Storing dried timber planks

[paulm]

I've got some nice planks of walnut, courtesy of Paul Chapman, that have been stacked with spacers in my workshop for the last few years and are nicely dry

I'll need to move them out into an unheated shed though unfortunately, unless swmbo lets me stack them under the bed which is unlikely :roll: :lol:

I'm not sure whether I would be better storing them in the shed without spacers between each plank now that they are already well dried, and whether that would help reduce them absorbing moisture from their new damper environment, or whether I should still leave them in stick ?

Thoughts welcome other than suggestions of re-homing them :lol:

Cheers, Paul

 

[CHJ]

Paul, I personally would not fret too much about it being an unheated shed as long as it is dry, after all how many timber merchants such as Yandles have you visited that have open fronted/open to the outside air storage areas.

Natural and kiln dried Wood stored in my shed (rustic feather edge over water resistant membrane) along side of the workshop, in close association with some partially dried green & split logs never gains enough moisture to be a problem.
The shed internals are dry, gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter and has plenty of air movement by virtue of the corrugated (onduline) roofing not having any eaves sealing*.

*Making it a favourite for queen wasps to set up home.

 

[paulm]

Makes sense Chas, I do like to worry too much :lol:

So in stick or out of stick then ?!! Would take up less space, which is a consideration, if not in stick ?

Cheers, Paul

 

[Racers]

In stick to let them all get to the same moisture content, or sneak them under the bed :wink:

Pete

 

[Paul Chapman]

Ideally, you would store it in stick. However, limited space often doesn't allow this. If you are not planning to use the wood for a long time, you could deal with equalising the moisture content at some time in the future.

Yes, stop worrying so much - you'd be horrified if you saw how I'm having to store mine :shock: :lol:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[paulm]

Yes, stop worrying so much - you'd be horrified if you saw how I'm having to store mine :shock: :lol:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

I just knew it was a mistake leaving any behind with you Paul [-X :lol:

Occurred to me that I could take it out of stick and bundle a few planks together at a time with pallet shrink wrap, then easier to store and shouldn't I guess be affected by any moisture changes. I'll inspect it more closely and decide, if not happy with that I'll default to keeping it in stick, or sneaking the best bits under the bed :lol:

Cheers, Paul

 

[WillRiseley]

Loft? I recently found a few planks and blanks I forgot about when getting the decs down.

 

[Harbo]

My stuff is stored vertically with no sticks - seems to cause no problems?
I don't have the space to stack them horizontally.

Rod

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I've got some nice planks of walnut, courtesy of Paul Chapman, that have been stacked with spacers in my workshop for the last few years and are nicely dry

Thoughts welcome other than suggestions of re-homing them :lol: Cheers, Paul

Dead stacking (aka close stacking) protects all but the ends of boards and those faces and edges exposed to the air. Storing or transporting dead stacked 1” (25 mm) thick boards in tightly closed buildings or containers reduces moisture regain to about 0.2% or so per month: it would take approximately five months for the wood in a tightly packed container to gain 1% MC. Another strategy is tightly wrapping the wood in firmly sealed sturdy plastic wraps to exclude outside air and its variances in humidity. This is common practice with manufactured wooden floors shipped to floor installers, agents and retailers serving the retail trade.

Close stacking a pile of wood under a roofed shed open on all sides results in moisture regain in the first few weeks of between 1 and 2% MC, depending on the atmospheric RH. For instance if atmospheric RH is high at 80 to 90% you can expect the average moisture content of a close stacked pile to increase at the rate of about 2% per month during the first 45 days. An absorption rate of about 1% per month can then be sustained throughout a humid season. What this means is that timber kiln dried to, say, 9% MC in the UK and stored in an open shed in mid to late September could reach 13% MC by the end of January. This is at the very top of the moisture content range I’d be willing to build furniture for use in a habitable building. With timber this wet I prefer to bring it into a warm and dry workshop and sticker it up for at least a couple of weeks, preferably a month or six weeks to acclimatise and bring the moisture content back down to 10% MC or lower.

In other words, my suggestion is, if your wood is somewhere in the region of 8 - 10% MC, to close stack it on bottom bearers (~4" - 6" thick) spaced about 2' - 3' apart in your shed and, if possible, wrap it all up tightly with plastic sheeting to minimise moisture regain. Additionally, close or dead stacking takes up less space. Slainte.

 

[Fromey]

Better yet. Sneak them into your bed and give your wife the fright of her life!

 

[paulm]

Better yet. Sneak them into your bed and give your wife the fright of her life!

I think I'd better not try that approach or I'll need to start a new thread about setting up home in a shed :lol:

Thanks for the detailed information Richard, very helpful indeed.

Cheers, Paul