Question about storing wood

[Scott Brandstetter]

I picked up 250br of walnut over the weekend from a guy that had it stored in his barn for years. I typically buy from my lumber mill and immediately bring the wood into the shop and store on my racking system. I'm wondering if I can do the same or do I need to worry about possible termites or other bugs that could harm the other wood or house in general. This may be a stupid question, just not sure.

The shop is in the lower level of the house if that makes any difference. I could keep it outside, under the covered patio, off the concrete ground and covered but I will be using most of the wood in the next few weeks and don't want to worry about the moisture content rising and then it having to sit inside to acclimate. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Danny Hamsley]

Powderpost beetles will infest walnut sapwood. Be sure and check for them. You would be able to see the small pencil lead sized holes, and the tunnels will be filled with frass (chewed up and defecated sawdust).

[Cody Colston]

You could store it under the patio cover wrapped in plastic. That will maintain the current MC of the wood. Seal up the ends of the plastic with duct tape.

[John TenEyck]

I've seen beetle damage in wood that still has the bark on it, and also in the sapwood of walnut as Danny noted above. If your wood is free of bark and sapwood, and you see no evidence of frass (little piles of sawdust) or holes, I think it is safe to bring inside. That's the benchmark I've been using with my air dried wood for the past 10 years and I haven't had any problems. Anything with bark or sapwood on it, I'd either cut it off first or quarantine it and observe for holes/frass for a few weeks before bringing it in. I did that with some white ash recently and found a couple of boards with bark on it to be infested.

John

[Allan Speers]

If you're not sure and really worried, you could always spray the wood with Bora-Care. Hopefully you don't have to, but it's a viable option that is not too expensive and has very little downside later on.

You'd need less than a gallon of the stuff. See the Stickies for my notes about it, plus how to make it yourself for less money. - Though for just one gallon, it's probably easier to buy the pre-made stuff as you won't save a lot via the home-brew. (Maybe save $20 on a gallon.)