Warning about lumber

[Al Bundy]

"HeyBub" wrote in news:12np9e2ma754e45 @news.supernews.com:

LOL!!

Ugh....why do I know this... :-(

[Steve Barker LT]

Osage orange for me. 100% and nothing else.

[Harry K]

One wouldn't think so but it does. I built a temp wall to hold up the ceiling while I was working replacing the roof (rafters and all). Put it up one day, next day one of the studs had a 90 degree twist in it. That was lumber fresh from the lumber yard.

Harry K

[Steve Barker LT]

That's scary. Guess I better get busy putting the blocking in all those new

16' floor joists I just hung a week ago.

[Harry K]

Clamping or weighting it will only hold it until you remove the clamps. As for kiln dried, you would have to buy direct from the saw mill to get any that wasn't kiln dried. At least in this part of the country.

Harry K

[Don Young]

I believe lumber from any source that spends 5 weeks flat on a basement floor is likely absorb and release moisture unevenly and thereby warp. It is best to use it promptly but if not it needs to be stored so that air can circulate evenly around it.

Don Young

[Steve Barker LT]

what part of the country? We have all kinds of green lumber available here in KC

[Ether Jones]

Ditto that!

Every time the subject of firewood comes up and I mention Osage Orange, nobody's ever heard of it.

But it's the best firewood in North America.

Lucky for me, I've got a 165-foot-long treeline of them from an old hedgerow some farmer planted 80 years ago.

[Steve Barker LT]

I've got a mile of them. And that's just the two long property lines. Not to mention the stuff out in the middle of the 80.

[maradcliff]

[Harry K]

Pacific NW. Of course the lumber produced here is all softwood, fir/pine/spruce. Anything purchased at a lumberyard or big box will have gone through the kiln.

Harry K

[Charles Schuler]

I do not disagree, but my favorite was locust ... I could find and cut it myself.

[Steve B]

Caveat: If you're an idiot, or know nothing about lumber, do NOT go out and buy large quantities.

Steve ;-)

[Harry K]

Ah yes. Did an 18x30 addition. Had to use bar clamps and install blocking as I went to do the floor joists..

Harry K

[Dan_Musicant]

:I made a grave error recently. I bought a lot of 2 X 4s to finish off :my basement. Unfortunately, I couldn't get to it right away, and the :lumber sat on the floor of my basement for about 5 weeks. Well, when I :bought the wood, I selected each piece for straightness. Guess what? :About 2/3s of them are all twisted and bent out of shape - useless :except for starting a fire in my fireplace. : :So, don't be like me. Buy your wood just prior to using it. If not, :you may end up wasting a lot of money. Not to denigrate your post, but I haven't experienced this. I've often bought wood and put off usage and can't recall regretting it. I HAVE experienced wood warping, but resolved the problem by stressing it in the opposite direction for a short period, straightening it out.

[Dan_Musicant]

:To reduce warp I always stand lumber up as vertical as possible to allow the :air to circulate around all 4 edges so that it dries evenly. If it is winter :I prefer to keep my wood in the unheated garage. If I have too much to stand :up and I need to lay it on the floor, I always put spacers under it and :either clamp them all together with a pipe clamp or pile weights, concrete :blocks or fertilizer bags on the pile to keep it reasonably flat. These :methods don't always work but keep the warping and twisting to a minimum.

I've done similar to some drywall in my garage. I have it stacked on a flat horizontal surface. My limited experience has shown that drywall pieces will warp easily. These are not full sheets, but I'm sure it applies to them even more so.