Storing venerred chipboard out of doors

[Bert Coules]

I have a large number of lengths (6 - 8 ft) of veneered chipboard. I have to temporarily clear out the rooms where they are used as shelving but can't for various boring reasons store them elsewhere in the house. How much, if at all, would they suffer if stored in the open, raised off the ground and covered with thick plastic sheeting? Ideally I'd like to be able to reuse most, perhaps all, of them again.

I anticipate that the chipboard would be outside for something like six to eight weeks.

Many thanks for any thoughts.

[T i m]

I think the problem may be keeping them free of damp from condensation and humidity as keeping the rain off them etc. That said, if only 8 weeks, they are either completely sealed or allowed to vent and you are lucky with the weather, you could be ok.

The worst might be than an edge starts to expand but if you are going to turn them into shelves ...

Cheers, T i m

[dennis]

If you get a perfect seal they could stay there forever.

So it depends on how good you are at wrapping it.

[newshound]

Agreed, I would have said that for that period, and this time of year, not too much of a problem. I would "tent" the plastic to provide ventilation around the stack. Stack them horizontal either on a "hardback" (say a couple of joists on edge?) or with reasonably closely spaced supports.

[DerbyBorn]

dennis@home wrote in news:572de77a$0$3961$c3e8da3 $ [e-mail]:

...and include some bags of silica gel

[Bert Coules]

Many thanks for the speedy replies. I was thinking of a loose tent-like protective cover rather than completely enclosing the material with plastic, but on reflection (and if it proves practical) perhaps the latter might be better.

Are silica gel bags commercially available? I'll check.

[Bert Coules]

Dammit. "Veneered" I meant, of course. Apologies.

[GB]

Rice might do, instead. (Uncooked!)

[T i m]

Poundland do a pretty effective de-humidifier crystal tub thing [1] if you were going for the 'sealed' solution.

Cheers, T i m

[1] As in it seems to fill with water pretty quickly when left in any damp environment.

[tabbypurr]

Salt is far cheaper

NT

[dennis]

Amazon, 7dayshop.

[dennis]

It might just be salt as it will do that.

[ss]

I stored some outside 4 years ago horizontal and on a stout wooden frame approx 18 inches off the ground (soil) then just covered with a couple of sheets of plastic and waxy groundsheet, tented it slightly and it was ok 3 years later. I have since put up a plastic corrigated shelter (roof and 3 sides) and moved it there a year ago. As far as I can see it is still all ok.

[Bert Coules]

Thanks very much for that. I have a paved patio area rather than soil, which should help.

[Brian-Gaff]

Depends very much on the weather and the changes. Most of the problems are uncurling of the veneer at the edges and warping of the chipboard that i have encountered. I'd say waterproof it make sure its shady and leave some points for the air to breath but its going to be a risk. Brian

[Bert Coules]

Brian, thanks for that. Clearly the weather is going to be the vital factor, but since I really have little choice in the storage location I'll just have to take what I can get. The main decision seems to be between protecting the boards with a loose, tented structure purely to keep off rain, and wrapping them closely with a sealed covering (albeit with a few breathing holes, perhaps).

.