I've seen stamped lumber at the big box stores that I wouldn't build a doghouse with!

Who ever inspected Lowe's lumber needs FIRED

I am 25 years in a sawmill-lumber cabin and never asked anyone's permission to build it myself. I'm in WV too.

I'm telling ya, the things a guy can learn on You Tube when you bite on a suggested video. Your presentation pulled me into the whole 17 and a half minutes. Now I know. ☺ Thanks.

My dad built the house I grew up in here in southern West Virginia in 1955. His dad had a sawmill and my dad milled all of the structural lumber use in that house. He only bought things like siding and tongue and groove flooring. My dad still lives there and is now 91 years old and the house is still as straight and solid as it was when first built.

My county has no building codes. Their website says “if you build a house and roof falls down on you, you’ll learn better next time.” I’ll build what I want.

We built the cabin we live in out of rough sawn GREEN lumber from an Amish sawmill. We have lived in it for 9 years and all is well so far. We used a book called "The green wood house" as a guide. The entire house cost us $16K to build, including wiring, insulation, kitchen cabinets, and plumbing.

I am a sawmill owner in Tennessee. We have the Tennessee Native Species Lumber Act here which was advocated by a friend of mine and sawmill owner as well. It allows any person to use homestead timber or lumber to use and be exempt from state or local codes.

Built two houses and some barns with sawmill lumber and was fortunate enough that the building inspector said he had no say in the matter!

I was a certified hardwood lumber inspector when I worked at a finish mill in the 90s. I should reup my certification a a side hustle.

I have recently retired as a residential builder with nearly 50 years in the trade. Many of my projects included custom milling of both large and small dimension "structural" lumber that I had specially milled for my projects. This lumber never had any stamps. If it did, I would have removed them, as this lumber was typically used in areas that were easily seen. Some of this wood was milled locally in small mills, and some purchased out of state and shipped. (where ever I could get the best price). All of my projects were built to code and subject to inspection. Not once, in literally hundreds of projects, did I have a building inspector question why my lumber was not stamped.

I'm a structural engineer and I have to start by saying that this is a great video. You did some great research and presented some very viable options. Kudos. The only point I would add, is that the purpose of the stamp is all about liability. As a licensed structural engineer, when I calculate the demand on a piece of lumber and choose a lumber grade sufficient to meet that demand, it is important to me that that grade of lumber be used, important enough that I specify it on by stamped drawings. It is also about liability to the building department. Like you mentioned in your video, a lot of people, including yourself, feel like they can depend upon the jurisdiction's inspection to certify that the structure is built right, and by extension, strong enough. Despite the fact that the building department's inspection provides for none of this liability, the building department wants someone else to take responsibility for the quality of the material and they codify that requirement to serve that purpose. My point is that the inspection and grading of the wood is not meaningless or simply a bureaucratic formality, it has purpose and liability associated with it. I see a lot of comments below from people with testimonials about structures that their grand pappy built 100 years ago that are still standing. These are not the people that the code is trying to protect. Let me be clear, the code is NOT trying to protect you from yourself. As I tell many a client, the liability for a structure that I engineer, like that report for you lumber you got, stays with the structure, and if you move on and someone else takes possession of that structure, the liability on a structure that I engineered, stays with me. But, it doesn't even need to go that far. If you happen to build a barn and have a big hoe-down in the middle of a wind storm and the thing blows down and kills your neighbor's cousin's girlfriend who just showed up because her friend thought it would be a fun time, the liability for her death, is on the person who built or engineered that structure, and it is important that that person, who is going to take on that liability, have some assurance that the lumber is strong enough to meet the demand. Clearly, the risk of this in an agricultural building is low, that is why they are exempted. If you choose to take and end around the wood stamp, or the engineer, or the building department (like I see below), then you take on that responsibility. Personally, I would keep the neighbor's cousin's girlfriend out of the barn hoe-down myself, she's just there for the booze anyhow.

The other side of this is "How many times have I built something that didn't require structural lumber, yet I paid the price of that inspection for said lumber..." Thanks for the great information!

I'm a fan of the Ron Swanson School of Less Government, just saw that Code Regulations book in half and PRESS ON!

At the start I thought he was the other guy in dumb and dumber rotl and boy was I wrong! I must say I appreciate the fact there are some smart people like this guy in Virginia! I am a disabled/retired but was an expert General Contractor in California where all codes are strict and I am proud to give you my stamp of approval for this video of truth & knowledge! Thumbs up everybody, this man deserves a million of them for teaching the do it yourselfers on the truth of his knowledge! What he has said is spot on! Red Tool House guy, I personally I am thrilled to have found you on youtube and have subscribed as well :)

The rural county I live in doesn’t have building inspectors, nor building permits. People build whatever they want on their property and the only inspections are electrical to connect to power and the health department septic inspection.

I'm calling b.s. no way a piece of wood from home depot is that straight

"It cost more than my first year of college tuition" 2021 lumber prices joke

Building Codes were established to protect insurance and lending companies. The code books are copyrighted by various organizations that write the codes.

I was visiting with a lumber inspector and he told me that when he inspects lumber at Home depot or Lowe's all he's looking for is to make sure there are no woodpeckers or porcupines attached to the wood..

I’ve seen some boards at big box stores that were only good for a fire barrel

I wish people could realize we can do anything we wish to, as long as it does not harm others or damage others property. The government of the usa anyway is "government of the people, by the people, for the people" not the other way around.

I just happened to come across your video. It was very informative, and something I don't think a lot of people have even thought about. Thank you for the time put into it.

I’ve seen enough Mike Holmes on TV to know that even though a structure was inspected doesn’t “make it right.”

We built our church with 2x6" gluelam studs that were cut off pieces from Truss-Joist McMillan. A member was an engineer there. We had a building inspector come out and look at the framing and he red-flagged it. Dick went back to the factory and got a bucket up and a giant rubber stamp that had the proper information on it and he spent the day stamping every one of those two by sixes with the Truss-Joist engineering stamp, it passed. I called Dick Papa Smurf because he was blue up to his elbows.

I don't have a mill. I don't even have trees. Yet, after that idea, I want to go cut some shit up.

Excellent! Great information. Thanks for doing the research and sharing this. For those of us in more heavily regulated areas, you've just saved us a lot of money!

It blew my mind. I got so into your presentation that I forgot the question until you re-asked it at the end.

This answered every one of my questions. Thanks, man. My mill is coming early this March and I've been racking my brain trying to figure all of this out.

Its a good thing wow the only way to go im impressed having your lumber graded kudos to u Troy for digging this up

Not only did you answer my question about the esoteric "stamp" but you also provided the contact info for the inspection companies. Brilliant.

Very informative, thoughtful and practical. Love it. Thank you for this. Additionally your video on Black Locust trees convinced me to start cultivating them this year. It's gonna be an adventure!

Thank you for answering a large concerning question about building with my own lumber. You just helped me save 1/2-2/3 of the cost of my addition on my house and building my garage as well. Love the video as well. Straight forward, to the point, and informative as well. Nicely done. Hope to see more from you in the future.

Back in the 1970s I worked for a crossarm mill in the NW that remanufactured 4x5 old growth douglas fir for utility companies all across the US. Material that didn't make grade for utility pole crossarms was ripped and planed into 2x4s. The office manager selected out the premium lumber, much of it clear vertical grain, for framing an addition on his house. The lumber was dry and the biggest knot was the diameter of your pinkie. The county rejected the lumber because it didn't have a grade stamp. He negotiated with the inspector and got the plant manager to issue a certificate of grade. The lumber was minimum select structural grade and any fool could have seen that it was more than adequate for the job.

This became so much more interesting when it became clear it was WV. I am sitting home in Sweden and looking up ideas for saw mill and this just pops up. Learned a ton as it translates to Sweden but enjoyed watching for pure nostalgia of life 20 years back, back then in Bluefield. Very interesting and keep it up. Cheers

Outstandingly done video which covered the subject well without giving carte blanche to those who might decide to take their chances with no inspection. The idea of doubling your quantity inspected and selling it is fabulous for those who have the resources to tackle it.

I built with on site milled lumber, I had to hire a grader to come and stamp the lumber after it was milled. We had a few boards that didn't get stamped, didn't pass inspection. It was a few hundred bucks to get a few thousand board feet inspected and stamped. I helped move the boards as the inspector graded and stamped.

good info Troy, thanks ! Here our woods are oak, homes are built with somewhat green wood for that reason, when putting up a house, except in a few larger towns and cities there are no building permits, no inspections, other than septic tanks.

Extremely informative! I don't know how I ended up down this rabbit hole of KZfaq but I now have the knowledge. Thanks!

Thanks for posting this. In my county here in southwest Missouri, there are no codes, but the idea of adding value to lumber by having it graded is interesting. The idea of saving money is one thing, but actually building with straight, decent quality materials is an added bonus.

I'm so glad you shared this! I spoke with our local code officer and he made it sound expensive but I knew it had to be possible. YEA!!!

The government wants taxes, but you can use refurbished lumber with no tax.

You've answered a question I've wondered about but never sought out. Thanks!

🤯 Too effin’ cool!!! Just getting into milling and this makes more sense than any other video I have seen about milling. Thank you!

"Mind Blown" Lots of valuable info here!!! Thx

Don't cut too close to tolerances. Remember that a board that is a tiny bit too thick or too wide after drying can still make the grade for strength, but a board that dries too thin or too narrow will never make the grade.

I grew up in W.V. and now I pastor a church near Chicago. I couldn't take my eyes off the woods in the back ground. I miss the mountains and the smell of the woods. Great video and very useful information. Blessings!

Nice job of explaining the concerns and the proper way to go about staying compliant with the building codes. I was taught that the codes don't exist for YOUR safety, but rather for the safety of the person who later buys it from you or your heirs. Basically turns it into a commerce regulation type of thing, like functional for intended purpose....

when is a free man not free? When he pays to build with his own wood.

Lived in a 100+ year old house built with rough cut lumber as a kid. Was a solid built house and is still standing today

this is amazing.....just ran across the video, thank you as im getting ready to build a house next year and was thinking of doing this but didnt know how to proceed......i do work at a sawmill and we just bought a tract with 200,000 board ft of pine

Thank you for this video. I love how it’s just you on your property. Great work

I found this very interesting. First of all, I did not know that there were laws stating that you have to build with inspected lumber. Second, I also didn't know that you could hire someone to inspect your home-milled lumber. I like the idea of milling more lumber than you need, getting it all inspected, and selling the surplus for a profit. Brilliant!

Do “Barnwood Builders” and such get recovered structural lumber inspected and stamped before building residences with old lumber?

I have been looking into building my own home and haven’t even heard of lumber inspection requirements . Thanks for the insight.

I have shared this with another youtuber and am headed to yet another miller. Thanks! OH yeah I am in central florida BUT I served my time in SW Michigan. WINTERS SUCK

It shows how far we have fallen as a people that we think we need the approval of a government bureaucrat to do anything so simple.

A handful of states including Wisconsin and Tennessee have what is called a local use stamp. As a sawyer you can take a short class and grade your own lumber, but you have to sell directly to the end consumer and it's only valid within the state it is issued.

Great subject that I've never given much thought to, having that inspection report could go a long in resolving future insurance claims if the need arises. Great video thanks.

Wow my mind is Blown ! I’ve been shopping acres in rural California areas for just a little over a year ,and i feel like this information could have found me sooner , but woe to me had it been any later as i now begin the short list . All the different areas have different requirements for zoning , water per per foot on reserve for fire control. as well as , acreage requirements-fo each family, etc ...this is an important factor previously unknown

Here, in NC, the county inspector allowed me to use rough cut milled lumber for my house because it came from my property. That’s the only provision that I am aware of here. If you can show it was cut from your property then you can use it. It still has to pass code and load span specs. I over built my house just so no questions would arise.

You know I thought this video was just gonna be some kind of bullshit, but it turned out to be one of those gold nuggets of knowledge that I just so happen to accidentally come across. And when that happens, I usually award people a subscribe even though I hate collecting channels. So you got yourself a sub. Thank you. Really good video!

I don't know why the youtube algorithm decided I want to watch videos about lumber, but it was definitely interesting to learn about. Great video.

Fella i have no idea how youtube sent me to this video.. but This is quality information in a useful and easy to follow layout that's enjoyable to watch. Im a welder and fabricator so this is outside of my wheel house. I work with metal not wood but I do own quite a bit of land and I been meaning to build myself a new Motorcycle shed. Knowing this about my lumber is great. I'd never considered it. Cheers

What it boils down too is POWER AND GREED

Mind Blown!!! Some of these comments are "Wow!" also. Thank you!! Taking a second look at my timber.

Excellent video that clearly explains the issues with using self-milled lumber. Thank You!

Our family built 2 cabins (plus barns, garages and workshops) on our property using wood exclusively from our land and never had any compliance issues as we knew nothing about structural compliance. We likely exceed compliance as we only used hardwoods (walnut, cherry, red and white oak) for structures. Timber like poplar and pine was used mostly for heating and cooking. I guess we knew what we were doing as one structure has been there since 1868 and still used as a hunting cabin. Your video was very interesting and informative.

Wow. Mind blown... Oh my word! This is so great.

Great information that I never considered. The only inspection I have to have done is a Septic system inspection. No building fees no inspection. My only concern would be building with non-inspected lumber and then having an insurance claim due to weather damage then my insurance company trying to deny the claim because it was built with uninspected lumber. Something I will now I have to look into since I am going to be milling all my own lumber for my build.

My mind is definitely blown and I look forward to doing the same to my father in law. He’ll enjoy learning this

First time viewer to the channel, I’m probably not the target audience but thank you for the informative and easy to understand explanation. Great content.

I have been sawmilling for 30 years. On a micro mill a sawyer sees every board as it's sawn. He sees it better than any grader does. If you know your log and lumber you can grade it yourself as it comes off the mill. A lumber grader can be hired to grade it, there are a lot of certified graders looking for work in America,s slowing timber production. My favorite way is to have a structural engineer view it in siitu and sign off the entire structure. My sawn lumber comes from bigger diameter trees than are used commercially, and yields a superior product. An in situ inspection on a 2000 SF home has run in the 300 to 400 dollar range.

The county I am building in, they don't even have a permitting process. No inspections at all, ever. Build what you want however you can.

This was mind blowing. I now live in New Zealand but found the discussion very informative. I tended to think of the big boys in the business. But the mom & pops have a channel too!

That's great info.I did not know that. I'm fixings to buy a property in Kentucky this year, right now I love in Florida.

19% LOL I have cut lumber store bought that felt like I was taking a shower.

sawmill owners should read up on how the lumber grading works because it helps you understand how to get the most yield of high grade lumber out of a log especially if you dont have an old timer around saying pay attention boy this is how you do this.

Man!!!!! I'm so glad that your video showed up in my "recommended" videos. Thanks for your time and knowledge!! Plus...."new sub"!!

Great video, I had no idea I needed structural lumber that I milled to be inspected and stamped. I would like to see more videos on this subject! Thanks

Given today’s prices this makes even more sense.

My feeling on the subject is, what the government don't know won't hurt me!

Thanks for making this video and it was truly eye opening, and has me thinking about milling my own lumber.

I've not ran into this yet but it's coming.my fields are loaded with logs.thanks for the info.it will help!!!

Simple resolution to this issue. Do not live anyplace that has building inspectors.

I went to a clinic on lumber grading years ago. The pay for inspectors was pretty good back then (1985).

Nice video. You have made it possible for me to learn something today. Whether I ever use this knowledge or not only time will tell. But it's good to know. Thanks for the work put in to make this video.

Mind blown 🤯 I had no idea. But then I spent my life in the transportation business. But I always loved seeing people who built their own houses! And I always thought how cool it would be to build my own house.

I just had this conversation today in Wilmington NC because our studs were imported from Sweden. I'm a builder on the coast of NC and SC. The NCDOI was called by a local code official to investigate the studs being used. The NCDOI's PE found that the #2 Scotch Pine studs from Sweden are treated as equivalent to #3 North American stud. We are not allowed to use the import studs in our wind zone. Moral of the story; if you receive a lift of Swedish Scotch Pine studs in Carolina Beach, NC it's important to remove the stamp from them and have at least one North American #2 SPF stud lying around for the inspector to see.

bro....you just opened a new avenue for me.....thank you

I actually enjoyed your video. I found it to be very informative and educational. Thanks for sharing this information

I stumbled onto your video just looking at mills and couldn't leave very informative great video 👏

To take your scenario even farther: Suppose you have yourself certified to inspect/grade your own lumber?

I always wondered who it was that inspected, graded and stamped the lumber. If it is a 3rd party company that will work with a small homeowner sawmill operation then that is great news. The other advantage that those sawyers have is they can saw to true dimension lumber and have greater span load rating than what any building code will call for.

Also in WV, this is amazingly pertinent to my interests. Also, the info is gold!

Next door neighbor 40s era house has had 80 years worth of permitted and non-permitted changes over the years. It was a mess when house was sold and failed inspection in many respects. Wood was a minor concern versus electrical and plumbing deficiencies. Appreciate your insights. Great video

So I just need to make a stamp and stamp my own.

Just the fact that you even have to ask the question says a lot about the lack of freedom in this country.

All I have to say, that is awesome and thank you for the leg work

Valuable information especially for a West Virginian . Thank you .