Ok, green lumber. I was wondering why, when all the books I have recommend dry lumber for serious use, stores like Home Depot only appear to carry green lumber (in my area). Is that information out of date, or is home boy depot really out of it on this matter ?
That lumber you see is Pressure Treated and is not within the realm of the type lumber your books are talking about.
Many lumber yards carry green construction lumber. When I built our deck, I spaced the 2x redwood 1/8-inches apart; when dried, the spaced increased to
3/8" -- enough to catch high heels. Hardwoods [oak, maple, walnut] are generally lower in moisture content, but you are on your own to find a source of dry lumber. Without a moisture meter, I built a red oak table from wood that the dealer assured me was 12% or lower. I let it set in the shop for two weeks, glued it up, and was awakened at 3:00 a.m. by the explosion as the base dried and split apart. I usually drive 275 miles to get my hardwood lumber to be assured of getting properly dried wood. I would never buy hardwood from the discount chains without a moisture meter -- besides, it's usually too expensive. Of course, you can save by buying green lumber and drying it yourself if you have the space. We used to cut and dry our own lumber, but that's a job for a young man. Green lumber is heavy, and the board you need is always on the bottom of the stack. harrymConstruction lumber is dried to ~20% moisture content (S-Dry) so it can be surfaced to approximate dimensions. It is expected to be used in construction, where end-to end dimension is the only really important one.
Lumber for indoor uses is normally kiln dried to ~8% moisture content, a fair compromise for furniture or inside millwork.
You have to buy the proper grades.
BTW, "Green" normally assumes no drying.
I think when I decided that green lumber was not a good idea was when I saved some
2x4s from a project in the garage. They sat for 6 months, they were straight as can be.When I tried to use them, I could not believe how twisted they were, and several had split. After that, I got some KD lumber, and was amazed how nice it was.
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