Jamaica Cottage Shop feedback?

[maple flats]

My sugarhouse is all hemlock except for the pressure treated (PT) posts. No issue. Screw or nail using twisted nails for better grip. A twisted nail has super grip, but I prefer screws. If Jamaica Cottage deals with good saw mills, they will not have shake. Shake can be seen while still in the log and a good mill will then only use that for low grade applications like pallet boards and such, or even shred it for mulch. In my entire sugarhouse I only ended up with one 2x4 with shake.
Shake is when the growth rings come apart.
Hemlock has many advantages, it can get wet a lot without rotting and it can actually hold up to some ground contact, but by no means like PT lumber. The strength of hemlock lumber is a lot more than pine, the pine in the kit will likely only be trim boards.

[BAP]

My Sugarhouse is all Hemlock except for some pine boards for siding. Hemlock is great wood to build with and I have built many barns with it over the years. I have been to Jamaica Cottages a couple of times and looked over the buildings they have on display. They look well built and have good materials.

[bstewar]

Back when CDL was located in Clarendon VT they had a JCS sugarhouse set up there. Really well built with what appeared as full cut dimensional lumber. I would buy from them especially if you are short on time to build yourself or lack the skills.

[Road's End]

I purchased the plans for the 16x20 primarily because I have good hemlock on my property. I have 3 trees out of the woods, looking to get 8 or 9 more cut any day now. (18-24" diameter) My cousin has a woodmizer band sawmill and told me it'd only take him 2 or 3 days to mill everything up that I need, and charges $40/hr. That right there is probably the biggest reason I didn't make a go at the pre-cut kit. Now, like you, I just need to get my *** in gear to be sure it's ready for syrup season. I'm building it with the plywood floor and skids only because I know it won't be the last sugarhouse, I will need to go bigger in 3 or 4 years and I'll just move this one and turn it into a barn.

[groomer_guy]

I purchased the plans for a 12 x 16 sugarhouse and sourced the lumber from a local sawmill. At the time the precut kits were a little expensive. Myself and one other guy assembled the house in a few weekends. The plans were good until you got to the rafters. The lengths they wanted you to cut would have been way too short. Other than that they were good. I used hemlock for the frame and pine for the siding and trim. I will post pictures when I get a chance. I also made the walls taller because I am 6' -5" so they height they had in the plans would have not worked. We added a shed roof for wood storage. I figured out how much it cost me for the sugarhouse and I just came in below the fully assembled one. BUt I poured a 12 x 24 slab too. Right now JCS has stuff on sale from what I have been told.

[BSD]

As an update I did order a 16x20 from JCS, they were OK to deal with. ultimately they got my kit to me on the day it was promised (i elected to pick it up to save a week). The only problem i have with them is they play all sorts of pricing games. The long and the short is i got my kit for a great deal, but if you're going to buy from them, check their pricing for a few weeks or month prior and make sure you save as much as possible. the price fluctuated $5,000 on my kit in 3 weeks from order to pickup.

It took myself and 2 carpenters about 2 days to get to this point. Hoping to get it closed up tomorrow and start moving in the evaporator and equipment.

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