Storing oak outside?

[John T]

I currently have about 2300 bf of mostly oak that I bought at a farm auction a couple of years ago. They were in the farmers barns in 3 different piles, dry and full of bug and mouse crap. I knocked off the crap and put them in a self store garage. Now I'm thinking of bringing them home. Problem is, I don't have any inside storage for all this wood (all rough sawn). What would I need to do to store this wood outside in Wisconsin? A good deal of it would wind up on the firewood pile (maybe 25%, maybe more). it was stickered with 3/8 lath, and thats what I have in it now since it was already dry. Should I use 1"? what do I do to protect it, a tarp down the sides (no air circulation), or a corrugated panel roof (more exposure to elements)?

John

[docferg]

Being from Wisconsin storage of Oak outside is done by alternate stacking of the rough sawn lumber. You need air to circulate through the pile. You can cover the top with cheap plastic, some milk jugs for weight on nylon rope. This is just to keep excessive moisture out of the wood. This is a natural drying processing that was done for years in Wisconsin with oak. Your moisture content will go down each year. If you asked around in your area or know where this practice is done see if you can borrow a moisture content meter. Use cheap 4 x 4's for a base to keep your wood off from the ground. Again just the alteration of the stacking is all that is necessary. This method takes time for curing. You can try a google search on curing rough lumber Doc Ferguson

[George]

Consult your fellow cheeseheads.

and the search box will get you various stacking routines, all of which involve a _flat_ base for a beginning, because less than will telegraph into your lumber.

Your problem has nothing to do with drying, so you can proceed directly to storage of those boards you know are not destined for the stove. Why is you want to bring the whole lot out of perfectly good storage ? The rent?

[John T]

Yes, the rent is a problem. We originally were going to use the storage for storage for an anticipated move, which never happened, so I put the wood in there, which takes up most of the room, so we're not really using it for what we intended.

I also thought of welding up some racks for the storage so I could stack the lumber to the ceiling, and still may do that.

John

[Phisherman]

Keep it dry and up off the ground. A tarp is okay, although that will only last so long. Be careful, wood piles can make perfect homes for varmints.

[Earl Creel]

2300 bd feet is quite a bit of wood, why do you want to store it? If it is already dry further storage is not going to improve it. If it were mine I would get it planed, keeping only the boards I want for my own use and sell the rest. Easier to store money than wood. If you end up with some really nice boards I would avoid outside storage. Earl Creel