Storing kiln dried wood in non heated garage
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Hello everyone,
I’ve been hoarding my kiln dried lumber in a heated basement for years but as the lumber takes more and more
space , theres an equal amount of unwanted attention from my wife.
Question is , would it be safe to move the lumber into my unheated but dry garage ?
How long would it take to aclimate in my shop in the winter months?
Thank you for any help
Larry
Replies
Yah gotta get creative. Yah gotta be sneaky too.
Ahhh leave it in the house. You just got to get better at hiding it (or convincing her of the OKness of where it is in plain sight ).
Put as much as you can under the bed(s).
Some behind the couch.
I bet if you really get busy you can hide a projects worth behind the book cases. Not the easiest access but a home shop woodworker has got to do what a home shop woodworker has got to do. Am I right ? I think i'm right.
OK OK now here is the brilliant one . . . are you ready ?
You know how so many people are all about the "distressed" old stuff look ? The desirability of that stuff completely escapes me but it isn't you or I that has to go for it right ?
What you do is convince SWMBO that raw rough saw lumber looks fabulous as "distressed" wall panelling. Then just hot glue the rest of your stock to the walls.
Some times I surprise even my self with the ideas that come to me.
: )
Cold vs. humidity
Notwithstanding Roc's creative wall paneling idea, the wood is dead. It doesn't feel the cold. It can, however, react to differences in humidity. The garage can either be cold and very dry, or cold and wet - depending on whether cars are allowed in without wiping the snow from their shoes. (Cars in a garage!? ;-) ) Proper stickering should do the trick for you, though.
Just my opinion, of course. No warranty expressed or implied.
Ha Ha Ha
Ralph,
Now you are being funny; cars in the "garage". Ha, Ha, Ha,
That's old school. Every body (body meaning woodworker) knows "garage" is just a code word for shop space designed to sneak the extra space and cost of that space, past the unsuspecting significant other or neighborhood code enforcement.
Cars in a garage . . . that's rich Ralph . . . Ha, Ha, Ha,
Ha, Ha, Ha,
Ok enough silliness (just kidding I never get enough)
The move to the garage should be safe because the wood will most likely take on some moisture so no cracks there.
The move back to the shop from the garage for the start of a project shouldn't be too stressful since the planks have already been there and done their worst as far as drying and cracking, cupping etc.
About three weeks should do it from the time you go from garage to the shop.
A moisture meter will tell you for sure when the wood has equalized. First check some wood that has been in your shop for months or years and compare to the wood that was just moved into the shop from the garage after a week or three.
Use your judgement . . . maybe if your basement is heated but damp you may have to store the wood for the current project in the space it will be when it is a final peice of furniture and just take it to the shop to work it. That would be the ultimate if there is more moisture in the shop than in the house. Gets complicated. Where it would show up is deep drawers (the sides of the drawers would get wider or narrower effecting the fit), or thin wide unsuported slabs like a table top. As I am sure you know the flat sawn planks would be the vulnerable ones, the table top and the drawer fronts, the sides would be most likely quarter sawn and more stable.
Sooooo a guy could move some wood, wait, move the wood back, make a project, and see how it goes.
Sooooo in about a year you will know for sure.
: )
To the Garage it goes
Thanks Roc and Ralph,
Now i didnt think about my wifes car in the winter , she parks in the garage and i park out in the snow.
Maybe she will see the basement storage in a different light now that the snow will have to be removed
from her car everytime its parked inside. In either case im going to push for a moisture meter this xmas.
This fall i will store the oak and ash in the garage and see how it goes.
Thanks again
The measurements of success . . .
. . . are often a matter of whether one can explain things in a way a woman will understand. ;-)
The other alternative, of course, would be to build a separate (conditioned) space out back for the wood and your tools. A 30' x 40' building might be sufficient, I'd guess. ;-)
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