Lumber Storage - Weather Question

[guitar10000]

Hello ,

I live in Cleveland , OH. I recently moved and now have a 3 car garage that will be my new shop.

I plan on heating it only when in use for the day. The question I have is about my lumber storage.

Do I need to store all my lumber (all speices) indoors in the winter? It is all at 5-8% moisture.

I am trying to determine if I need to build a lumber rack indoors or if it will be ok in the garage during the winters (

Which get down to 0 sometimes). Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[BenMinshall]

Do I need to store all my lumber (all speices) indoors in the winter?

It should be just fine in the garage or outdoors as long as it is up off the ground, stacked loosely with stickers to allow some air movement, and covered to protect from rain and snow. I live in Michigan and often stored extra lumber outdoors over the winter either on blocks and tarped or in a garden shed. The lumber yards all store it in unheated warehouses or open barns after all. I'd bring it in to the workshop environment for a week or two before starting to use it.

[jHop]

Guitar, I'm in Old Brooklyn; not certain which neighborhood you're in. I left some lumber on the porch this past winter partly because I needed storage for it, and partly because I don't have a garage and there wasn't any space to store this in the shop, which is in the basement.

I have a piece of white oak on the porch now that has both twisted and warped. It was stored stickered, but not tarped / covered. And there are several other pieces of stock that were stored beside it, which have weathered badly because it was exposed to the moisture. Some can still be salvaged. I'm not quite certain yet about this piece of oak.

If you decide to cover it, make sure the tarp goes lower than the lowest piece of stock you have. And don't put the tarp right on top of the stock, because it needs air movement over that portion too.

It should be fine in the garage. You can even store it outside, under a shed roof with tarp sides. (That's how lumber yards store some)

[KRAM121881]

guitar10000

I would think as long as the wood is kept dry and stacked properly as others have pointed out the fluctuation in temp. when you heat the shop to work out there should have little effect on the lumber. Also something to keep in mind as long as your garage is insulated reasonably well and if you were planning on parking your car's in the garage when not in use as a shop the heat from your vehicles once used and parked will keep the garage much warmer than the outside temp., however you may also need to be concerned about the moisture levels in this space.

Mark