To sticker or not to sticker...that is the question

[George Pell]

Hello,
What is the proper way to stack kiln dried wood that is being stored for future use? I've read you're supposed to sticker it, but it seems like I've also read where some people suggest stacking it without the stickers. The lumber will be stored in a garage that gets fairly hot and humid in the summer, and pretty cold during the winter. Thanks.

George

[Jim Becker]

Lumber that is "Dry" can be stacked without stickers. However, I tend to use some thin ones anyway to keep some air flowing during the swings of humidity and tempurature in my shop. I use scraps of 1/4" stock or plywood for this purpose so I'm not reducing my storage capacity too much.

[Bobby Hatfield]

Hello,
What is the proper way to stack kiln dried wood that is being stored for future use? I've read you're supposed to sticker it, but it seems like I've also read where some people suggest stacking it without the stickers. The lumber will be stored in a garage that gets fairly hot and humid in the summer, and pretty cold during the winter. Thanks.

George

George if you sticker already dried wood the humidity can get to every side of every board fast, if you do not sticker then the surface boards outside change with the moisture changes and it takes more time for the inside boards to accept moisture so maybe it will drop before they accept that high moisture. All the boards will go up to about 12% over enough time, if the average is that high. Be sure to keep it off the concrete floor in storage.

[Glenn Clabo]

George,
I bet you get a few different answers to this one. So I'll throw what I do into the mix.

I haven't stickered dry lumber for many years. I've stored it in many places under many different conditions. White oak, Red oak, Maple and Cherry in a garage shop in Virginia for up to 5 years...with very wide fluctuations in temp and humidity without problem. Right now I'm in RI and have oaks/cherry/walnut stored in my basement shop that hasn't been stickered...again without any problem.

First thing I do when I buy rough lumber is skim plane it so I can see it better, so it lays flat, stack it off the floor and weight it. I find it settles out quickly, and doesn't change and/or twist/check as much. I think constant and quick changes cause the wood to do things I don't want.

I would also point out that the supplier I used in both Virginia and RI have huge warehouses full of lumber...unstickered. A discussion with people like that made me feel better about going against the "you must sticker side" of the issue.

FWIW...

[Kevin Post]

I would also point out that the supplier I used in both Virginia and RI have huge warehouses full of lumber...unstickered.

Ditto with all of the suppliers around here. The only lumber on any of their premises that I've seen stickered has been in the process of being dried. Everything else has been stacked without being stickered.

None of the lumber in my gara... er... shop :rolleyes: is stickered. Before I had built a lumber rack, I had it stacked on the floor. Then, I used stickers just to keep it off the concrete.

Temp/humidity range here is from -10 degrees and very low humidity to temps close to 100 with 90% plus humidity. For me, the key is to simply store the lumber flat and support it well. I choose all the lumber for a project from the rack and set all the boards out so that they all have a chance to acclimate and achieve the same moisture content before I start working it.

I store about 1000 bf of lumber because most of it was purchased really cheap or was free. I don't have a kiln or a moisture meter so if the moisture gets "too high", I can't really do much about it anyway. So far this process has worked well for me and moisture/movement has not been a real issue because the garage stays pretty dry.

-Kevin