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Restacking 1.5year old pressure treated lumber?

2K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  Doss 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi, I am going to be building a new fence around my property. I was going to use prebuilt pt fence panels but found a deal on some 1×6x12 and 2×4x10 pt lumber that has been in the same spot off the lumberyard delivery truck for 1.5 years. It is still strapped all together. The two top layers of boards are a little warped/cupping but out of all of it I only require half so when I get it I'm going to get the cores of the stacks which are in very good condition.

My question is about restacking it. I'm thinking of restacking it all with sticks and with some even weight on top of the stack. Maybe even wetting the wood a little also. I'm not ready for the fence for another month or two so I have time to wait.

Any opinions, advice?
 
#2 ·
I would put stickers in between every layer and put it in a cool dry place. I wouldn't bother wetting it down, unless you're in a extremely dry climate and are worried about it drying out to fast. But if you said it's been sitting for a year and a half, it's well on it's way do being dry. Weighing it down will definitely help, I saw in a woodworking magazine recently where a guy just used threaded rod, some washers and bolts, and some 2×4s to make makeshift clamps to put even pressure on his stack of lumber. Hope this helps. I'm no expert, that's just what I'd do.
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but that wood sounds like it's already dried out. If so, trying to straighten it while it's dry is going to be difficult. Your idea of wetting it may work, but it's roughly the equivalent of rolling the dice. The problem is the boards probably dried too fast on one side or dried too fast period. If the boards are straight though, you can sticker/stack them and then throw some ratchet straps around the stack and keep a roof over them. Not sure what that'll accomplish though if they're already dry and straight.

What you're going to have to watch out for is, if they're dry, splitting when you begin fastening them. The thing I like about wet PT wood is that it takes screws pretty good with little or no predrilling.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the precautions. When I did check the stacks, 3 boards down in the stack and the wood is wet. He has 2 1/4 stacks there which come to 700 sticks and I only need 350 so I can take all the ones I need from the center where its wet and hasn't been exposed to anything. Was going to cut a bunch of scrap 2×4s into sticks but I just remembered I'll use the sticks from a few old spruce fence panels I still got up.
 
#6 ·
I have stopped using pressure treated lumber. i now use cedar for all my outdoor projects. the pressure treated stuff will move to the point where connections no longer fit. i had to pull posts sunk in concrete out of the ground for replacement and the rails i used twisted enough that the fence boards either popped off where i used staples or the boards split where i used screws. maybe it is the dry weather in utah but that is my experience. and it happened a number of time for different applications.
 
#7 ·
oldretiredjim, that's my same feeling for most of PT wood. I'm building a fence right now that is a horizontal slat design and don't trust PT enough to use it for those long parallel runs (10'). Instead, I'm using Western Red Cedar.

marcomjl, you still want the wood to be partially dry when you put it up. I don't know the design/style fence you're building, but it's usually best to let PT dry somewhat to make sure it doesn't start moving significantly while it dries on your fence. PT can pull out fasteners (I usually pre-drill and screw down PT decking with 3"+ long screws).
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the tips guys. I've had experience with PT from inside a lumber yards tent and even that stuff shrunk and bowed on me so I know to make sure its well dry.

My first choice was cedar and I had a mill ready to get me whatever size boards I wanted but this deal came along and its tough to not buy these sticks for $1.20 when they currently go for $12.24 each. It is a chance I'm taking but I think I'll be ok for the most part.

I'm still thinking about nails vs staples for the sticks when I build the panels. I'm going to give it all a solid stain.
As far as design I'm going to build a vertical slat/close-board design.
 
#9 ·
Wow… where do you live that PT pine? costs 12.24 a stick? I guess down in the 'Sip we have enough of the stuff (like weeds and grass) that it's half that cost for 5/4×6 x 10' decking (that is relatively defect free).

I just put an order in with my lumberyard for 1×6 Western Red Cedar at about 72 cents a foot.

We should probably put a regional price chart up somewhere to see how much this stuff is around the country for comparison's sake.

Good luck on the wood. If you can get it well-fastened up (lots of long screws and pre-drilled) while it's green, that may hold them straight while they dry. If one side is getting too much sun though, you may have to flip the board over.
 
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