Woodwise

Homesteading means building.
This is still the "New World" and development continues.
Even if you are on an old farm, there will be repairs and improvements.
So you will need to buy some lumber at one point or another.

Buying the wood that you need is simple enough.
You go to the store, tell them what you're doing, and they will sell you what you need.
The lumber stores are usually pretty helpful and honest.
But when it comes to shopping around and knowing that you're getting your money's worth,
you need to know a little before you start.


 

First of all, wood is sold by different denominations.
Sometimes by item; like a spruce 2x6x8 costs $6.00.
Also by lineal foot; like v-joint pine at $1.00 per foot.
Wood flooring can be sold by area; $3.50 per square foot.
But the basic unit of measurement is the board foot.
A board foot is one inch thick, 12 inches wide, and 12 inches long.
Understanding and converting into board feet helps you compare different products or gives you a better idea of how the wood product is being priced.

Here's an example.
You would like to buy some building lumber.
One store is selling by unit. An 8' 2"x6" is priced at $5.60.
Another is selling by board foot. All wood is $.55 per board foot.
Each lineal foot of a 2x6 is a board foot. (1x12x12=144, 2x6x12=144)
At $5.60 divided by eight equals $.70. That means a difference of $.15 per board foot.
If you don't know the conversion, you could pay more than necessary.


 

Keep in mind that as wood is processed, there is value added to it.
Processing means a portion of the lumber is removed through planing and that a one inch thick piece of finished wood won't actually measure a full one inch, but it is still identified as being one inch.
So don't try to haggle someone down because the wood is thinner than it's called.
You may notice that if you buy wood that has only been milled into a board and has not been smoothed by a planer, that the dimensions are usually the nominal measurement.
That is, a 2x6 is actually two inches thick and six inches wide.
Normal store bought lumber has been planed and so a 2x6 will really measure 1.5"x5.5".

Often there is simply no haggling when it comes to the lumber stores.
But it helps to know when someone is gouging the unsuspecting public especially when it comes to high demand woods like red cedar.


 

Another helpful bit of info is that lumber stores will usually accept returned lumber.
This is not unusual if you have over bought, but you can also ensure that you aren't sold really poor quality lumber.
If you don't like what you bought then send it back.
Just because the lumber has been graded and stamped doesn't mean there is an implied quality
I just bought 2x4s from the lumber store and found that half of them are really poor.
I'll keep them because of their intended use, but had I bought them for making furniture or for building an precision product, I would have sent them back.
Ideally, find a local mill and buy local.
I ended up in a bind so I used the lumber store instead of my neighbour.

One last tip.
When your wood arrives from the lumber store, it will be stacked together.
That's how they store and ship the wood.
It's not ideal however.
Lumber is best stored with spacers called stickers.
The stickers helps keep the wood dry and aid in keeping the wood stable and straight.
My lumber from my neighbour Paul always comes stickered and is as straight as an arrow.
The store bought stuff comes in a pile and if you let it dry out like that,
it will twist and warp.
When your wood arrives, stack it with the stickers if you plan on holding it for any length of time.
You can find stickering instructions online.

 

Pioneering Renaissance

There's a disheartening irony to the fact that the number of people farming has dropped dramatically for decades.
The farmers are leaving and so are their children.
You would think that with the local food movement underway that there would be lots of people to take over for the families that are leaving the farms.
The irony is that while farming is unpopular as an occupation, the farm land is highly sought after.
And that excludes many of the aspiring new farmers because the prices are normally beyond the reach of young people starting out.

I do hate to disparage the folks who have bought up farms to enrich their lives, but in most cases, the properties become hobby farms for pets and horses.
I've read blogs where people wax romantic about beautiful walks on their two hundred acre farm, which in most cases is left fallow to be enjoyed as a private agricultural reliquary.
Often it is a professional couple who both work and have no children who have the financial resource to buy up the vacant farms.
Some choose to farm the land; many do not.

In the mining sector, you cannot hoard valuable land for long without extracting resource.
Claims must be followed through or they expire after some time.
This ensures that natural resources continue to add to the nation's GDP and that land does not sit idle.
One day, this same regulation style may be necessary for farmland to keep arable land in rotating production.
Until then, there is another solution.

Land that is north of the Canadian Shield line is notoriously rough, rocky, and desolate.
There are pockets of farmland in use, but most of the rugged north is barren of settlement and food production.
But,
land is much more affordable.
The trade-offs are consistent.

Small communities.
Few jobs.
Even fewer good paying jobs.
Infertile land.
Biting flies.
Sparse market opportunities.
Short growing season.
Minimal agricultural infrastructure.

Although, you would be surprised by the number of old farmsteads that dot the near north.
It's just that people gave up trying to farm the land years ago.


The disparity between central and southern Ontario is considerable.
It is however, important to consider more than just the differences within Ontario.
Consider how we differ from the rest of the world.
A little research will show you that most of the world survives in less than perfect places.
One of the great advantages that North America owes it's status to is the fact that much of the continent is excellent for food production.

Back in shield country you will notice that despite the apparent lack of fertility,
trees and plants and animals thrive in abundance.
So why couldn't the land be made to grow food for us?
The problem has been trying to transfer agricultural methods from the south to the north.
It simply isn't the same land and cannot be farmed in exactly the same way.
When markets were more restrictive due the the limited culinary preferences of the U.K. immigrants, it was difficult to sell unusual produce.
Now that our population is more diverse and the collective palate has moved well beyond english staples, there is the opportunity to cultivate produce that best suits the land instead of growing produce that best suits the markets.
Coupled with easier access to global agricultural methods and cultivars, the options for bringing marginal lands into production have multiplied.

Even though the government is no longer giving land away, there remains a viable direction for the pioneering spirit.
The challenge is coping with the financial demands that come with the western standard of living.
Keep in mind that the cost of living is lower once you get beyond the shield line.
That is especially true if your mortgage is one-third of what it might be living in southern Ontario.

If you wish you could have been a settler,
moving into shield country comes with far fewer risks than those brave souls faced hundreds of years ago.
Start by looking at the real estate listings.
Look at the prices and features.
Forget about job propects for now.
You are not looking for a career.
You are looking for a lifestyle.

Feels Like Summer,by Kira