Wood Storage

[Mark Kelly]

A few questions on wood storage:

1) When storing wood on rafters at the top of a garage or storage shed, what is the LEAST amount of space between the supports so the boards do not bow? I am talking ALL kinds of wood, from popular to oak to maple.

2) Should plywood be stored flat, verticle or angled?

Thanks!

[Jim Becker]

Your first concern should be whether or not the structure can hold the weight you are thinking about putting up there! The rafters in most garages and storage buildings are not designed to carry weight in addition to holding the structure together. If yours was built to accomodate the weight, than no problem. If not go to "plan B' !! ;)

That said, 24" OC is fine for support of lumber...some folks even go wider, but I find the 24" spacing on my lumber rack to be "just right" for my needs. Plywood is "best" stored flat, but that's not always possible. Storing it vertically is not a problem as long as it's properly supported so it will not bow. That means, if it is on an angle, it should be in contact with the rack the whole way. The same principle holds true for vertical lumber racks which are really great if you have the ceiling height to accomodate them. (Much easier to sort through and pull out boards than flat and/or stickered storage)

[thomas prevost]

2 ft. centers on stickers. BUT most important is to have all stickers directly over the one below it. I have seen thousands of board ft of lumber useless because of bowing due to poor stickering. If the sticker is between two lower ones, the weight of the lumber on top will cause that layer to bow. stickers must be of same thickness across row also.

[John Miliunas]

Thomas, 1st post and you're lending a helpful hand already! :) Way to go and welcome to the Creek! Load of helpful (or like me, needy) folks out here, so you're in good company. :rolleyes: Feel free to start a thread with an introduction and tell us a bit about yourself. You're among friends, so don't be shy. Oh yeah, and if you haven't cruised around here too much yet, I may as well tell you that PICTURES are greatly appreciated! :D It's kind of one of the "unwritten" rules 'round these parts. Stop often, stay long! :cool: