at Home Depot. They can keep their crappy lumber, I'm buying a band saw wood mill and cut my own trees on my heavily wooded 6 acres lot. A 400 percent increase is out right criminal.

[@mst5632]

A 300% increase. You can’t count the first $4. $4 x 3 Is $12. $12 + $4 is the current price of $16. I certainly agree with your excellent point though.

[@noralivinglifeonquailvalle8899]

Really loved this. Have a sawmill and haven't done much with it, but I just might get busy now.

[@BibleStoryHour]

Your right, "we need to change this", the bigger mills/corporations use the government regulations like these to eliminate competition from smaller competitors. The whole building permit industry prevents the poor from moving out of their tents into a well built shed or garage that they can add to as they can afford. Making it nearly impossible to improve their lives one step at a time, as an alternative to taking on a huge mortgage in order to pay for a dwelling. Sadly many who wrote the rules we are forced to live by today, when they were young didn't face such barriers to entry, and for some strange reason seem unable to have any understanding or sympathy for those who are struggling to make a beginning in today's environment.

[@mongomongo17]

the government hates it when you try to go off the grid

[@Dr.JustIsWrong]

That and because US government has 'appropriated' so much land, and enacted so many regulations, only leaves ~4% of US land area for residential use.. This means that the World's 3rd hugest population _(US pop 330 million)_ must squeeze into an area about the size of Greece _(pop 10 million)_ Where I live it's a felony to live in a 'camper' in the backyard of any property zoned single-family residential, even for zero rent. _(on any part of the property actually, anything other than _*_inside_*_ the main structure)_ It's the guy in the camper, trailer, shed, or whatever that gets arrested. But at least he's now got a warm dry place to sleep! _(..on government property..)_

[@MakkIsLooking]

Thank you for sharing this info. Have a good evening.

[@chrissheathewoodguy]

we grade our own lumber from our mill. the class was fun and not hard. we build away here on the farm. yes we have a good relationship with our local building department. was a builder for 35 years.

[@will6258]

Great video. This was really encouraging. Thank you

[@cfps66]

Hi, Great presentation. Another reason why all codes are in place is because a Bank will not lend money for construction that utilizes "unvetted material. Always follow the money. "Up to Code" is just another way to get a fee. Cheers, Chris

[@SoundBridgeAcousticLabs]

Just joined and downloaded plans. All the best man!

[@marcbernosky1529]

Very Imformative thanks! Looking forward to more videos.

[@BarnGeek]

Thanks

[@justinweier4099]

Thanks a million for that information (great that you had the Wisconsin code on your site).

[@twinbrookacres]

Great video. I am in New Hampshire. I restored my barn last year. I bought lumber from the local mills for less, and it was all native lumber. The one exception was lumber for a door. I paid dearly for that lumber at a big box store! Thanks for sharing. - Rick

[@integr8er66]

In my county there are no building permits issued, and I LOVE IT! I do anything I want, as ot should be.

[@forbolden]

@@Makeloafnotwar That works until a corporate pig farm moves in next door.

[@supershooter49]

All the way from Aberdeen Scotland at last someone like myself who sees the system needs to change ,great stuff keep at it.

[@BarnGeek]

Thank You!

[@juliadang5040]

Thank you so much for the info.

[@michaeljamesreed9054]

Thank you for this video. I couldn’t agree more.

[@cherylstark99]

We had no idea when we bought our property and mill that it was illegal to use rough cut lumber. I told the inspector exactly what and how we were going to build our timber frame shed and cabin. When he saw the material and techniques we used he did not even disclose that we were not supposed to do it that way. He was very impressed with our lumber post and beams when we were about 75% finished is when we found out. We just went ahead and finished. I find it disgusting that they feel the need to regulate the people so severely. It is completely wrong.

[@Robinhood179]

Most codes are put there for your protection but ONLY because some idiot before us did the bare minimum with zero thought and had it fall over and hurt someone. We pay for the stupidity of others.

[@BLAM777]

Where our land is in aroostook county maine i was told i can build what i want by the town administrator with no restrictions on what wood i use. The only time I will need a permit and inspection is for the septic. There are two other lots where the people live year round and their places were built with rough cut lumber around 10 yrs ago. They've never had any issues about that.

[@mafirearmsafety]

I love the County.

[@7_5_ate]

That's the way it should be. Most wood I see from personal mills is beautiful, most wood I see in big box stores is twisted garbage.

[@johnprouty1702]

I am in Fort Fairfield, and just bought 35 acres, and a sawmill. 🤞🏻

[@ryansmith8440]

I have a lumber grading certification in WI. It was close to free and a one day class.

[@fastsetinthewest]

NEW SUBSCRIBER via Mark over at Greenacres, Anybody Can Farm. Thxz. Very good video. Godspeed. Eaglegards... P.S. I grew up on a farm near Corunna at 7648 E.M. 21. My g grandfather built his barn at the SW corner of Seymour Rd and Bristol Rd in 1905 near Lennon, Michigan.

[@sherrystacyrn589]

Valuable information...

[@johnseavey6622]

I have been a builder and cabinet maker for 50 years and can tell you some of the lumber that is stamped is real shit I have thrown out and would not use some of the lumber.

[@jonsmith9708]

There is an act in the state of michigan .Its called the "right to farm act"you can build without permits.

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

Would be the dream to build in Michigan then. If you could just buy land and build whatever you wanted without having to do all that bullshit paperwork. The last thing someone who wants to build wants to do is become a paper pusher

[@joncue0304]

In Indiana we call it the log cabin rule. You can build pretty much anything with wood you proved yourself.

[@joncue0304]

If you build your own home, the county can't require it. This is dictated by state law, specifically Indiana Code Section 36-7-8-3(d). There have actually been court cases where the homeowner was taken to court over this and the homeowner won.

[@walshwoodworks8964]

This is incorrect. While you can build agricultural buildings w/o permits, you cannot build a home w/o them. “Certain agricultural buildings are exempt from state requirements to obtain building permits before their construction. The state construction code, not the Michigan Right to Farm Act, provides farmers this limited exemption.”

[@jonsmith9708]

@@walshwoodworks8964 this I know but I'm still correct because like you said you build them for AG use

[@woodyahh2110]

Building Inspectors don't look for stamps on lumber If your worried make a stamp Don't volunteer info

[@skpcx]

Building inspectors can certainly be a PITA but I totally agree - they are there to protect the homeowner to ensure that the work quality and materials are up to acceptable codes and standards. They want what you want - for you to have a safe house - so work with them to get things done RIGHT.

[@craigjasmer474]

You mention that the state of Washington has an act that allows use of native lumber. Can you share your reference? I’ve only found House Bill 1153 that was never passed by legislature.

[@brass_tracker3892]

What if I have a family member out of state that has a saw mill? I’d like to use him for the lumber for my house, then truck it here.

[@americansmark]

Never heard of such a thing. Here in Ohio, it's quite common for rural homes to be built using wood milled from the property. My friend's dad built his house and garage using Virginia Pine that he cut and milled himself. If some revenuer tried to tell him how he could use his own property, that revenuer would never be seen again.

[@williamfisher4663]

Ohio backwards as fuck. Michigan raking in the dough.

[@americansmark]

@@Makeloafnotwar Zanesville area. Originally from down in the hollers of Perry county.

[@RockhillfarmYT]

Interesting video

[@BarnGeek]

Glad you think so!

[@Avotts]

how about using FREE CULL lumber from small sawmill? In the rural county where I would like to build they charge many thousands of dollars for every step and they require 3 inspections of each

[@chrisarchuleta1126]

East tn we build what we want when and how we want

[@petroc62]

Colby Lumber, Boscawen NH

[@delprice3007]

The law needs to be reformed also for locker beef

[@chrismash6265]

the main goal of government regulations is for the large corporations to eliminate competition.

[@Mybarndream33]

I have a old barn I'm turning into a home and want todo spray insulation but there was no hose wrap put on what would you put in I want to be able to replace wood as needed help lol

[@genegreear4183]

I wanted to build a year ago in Arkansas. I could not find an eight foot 2x4 for less than $10.00. A man down at the end of my road told me he had some pine he would cut for a dollar each. I jumped at the chance. The lumber had been laying too many years on the ground and had bugs in it. I took the first thirty boards and canceled the rest of the order. How do you find a good saw mill? Later

[@juliadang5040]

Didn’t find any links to the article

[@jessicat3951]

Does anyone know the name of or how to find information about any exemptions for Maine? I keep googling and have not found anything yet...

[@shawnocallaghan3860]

I also live in MI. My local township told me that any structure that requires a permit requires stamped lumber. That means any structure over 200 square feet. My property is classified as “Suburban Farm” as its 27 acres in size. You mentioned there is an “Agricultural Use” exemption that would allow me to get around this requirement and use my own milled lumber. Can you tell me how “Agricultural Use” is defined? I just want to build structures for my lumber mill and storage for fire wood and tractor.

[@BarnGeek]

" A building permit is not required for a building incidental to the use for agricultural purposes of the land on which the building is located if the building is not used in the business of retail trade." That is an exact quote from the code. Here is a link to the Michigan Law that exempts Ag buildings. I don't know for sure if yours qualifies, but it sure looks like it does. www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-act-230-of-1972.pdf

[@Markds181]

At least in Michigan, Public Act 230 of 1974 states you can build a cabin to live in without a permit that is 200sq ft or less (12x16), or an ag barn 400 sq ft without permit.

[@BarnGeek]

Yes, You can build any size AG barn in Michigan without a permit.

[@Markds181]

@@BarnGeek been real busy but I would like to revisit this question with you. I did not know you can build any size AG building without a permit. Can you tell me more about that? What do you know, and or where can I look it up? I live in Antrim County Mi just about 7 miles north of Mancelona. Thanks in advance!

[@Markds181]

Nevermind. I found your videos. Thanks again!

[@parkshueyleebaker9168]

Greedy men , greedy governments

[@benjaminbrewer2154]

With the current price of 1.125" avantech. What should be considered when using planking?

[@jonsmith9708]

Shiplap like the old days

[@7_5_ate]

I live in Michigan. I am wanting to use reclaimed lumber from 100+ year old barns to build a new workshop/ barn. How do they feel about this? I have an endless supply of premium wood it's just been used before. Any ideas are appreciated.

[@BarnGeek]

Sure, people do this all the time. Probably your best bet is to rebuild the structure as close to original as possible. You will want to measure everything in the building before you take it down. Then have a set of plans drawn from those measurements, your hand sketched drawings, and pictures. You can find people to draw the plans on fiverr. Depending on local codes and the condition of the structure, you may need to add some structural components, like steel brackets, or extra timbers to get the structure to pass load requirements. You can also hire engineers to evaluate the structure for you and make recommendations. Alternatively, you can use heavy timbers to build a log structure. Often you can skip most of the above steps if you do that. Or, you can follow the advice in the video, a lot of the same information applies.

[@domading2759]

Nobody gets to tell me how I build on my property.. I do as I please

[@cmw184]

Who is honestly going to check every single damn piece of lumber anyway

[@AlMcgilvra]

Does the "native species" or "local stamped" exemption apply in Michigan? I want to build a dwelling with lumber from my own land. Thanks,

[@BarnGeek]

No we don't have a native species exemption in Michigan, however we have built many barns and barn homes in Michigan with rough cut ungraded lumber, and it has never been an issue.

[@francoisbouvier7861]

Currently attempting to build a timber frame structure on my property, with my timber. In British Columbia, Canada we are required to have the timbers graded by a certified grader. And no, we cannot grade our own timbers. It's a gong show.

[@BarnGeek]

Sorry Man... Thinking maybe a bunch of us little guys get together and create our own grade certification.

[@catmandont100]

I needed a permit to ADD a lean-to to my house. I told them the building was being downgraded to agriculture use. It's been 15 years and they aren't complaining. Probably doesn't hurt that the building inspector worked with me at the same sawmills grading lumber.....meaning we have about 75 years combined lumber and building experience.

[@braeburn2333]

The best way to build anything legally is to build it in a place without zoning or building codes. I will never build a house in a place where I have to ask permission from the big government idiots who think that cost is not important but perfection is. If people were allowed to build without having to ask permission first, then millions of people who can't afford any housing options would be able to have a home. Mexico doesn't have a homelessness problem beccause families are allowed to build ADU's and houses without any government interference. Now, in the US, unelected officials think nothing of making all affordable housing illegal and at the same time they blame those who can't afford the high cost of perfection they think everyone should have. "why can't everyone afford the perfect houses we require? Its their faiult they can't earn a six figure salary to afford our high cost perfect homes. The homeless deserve to be homeless because they aren't rich enough." Its like Marie Antoinette saying: "why don't the homeless people just get penthouse apartments?" This is the state of the building codes and zoning restrictions today in big government America.

[@pvtimberfaller]

You can’t get away with it in Oregon

[@mafirearmsafety]

How long would you dry the lumber? I have access to an excellent lumber yard. You can go to Home Depot or Lowes and look all day for a straight 2x4. At the lumberyard it is the opposite, you would need to look all day to find a crooked 2x4!

[@bryanjones14]

I build and restore post and beam barns in Michigan .... ("American heritage barn preservation). Even tho Michigan has the right to farm act , many municipalities try and make us get permits ECT ! It's about revenue not safety trust that . Are the kits u have mortise and tenon or plate ? Do u belong to Michigan barn preservation network ?

[@BarnGeek]

Our designs and kits use steel plates. I'm not currently a member of MBPN, but I have been in the past.

[@user-bk9ol8bh7w]

People 100 years ago bult with Green lumber

[@RandomStuff-zt6qf]

As long as it's Leagal lol

[@johnnyroberts5994]

What’s hilarious is .. who hasn’t placed an order with HD or Lowe’s and got absolute trash

[@interesting2me]

Why not cut the tree and exchange for lumber in your local mill. Can you do that.

[@johnmccall9605]

I've been wondering the same thing

[@mr.hoonigan4313]

Just build in a state that doesn't have building code.

[@nathanweisser]

As usual, the problem is government

[@mikegallo3190]

Free man don’t ask to build on their land

[@billfisher8647]

Inspectors control whether or not you’ll get electricity

[@GodsProvidence]

Free man maybe not stay that way, unfortunately.

[@georgeshotrodbarn2113]

Its all about consumer protection its not a problem if you build a substandard house for you to live in what the county is doing is making sure the next owner gets a good Quilty home that they are paying a lot of money for it. not just about you. that is why it is called building standard dept. there are people that would build a home out of pallet wood if they could get away with it but the county is not going to give them a CO.

[@BarnGeek]

That's exactly what the building department, and the big box stores want you to believe. If you think that, then they can be assured that, you will continue to buy their garbage lumber for a premium price. The argument falls apart when you consider everything that was built before there was a building code, or stamped lumber existed. There wasn't some massive problem of junk homes and buildings built out of sticks and paper clips before the building code existed, but there sure is now. I have been in this industry for almost 30 years and I have seen all kinds of very sketchy things "pass code". The entire industry is built to "just pass code" quality doesn't matter, as long as it passes code. The code is used as a crutch so that architects, builders, construction material manufacturers, and building inspectors can all pass the buck. When a homeowner wonders why their house is falling apart after 10 years, they can all shrug their shoulders and say, well it passed code. The so called problem that the building code proposes to fix, is the very problem it caused in the first place.

[@johncostello3162]

You make some good points I respectfully suggest that engineering on beam sizes and spacing is required by most building inspectors Rural areas are probably less restrictive than cosmopolitan areas Good luck , I get it. But please use some engineering and get permits or you may have to tear down structures if you try to sell property I live in California and the laws are brutal!

[@BarnGeek]

I'm sorry you live in a place like that. Most of the rest of us have more freedom. As far as engineering, we have run all the calculations, and had them reviewed by multiple engineers. All the load data is included on the plans.

[@leewatkins1610]

but how much does this cost? this is another regulatory robbery..

[@domading2759]

There is only 10 things that are illegal.. Moses told us so

[@RonaldHamilton-kv4qf]

Rant all you want brother i.eas going to build a house. No I.van only buy a old house trailer rant on your put voice

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

Why can't I build my own house however I want? Basically it's because "your house" often becomes someone else's house. Many communities do not want problem houses. House values are often related to property values and which relates to property taxes used to improve communities. There are still places in the world a person can live without community restrictions. Buildings not needing a permit in my area are still required to be built to code. Farm buildings may have a different code, even if that's no code, from homes. A home mill can mill say twice as much lumber as they need for their house, sell it and use that money to buy stamped lumber. If we're just talking about money here. If we don't care about anything other than using lumber we personally milled no matter what then the $300+ for an inspector seems reasonable imo. If we just want to do whatever we want inside communities with rules well then it's time to grow up. Problem with changing how grading is done is the very low number of people affected. Just isn't worth it for politicians. They simply can't spend time catering to every little change small groups want. Also keep in mind we used to allow anyone to build however they wanted and it caused serious problems for communities which is why we have all these rules. These rules didn't just appear because people love rules. So if you're going to ask politicians to do away with grading you should have a different way to ensure minimum standards are used. Maybe have building inspectors who can grade lumber...some areas kind of have that already. We don't do that too often now because what happens when a house is all framed and 10% of the lumber isn't up to grade? Rip it down and try again? That's going to be expensive which is why we currently grade lumber before it's used. How expensive is an inspection going to be if every piece has to be looked at? Current grading is done on the ground and pieces can be flipped through quickly. Right now our current system may be the most cost effective even for someone able to mill their own lumber, or at least not that much more.

[@MichaelBrown-zp1sf]

I think water bug here is a wood inspector or a rule-following brown-noser. if somebody would have told our forefathers that they couldn't Harvest their own Lumber and use it to build anything they wanted they probably woul have gotten a double barrel in their face. The people who run everything love rules so they can keep their monopolies and keep all the money funneling into their pockets. Banks, mortgage companies, real estate agents and presidents of homeowners associations love this kind of bullshit.

[@Dr.JustIsWrong]

I'm sorry, I don't accept legal advice from someone with messy hair.. 😆

[@BarnGeek]

By that logic, you probably shouldn't pay any attention to the theory of relativity either.

[@Dr.JustIsWrong]

@@BarnGeek Oh heaves no! Messy hair is absolute utter final indisputable proof of scientific hypotheses! Sans facial hair, obviously.. 😉 Unfortunately, by this logic I can't listen myself about law nor science.. Until I shave and find a comb, maybe..

[@BarnGeek]

​@@Dr.JustIsWrong Wait! I can fix everything with the following disclaimer. (This is only meant for entertainment purposes, it is not legal advice.) There, now you can listen to your hearts content, without violating your rules of logic.

[@Dr.JustIsWrong]

@@BarnGeek _"disclaimer"_ omg! Like a weight has been lifted from my soul! Hallelujah! My de-lemon is resolved.. ..and I don't even have to clean to find a comb!.. yay

[@BarnGeek]

@@Dr.JustIsWrong Your welcome brother! Now go forth and be entertained!

[@theshadow4292]

This man is providing misinformation, notice he always uses the term "Rough Cut Lumber" which is a term used for lumber which has been correctly milled and dried. It is specifically newly cut "Green or Undried" rough cut lumber which the building codes will not allow a builder to use in framing a structure for habitation. (i.e.) Lumber which has more than a 20% water content is considered to be "Green Lumber" and such lumber [will] shrink, bow, twist and in some stressful uses, it will even splinter or break as it dries in walls, floors, ceilings, etc. when it is used to build a habitable building and that is both unsafe and illegal. Further, no Home Insurance company will write an insurance policy for a structure built with Green Lumber, no electrical company will provide electricity for a build that was built with Geen Lumber and no water company will provide water to any building that was built with Green Lumber.

[@BarnGeek]

Literally everything you just said is false. If you stand by what you said provide evidence for your assertions. Having said that, I have to thank you. I have never before seen ALL of the rough cut lumber myths, spelled out in one place. It gives me a nice document to start my mythbusting video from. Don't bother deleting it, I already have it screenshot. 😁

[@leewatkins1610]

what a good occupation,,, get the easy certification and drive around the country helpimg people...maybe even do it with SKYPE!send them the paperwork...WAY LESS MONEY THAN 300 BUX