First Place Midwest
Gary Green
Syracuse, Indiana

Gary Green calls this, "the story of my barn and Wood-Mizer." Green is a custom builder who had seen Wood-Mizer sawmills in use on several occasions, but buying one had never seemed right for his business. Still, he kept thinking about it. Eventually he was growing weary of the construction business, and started considering doing custom woodworking.

It all fell together after he spotted hundreds of discarded utility poles. "Within minutes, I formulated a plan where I would get permission to haul away the poles, buy a Wood-Mizer and build a barn to house the sawmill," Green said. He bought the LT40 and shingle/lap siding attachment, three Wood-Mizer Solar Kiln kits and began the part-time project with his two employees.

Challenges included never having done post-frame construction, dealing with the metal in utility poles, and digging out hundreds of tons of bottle and can filled soil, replacing it with a virgin sand/clay mix. This was necessary because of the need to check each log with a metal detector.

Green said, "The results of this project amazed even me. At the onset, I felt the building would be perfectly functional, but probably not beautiful, as a result of using recycled poles. When I saw the first 100 square feet of siding in place, I was elated. Friends say that this is the ultimate recycling project.

"The building functions perfectly. One set of kiln doors are opened with the bill set up directly beside. As the lumber is sawed it is stacked directly in the kiln, ready for drying. The finished product can be unloaded with my bobcat and go directly through the planer, if desired. The building has enhanced my property and attracted a lot of attention. This certainly hasn't hurt my new hardwood and woodworking business a bit!"