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TIL the hard way that pine lumber needs way more time to dry than I thought | Carpenters - Topic Shares

maxm63•2mo ago

TIL the hard way that pine lumber needs way more time to dry than I thought

I spent 3 whole days building a nice bookshelf for my daughter's room out of some pine boards from the local yard. Sanded everything perfect, put it together, looked great. Then after a week in the house it warped so bad the shelves started bowing and one split right down the middle. Turns out that wood was way too green, it needed at least another month of drying in a heated space. Has anyone else wasted time on lumber that wasn't properly seasoned?

2 comments

2 Comments

karenw232mo ago

Oh boy, I have to respectfully disagree a bit here. I've been working with pine for decades and a month of drying in a heated space wouldn't have saved those boards if they were really that green. The real issue is probably that the lumber yard sold you wood that was still wet, not that you didn't dry it long enough yourself. Pine can actually handle some movement if you let it acclimate in your house for a week or two before building, and you should always pick boards that feel lighter and have no visible moisture when cut. That split and warp sounds like the wood was just plain bad, not that you rushed the drying.

the_xena2mo ago

Karen's spot on about the wood being bad, not your drying timing. I've grabbed "bargain" pine that looked fine in the yard, only to have it twist like a pretzel after a week inside. Best rule I've learned the hard way: buy your lumber a full two weeks before you plan to build, stack it flat with stickers between the boards, and let it sit in the exact room where it'll live. If it's still damp to the touch when you cut it, don't even bother. And always pick boards from the middle of the stack, not the ones on top that look dry but are just surface dried.