Howdy,
When we built our home 3 1/2 years ago I had to fell perhaps 50-75
trees some of which where large enough to mill.
A local sawyer with a portable bandsaw mill did the job and I ended up
with about 2500 board feet of lumber. Most of it is red oak, some 5/4
and some 6/4. Most of the boards are 12 - 14" in width though some are
larger.
The piles were well built, stickered carefully, and covered.
Recently, I have been going through the piles sorting for size and
quality to put things into some useful order.
Most of the wood is in excellent shape...
After more than three years, I consider the wood fully seasoned.
Here's my question:
When I re-build the piles, is there any benefit to stickering them? If
so, what would be the benefit?
Sincere thanks for any information on this,
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
How about covering wood piles? I need to bring my rough lumber out of
the rented storage so I can start sorting it. Problem is that I'll have
to store it outside in my yard over the winter, at least. Will covering
it with a silver tarp (more waterproof than the blue and brown) give it
enough moisture protection and still allow the wood to breath? The wood
is well season by now.
John
Kenneth asks:
>The piles were well built, stickered carefully, and covered.
>
>Recently, I have been going through the piles sorting for size and
>quality to put things into some useful order.
>
>Most of the wood is in excellent shape...
>
>After more than three years, I consider the wood fully seasoned.
>
>Here's my question:
>
>When I re-build the piles, is there any benefit to stickering them? If
>so, what would be the benefit?
Dead piling is best left for indoors, IMHO.
Changing moisture is the reason for keeping them stickered and cover while
they're outdoors.
Not everyone does it that way, but I don't feel it takes that much longer, and
any blown rain or snow that gets in has an easy way out with the stickers in
place.
Charlie Self
"When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not
hereditary." Thomas Paine
Outdoors yes, indoors, no. A close stack is much more fire-resistant, but
the least bit of moisture between boards outside can lead to some strange
and wonderful things.
If you're going to use some in the near future, sticker to equalize in the
shop for a couple of weeks.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/tmu/publications.htm Down to air dry and storing
for all the precise knowledge you'll want.
"Kenneth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Howdy,
>
> When we built our home 3 1/2 years ago I had to fell perhaps 50-75
> trees some of which where large enough to mill.
>
> A local sawyer with a portable bandsaw mill did the job and I ended up
> with about 2500 board feet of lumber. Most of it is red oak, some 5/4
> and some 6/4. Most of the boards are 12 - 14" in width though some are
> larger.
>
> The piles were well built, stickered carefully, and covered.
>
> Recently, I have been going through the piles sorting for size and
> quality to put things into some useful order.
>
> Most of the wood is in excellent shape...
>
> After more than three years, I consider the wood fully seasoned.
>
> Here's my question:
>
> When I re-build the piles, is there any benefit to stickering them? If
> so, what would be the benefit?
>
> Sincere thanks for any information on this,
>
> --
> Kenneth
>
> If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
You'll have to do some heavy-duty prep. You'll want a good distance away
from the ground, and absolutely planar skids to sticker out on. Otherwise,
you'll gain some droop and possibly some set in the boards.
Check the site I referenced for specifics.
"JohnT." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> How about covering wood piles? I need to bring my rough lumber out of
> the rented storage so I can start sorting it. Problem is that I'll have
> to store it outside in my yard over the winter, at least. Will covering
> it with a silver tarp (more waterproof than the blue and brown) give it
> enough moisture protection and still allow the wood to breath? The wood
> is well season by now.
>
> John
>
On 24 Oct 2004 21:44:58 GMT, [email protected] (Charlie Self)
wrote:
>Kenneth asks:
>
>>The piles were well built, stickered carefully, and covered.
>>
>>Recently, I have been going through the piles sorting for size and
>>quality to put things into some useful order.
>>
>>Most of the wood is in excellent shape...
>>
>>After more than three years, I consider the wood fully seasoned.
>>
>>Here's my question:
>>
>>When I re-build the piles, is there any benefit to stickering them? If
>>so, what would be the benefit?
>
>Dead piling is best left for indoors, IMHO.
>
>Changing moisture is the reason for keeping them stickered and cover while
>they're outdoors.
>
>Not everyone does it that way, but I don't feel it takes that much longer, and
>any blown rain or snow that gets in has an easy way out with the stickers in
>place.
>
>Charlie Self
>"When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not
>hereditary." Thomas Paine
Thanks both to Charlie, and to George...
I neglected to say that the piles will remain outdoors. With that,
based on your comments, I will sticker them.
Sincere thanks,
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 12:27:27 -0500, "JohnT." <[email protected]>
wrote:
>How about covering wood piles? I need to bring my rough lumber out of
>the rented storage so I can start sorting it. Problem is that I'll have
>to store it outside in my yard over the winter, at least. Will covering
>it with a silver tarp (more waterproof than the blue and brown) give it
>enough moisture protection and still allow the wood to breath? The wood
>is well season by now.
>
>John
Hi John,
I am no expert (I'm the OP) but I will tell you what I did:
I built the pile, tarped it over, tied the tarp in many places, and
then made a "tunnel" arrangement near the ground at either end. Air
could blow right through. The squirrels loved it (as the hundreds of
pounds of hickory pods will attest) but it held most of the wood in
great shape.
HTH,
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."