Storing lumber

[Ralph Barhorst]

I just bought about 300 board feet of lumber. This lumber is 1-3/4" thick and has been air dryed for 3 years.

I would like to store most of it in my storage area above the garage. It would be stored flat on the plywood floor. Of course, this area is cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Does anyone think that it would be a problem? Has anyone stored lumber this way?

I think that this wood is fairly dry since it was in a dry place for 3 years. Does anyone think that this wood needs to be stickered to assist in drying it further?

[Randy Moore]

Ralph,

I could be wrong but storing word in the attic is just like storing your wood outside. The attic is ventilated so it will get the humidity in the summer, the heat and everything else weather wise. I would store the wood in the basement or your shop, if you can.
But this also depends where you live. All my would is in the basement where the air is controlled somewhat.
That is just my opinion and like I said I could be wrong.
I am sure someone will be along shortly to say I am wrong or right. By the way where are you located?

Randy

[Ted Shrader]

Ralph -

Storing the lumber in the attic is fine. It is out of the weather. Do sticker it when you stack to let the air flow around the pieces. Unless your shop has heat and A/C, the wood will be pretty much acclimated when you pull it down. Just give it a couple days to cool down/heat up.

Ted

[lou sansone]

the wood is going to pick up moisture in the summer and loose it in the winter ( a little ), but my guess it that it is all about 12% at this time. The old timer rule of thumb for air drying is 1" per year to get to about 12%. So your wood should be that dry through and through. You really want to get it down to 6-8 % and that means you will need to move it into your heated shop for a while. Once it is in there you should sticker it to allow for further drying. Are you planning on using it 7/4 thick or resawing it? If you are going to resaw it then I would resaw as much as you are planning on using for the project and sticker it with some weight on top of the pile. The easiest way to figure out how much moisture it has it to use a meter ( there are other ways, but I think the meters are the easiest ). If you don't sticker it to aid in drying then it is going to be like trying to dry a 12" thick board ( figuring your pile is something like 4x8 ). It will probably take at least 30 days to get it down to 6-8% once it is say 4/4 and in the heated shop.

hope this helps

[Alan Turner]

I am no pro on this subject, but wonder if there could be bug problems with this wood, which might go from your stock to your garage/attic. I bought a whole bunch of wood that had been air dried and stored in a garage type structure, in Pa., and floor was just crushed stone. It was very buggy, which I did not realize at first. I ended up only takeing a few of these boards, but when I did so, I had a cooperative mill run them through a kiln cycle for me, just to kill the bugs. It had been stored for 15+ years. Those with greater knowledge might want to chime in on this issue.
Alan

[Ian Abraham]

If the wood is airdried for three years.. it's totally air dry. If you store it in your garage.. it will stay "air dried". No need to sticker, the only moisture exchange will be small seasonal ones. Just watch for bugs if the wood / your area is prone to them. If you dont see holes / dust then it's probably OK.

Attics work for storing wood because they are the warmest / dryest part of the house, so wood stored there gets m/c down closer to inside values.

[Max Schultz]

Ralph
The material you just bought was all kiln dried. I acquired it about 3 yrs. ago from a contractor and have been storing it unstickered. He had been storing on cross pieces on the floor, unstickered as well. It is flat and straight as when I got it so I don't think you will have a problem unless it would be a weight issue.
Max Schultz
Warsaw, IN

By the way there is no "bug" problems.

[lou sansone]

If the wood is airdried for three years.. it's totally air dry. If you store it in your garage.. it will stay "air dried". No need to sticker, the only moisture exchange will be small seasonal ones. Just watch for bugs if the wood / your area is prone to them. If you dont see holes / dust then it's probably OK.

Attics work for storing wood because they are the warmest / dryest part of the house, so wood stored there gets m/c down closer to inside values.

I agree with Ian, but there is more to the story than meets the eye. Ian is right in saying it is totally "air dired", but it is probably no longer "kiln dried". Depending on where you live the wood will only get so dry being air dried. In the northeast it is about 12% moisture content ( EMC) . I don't care how long you keep it stickered. That is not dry enough for furniture construction if you are going to place that piece of furniture in a modern heated house. Wood should be at the 6-8% moisture content if you don't want to end up with all types of shrinkage problems.

I understand that the wood was "kiln dried" some 3 years ago. Unless it was kept in a climate controlled environemnt with very low humidity for the last 3 years since it was kiln dried, it has re-aquired moisture from the surrounding air. Technically it is at EMC at all times. The only way to check the "dryness" of the wood it is by doing an actual moisture check on the lumber. As I have previously stated the easiest way is to use a meter.

If you want to get more info on this topic then I would recommend that you take a trip to "woodweb's sawing and drying forum" . Dr. Wegert is the moderator there and has spent his entire career at the "wood products lab" where a tremendous amount of research is done exactly on this topic.
respectfully
lou

[Garry Smith]

Your wood will be fine in the attic. This is the exact reason I built my shop with a gambrell roof which allowed for a second floor. I store my lumper upstairs in my shop after it has had time to sufficently air dry under roof outside. Make sure to sticker it when you pile it and make sure your attic has good ventilation or you will cook your wood.

Garry

[Mike Holbrook]

Maybe the attic question depends on the region. In Hotlanta that attic will get a great deal hotter than in Northern climates. You don't even want to go into my attic in the summer you would come out medium rare.