When you are working on projects sometimes you need to order your lumber early and sometimes you have extra lumber that you want to store for your next job. Either way the cost of lumber means that you need to take good care of it.
There are a few different ways that lumber might come to your home or work site. Often flatbed trucks will deliver your materials and if you are purchasing a full stack then it might come either nylon or steel strapped. Most of the time mills won’t protect the lumber from the straps so you will have some corner boards that are slightly damaged. Normally you can turn them face down and have a good surface where you need it and if its stud lumber or if its going to be hid in the wall a bit of compression won’t hurt anything.
Before your materials come you really should prepare an area that you know is a high level on your site. If it rains you don’t want your lumber soaking in water and if you can you want to make sure that the area drains well. Throwing down a load of 3/4 minus rock will give you a good base and then you want to get it level so your wood isn’t laying in a way that it could warp overtime.
Stickering Your Lumber To Prevent Warping And For Drying
Stickering is a method where all of your boards are supported by scrap 1″ strips to allow for air drying and to make sure they don’t warp. This is especially useful for wood that you cut with a sawmill but in reality it is important for all lumber.
If you are stick building a home with stud lumber this is a step you can skip while you are working but after you are done and have scrap you want to stack your lumber so it is flat and supported.
What most people find out the hard way is that even nominal lumber that is kiln dried will warp. Kiln drying helps get the lumber in a uniform moisture content but once it is on the job site moisture will warp it over time.
Strapping your lumber is also a good way to make sure that it stays stable this is not just for delivery. If you have a few stacks of lumber you want to keep it strapped and stacked level and supported off the ground by a pallet or scrap beam material until you need to use it.
Storing Your Lumber Long Term
Long term storage of wood is difficult because most of us don’t have heated areas that have low moisture where we can store our surplus lumber for a long period. Your home garage would be preferred over a shed and a shed would be preferred over outside storage but in reality even a lumber warehouse will be a problem if they humidity and heat is not controlled.
Final Note
Wood is a natural product that will be effected by the weather, moisture and other conditions but if you do your best to protect it you will have a longer time between your delivery and your time of use.
Warping Cracking and Exaggerated crowning of the lumber can be expected however you are always going to be better off if you stack your lumber level and flat. Keep it dry and where appropriate restrap your lumber to reduce warping.