Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Drying stack of green wood question
Barry Irby
I recently stacked two stack of maple with stickers. I generally put a tarp over them and try to leave the sides open for air flow.
I see some people don't cover them at all and just let them get rained on.
I am bothered by rain drifting in from the sides.
What's your advice? How thoroughly should I cover the piles?
Keep It Dry
Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey
Repeated rain wetting will seep under the stickers to promote mold growth and provide you with a world class case of sticker stain on your light cream maple.
Couple things
Ellis Walentine
We always set the stack at least a foot off the ground to cut back on vapor pressure. We covered the stack with Shade-Dri and topped it off with sheets of metal roofing that overhung the sides and ends of the pile. The shade dri allows ventilation while keeping rain from blowing in. Use dry stickers to minimize the danger of sticker stain.
Standard practice for a mill
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
Use dry sticks, cover top with rain shedding something which could be as simple as two layers of low grade lumber (I use roofing tin) and ensure the stack is in a location that gets excellent ventilation. The dry sticks and good air flow are most critical.
I have never seen the sides of a stack covered in any way. In their quest to keep rain out people often err by not providing good air flow through the pile.
Maple molds to the core in 2 days in the summer if you don't get the surface dry quickly. Mills that don't have mold treatment capability often don't risk sawing maple in the summer, of if the do they get it on sticks the same day it is sawed.