# Storing lots of reclaimed lumber - ideas?



## Dbhoosier (Jan 10, 2015)

Hi there - new to the forum but not to woodworking. Thanks for allowing me to join.

I recently bought some property that had an old barn, built circa 1850. My wife and I wanted to save it, and we found an excellent crew of Amish carpenters that knew what to do. They jacked it up and poured a proper foundation, saved the timber frame, put in a new roof, rebuilt the lofts and stairs, and replaced all of the siding and battens with poplar from their mill. Much of the old siding was too far gone, but I was able to salvage about 600 board feet and some extra beams. Most of it seems to be cedar, but there is sone hardwood too (can't tell yet but guessing it is oak, cherry, or chestnut. The majority of the boards are about 10" wide and 12 to 16' long. I don't have a great picture of the stack but this one sort of helps show it. 









Anyways, now the barn is a great space for entertaining with my family, and of course, my workshop. I have used some of the reclaimed siding for projects, but I still have a ton of it left. I would love to find a better way to store it than just stacking it three boards deep on the concrete floor (resting on treated 2×4s).

Has anyone stored 400 to 500 board feet on a wall rack? Not sure what kind of capacity you could do with wall mounting or if there are some other options I am not considering.

I also have TONS of 8/4 and 4/4 poplar cutoffs (most are 24 to 36") that I saved from the work on the new siding and lofts. If anyone has some cool project ideas for using the cutoffs, I am all ears as well.

Thanks!


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## joey502 (Mar 30, 2014)

I would store it vertically. You may have the ceiling height or may have to cut it but vertical storage is a good use of space. Vertical storage allows you to select boards with out digging through a pile.

I have the same BF in my garage, I bought it as a lot from a guy on CL. I made wooden brackets that secure to the wall at each stud. Between each of them I sorted the wood by type, color, condition etc. A small piece of chain connects to each of the brackets to keep anything from falling. This configuration is 12' along on wall x 9' tall (just below finished ceiling) x 15" deep. There is a lot of wood stored and no space wasted.


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## Dbhoosier (Jan 10, 2015)

Thanks, joey502, for your reply! Question - have you had any issues with the lumber bowing when stored vertically? I didn't really consider vertical storage as I thought bowing would be an issue. I certainly have the ceiling height in that part of the barn. Part of my goal is creating more floor space, so vertical storage isn't the complete solution, but it probably would free up more floor space than the current three-deep piles of horizontal storage on the floor right now.


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## joey502 (Mar 30, 2014)

I have not noticed and damage to the wood, not saying that it could not happen. A better part of my woodworking project are in the medium size range so any distortion of the wood is removed when I cut long boards shorter and joint them. My boards are not leaning against anything. The weight is on the floor, the chains are for safety, the wood does not rest on them.

I am sure there are others that store their wood vertically. Has anyone else had an issue with storing wood this way?


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