Green an air dryed lumber for walls

[Jack Clay]

Hi,
I can get rough saw white oak lumberat the saw mill to put up as siding for the inside of my shop and a room that I am redoing in my house. The problem that I am having is the worry about bugs in the green wood and air dried lumber exposed to my hose and barn. Has anyone done this or had any experience with this issue?

Thanks for any information on this,

[Jim Becker]

Properly air dried lumber shouldn't present an insect problem, but one should always check to be sure and treat or abandon if evidence is found. I personally wouldn't use green lumber for the purpose given it's going to shrink substantially over time until it reaches ambient moisture levels. No problem for fence boards, but not interior/exterior cladding, IMHO.

[Scott T Smith]

Jack, your bio does not list where you are located. If you're in the NE USA, you probably don't have as much worries regarding bugs in the lumber as you would in the SE USA.

Green lumber is typically only used for siding when it is installed as "board and batten" over some type of lath or studs that allow air flow on both sides of the siding. If you install it over sheathing, tyvek or any other type of solid surface, it will trap moisture on the inside of the boards and they will cup badly and potentially develop mold on one side.

Typical board and batten installation methods allow the boards to shrink a bit without exposing gaps.

Air dried is ok as long as there is no evidence of powder post beetles, termites or other bugs in the lumber, and you are in an area where such pests are uncommon.

Typically oak shrinks 12% in width as it dries, so if you install a pair of 10" wide green boards on your wall in a year or so there will be a 1" gap inbetween them.