Storing wood???

[Tom Henry]

I am new to buying rough lumber and I just purchased 100bf of oak from Mike Morgan. I stacked and stickered it on shelves in my 20x14 shed. It is very dry in there but no heat or air. Is there anything I need to know about moisture in the wood before I work with it? Am I even doing the right thing by stacking and stickering it? When I join and plane the wood, do I still have to sticker it?

Thanks
Tom:confused:

[Jim Becker]

Michael's lumber is KD and doesn't require stickering, although I tend to use thin (1/4") stickers in my racks to allow a little air flow anyway. Your lumber will be fine in the shed as long as it's off the ground/floor. It's not a horrible idea to move the material you intend to use for a project into your shop prior to milling to let it acclimate to the air/moisture there. Just a few days is all that is required.

[Ken Salisbury]

Tom,

The purpose of stickering is to allow maximum air flow in order to dry the lumber. Once your lumber has dried there is no advantage to stickering it.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Keep an eye on it because it could become termite bait. I've been amazed how agressive they can be. Even if there is a separation between the wood and the ground, keep an eye out for those little tell tale mud tubes.

-Jeff :)

[Rob Bodenschatz]

Keep an eye on it because it could become termite bait.

I've got mine stored outside on pallets. Now you have me worried. Is there something I can do to prevent this?

[Tom Henry]

The wood is stored in a wooden shed. So I think the shed would be first to go...

[Jim Becker]

I've got mine stored outside on pallets. Now you have me worried. Is there something I can do to prevent this?

Yea, bag the pallets which unless they are made of white oak are major insect fodder all by themselves. If you must stack outside, get the material up off the ground using a couple layers of 4x PT with stickers on top of the PT to separate your lumber from the PT. 8-12" off the ground is a good idea. This is also one case that I'd absolutely suggest stickering for air flow, even though the lumber is KD...it's in the weather. You also need a sloped roof on top to keep water from pooling during storms... mine is old plywood covered with a cheap tarp. The sides of the piles remain open.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

As Jim suggests, raise the stack off the ground using either pressure treated wood, or something that is not made of solid wood nor should it absorb moisture.

Termites can also bypass a barrier by creating mud tubes on the outside of the support between the ground and wood. The tubes give them shelter from the daylight. Tubes are mostly seen on the side of a concrete house foundation between the ground and the tasty studs.

Two ways to prevent this (without chemicals) are: (1) keep an eye out for any tubes and knock them away, or (2) add some sharp edged aluminum flashing which prohibits the critters from building a tube around it.

I also noticed that you are in one of the chillier states. Termites become less prevalent in New England, but they are there. The worse type of termite is the Formosan termite that made its way from China to the US. They are a tough bunch.

cheers, Jeff :)

[Matt Meiser]

I've got my lumber stored in a part of my shop that is essentially no different than your shed. Everything's done well in there and maintained a low MC.

[Frank Fusco]

Spray the ground around the outside of the shed with an approved chemical for killing termites. Do the same around the base of your walls.
I favor stickering to allow air flow, moisture can collect, due to temperature changes, where boards lay on each other.