My small collection of MDF boards and hardwood don't have storage because our shed is 80-percent full. Today, a bad storm passes thru our neighborhood and destroys many of my MDF boards, which were temporarily covered with a silver tarp.
The woods were relocated far away from the protection of the house when a couple of black widows were found on the boards. I have a large roll of thin, clear plastic wrap that I will use to wrap the ones I salvage. What is common way to protect our wood stocks from rain?
I can't agree more. Due to spiders, wife freaks if she finds wood in the shed or the shed is 81-percent full. Also, the wood rack in question must look practical and holdup to a downpour.
Newsgroups: rec.woodworking From: "Tim Zimmerman" - Find messages by this author Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 09:18:31 GMT Local: Sat, Feb 19 2005 1:18 am
I can't agree more. Due to spiders, wife freaks if she finds wood in the shed or the shed is 81-percent full. Also, the wood rack in question must look practical and holdup to a downpour. "
Look practical? I use 90% of a shed to hold my drying wood, though the fragile stuff (MDF, particleboard, hardwood plywood, fully dried hardwood--mostly) is in the shop. My wife uses the other 10%. Sometimes we get mice in the stacks. Sometimes we get blacksnakes chasing the mice. Other times, there are spiders all over the place. My wife hates snakes--fears is more accurate--so stays out of the shed if there's a snake or six around. Otherwise, there's not much problem.
Spiders don't hurt anything and they tend to keep the insect population closer to reasonable. Squash the ones you think are aggressive.
For a practical looking shed, I suggest getting one of the 20' x 20' metal car ports. You can get 2' added to each leg for about $200 more, and it's easy to screw on metal or wood siding to keep blowing winds out. You need to be inventive at the ends, but those can be readily enclosed, too.
I store wood anywhere I'm sure it will stay dry. The garage, basement, etc. The problem with storing outdoors is the animals using it as a home. Tar paper, fiberglass, metal roofing are helpful. We have black widows here too, including red wasps, hornets, skunks, possums, groundhogs, copperheads, and lots of birds all looking for shelter. Follow this rule: look before placing your hand. Black widows' nests are easily recognized by the messy webs they build--beautiful spider though.
That will only cause the destruction of your remaining stock. Plastic traps moisture. You won't even need a rain storm to create water inside the plastic wrap. In answer to your question - the common way is inside storage of some sort. Even a semi-open shed that keeps the rain/snow off is better than nothing as long as the wood is stickered. The bottom line though is that you can't let the water get to the wood. If your wife's fear of spiders and such is the order of the day, then you either need to build another shed for woodworking or give up the hobby.
Don't store fake wood outdoors. Black Widows don't eat much wood, what's the problem? If you're worried about them, bug bomb the place a couple of times, a week apart, before you start unpiling the wood. Outside is outside, that's where the critters live. Frankly, I'd be more worried about Mojaves and western Diamondbacks out where you are. I've killed a ton of spiders, and got one dry rattler bite. I like snakes not spiders but the snakebite scared me more.
"Tim Zimmerman" wrote in news:HvDRd.1570$OU1.67 @newssvr21.news.prodigy.com:
Purchase only for immediate needs. That's more expensive for the project, but should keep the wife more appeased - which is less expensive, in the long run.
By the way, indoor (garage) storage of wood is also prime spider habitat.
Buy spyder killer,use it often, mix at twice the recomended strengh, damn shame the feds took away our DDT. spray your whole yard too they are sneaky little bastards.
Wellllll, I dunno. Have you thought of sending this little tiplet to 'Murican Wooddorker? I mean, being Canadianna and all, will they accept it as is or is there a conversion we can use this side of the border?
OK, to be sure I understand, you have more wood than you have space to store under cover, and if you don't get it under cover then it will be ruined by rain.
Obvious solution--use some of the wood to build a wood shed. You will likely have to buy some roofing but that doesn't cost all that much for a shed, especially compared to the value of the wood.
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