Can lumber be stored safely in an space that gets above 120F

[John Dakker]

My wood shop is a room inside of a metal building which is also my garage. Above the ceiling of the shop and the inside of the roof I have approximately two vertical feet of storage space. The walls were built stout enough for a good load. My question is can lumber be stored in this space? The summer temperature in this space often gets above 120 degree F. I have searched around and have found reasons not to store green or partially dried lumber but I cannot find a reason not to store dried lumber. Over the years I have scrounged many hundreds of feet of great lumber and would be very disappointed to 15 years from now pull a 6/4, 22" x 16' tiger maple board only to find that it has been trashed.

Thoughts?

Thank you

[Kent Chasson]

As you said, it's only a problem if is not yet dry.

You may however want to move it into your shop well in advance of working with it in order for it to equilibrate to a more reasonable RH/moisture content.

[joe milana]

I would be curious to hear more. Why only dry wood? I have some walk in attic space that would be perfect for wood storage, but it gets hot in the summer, and cold in the winter.

[Mike Bellone]

In a word - yes you can. I live in southern Louisiana, New Orleans, where it is hot and humid most of the time with intermittent cold wet humid snaps in the winter and have been storing dry lumber in my shop's attic ( 20x22x8) for years with no ill effects on the wood - as long as it is dry before storing it. Just make sure that the structure can support the load. I presently have African Mahogany, Sugar Maple, Rock Maple, Teak, salvaged old growth cypress, cherry and salvaged American Black Walnut in storage. The thermostat for the attic vent fan in my shop is set to kick on at 120 degrees so I know what you are talking about when you mention extreme heat and humidity.


Like Kent Chasson stated - just make sure you let the lumber equilibrate in the shop before using it for a project.

[Kent Chasson]

I would be curious to hear more. Why only dry wood? I have some walk in attic space that would be perfect for wood storage, but it gets hot in the summer, and cold in the winter.

If wood is wet (contains bound water because it has not been kiln or air dried) , you want to control how fast you dry it. Drying too fast can cause splits and case hardening.

[joe milana]

If wood is wet (contains bound water because it has not been kiln or air dried) , you want to control how fast you dry it. Drying too fast can cause splits and case hardening.

I figured a hot humid attic would be an ideal place to allow green wood to dry slowly. Not that I would try it, I was just curious. If anything, I would store some dry wood up there.

[Scott T Smith]

My wood shop is a room inside of a metal building which is also my garage. Above the ceiling of the shop and the inside of the roof I have approximately two vertical feet of storage space. The walls were built stout enough for a good load. My question is can lumber be stored in this space? The summer temperature in this space often gets above 120 degree F. I have searched around and have found reasons not to store green or partially dried lumber but I cannot find a reason not to store dried lumber. Over the years I have scrounged many hundreds of feet of great lumber and would be very disappointed to 15 years from now pull a 6/4, 22" x 16' tiger maple board only to find that it has been trashed.

Thoughts?

Thank you

It is absolutely ok to store dried wood in an attic. Matter of fact, that's a great place to store it, as it will stay around 6%- 8% MC for most of the year.

Green wood is a different story, and not a good idea when the wood is above 25% MC.

[Mike Cutler]

Sticker it properly and you should be fine. Wood has been stored in attics and the upper parts of barns for many years successfully. I would however try to get some air flow up there.

[Scott T Smith]

Sticker it properly and you should be fine. Wood has been stored in attics and the upper parts of barns for many years successfully. I would however try to get some air flow up there.

Typically dried wood does not need to be stickered. However, in an attic environment the wood will experience daily changes in terms of temp and RH%, and if the wood is flat stacked the upper board may cup/warp, and the rest of the boards may experience some various changes in the thickness of the board edges.

Thus, in this instance stickering "dry" boards may be beneficial.