I have placed my order at the local mill and expect delivery the first of April. The timbers are eastern pine and the majority will be 8"x8" with a few 4x's for girts. The timbers will be stored outdoors in the shade under cover. It will probably take me three months of chips flying before the building will be raised. My question is; since the timbers will be sitting for a lenght of time while I am making saw dust and chips, should I seal the ends of the timbers with something to reduce the chance of checking ? Novice needs advise.

Jeff,

It is a good idea to seal the end grain both when you get the timbers and after the joinery is cut. Don't forget the end grain in the mortises. I use Landark soft wax (I don't have the contact info with me in the hotel) to seal end grain, as I find that it doesn't stain the timbers as much when you slip with the brush. A cheaper alternative is anchor seal or any log sealer. One gallon should be enough.

Good Luck
Gabel Holder

Hey Jeff,
I have used "anchor seal" and am very pleased with the results. I recently used some on a bunch of hardwood i had milled locally here in VT. Ash, Beech, Cherry.etc. So far with great results!
No matter how hard you try and avoid it your green Pine is going to check. The first winter your frame is erected & enclosed be careful how hot you keep it. Are you using stress skin panels? More heat means faster drying in turn more movement, i.e. checking, twisting and shrinkage.

have a good one...

When you stack your timbers, at your place, after you have sealed the ends, make sure you have a good foundation or support for the pile. Make them as level front to back and left to right as you can. Put support blocks every two feet on center and place your separator blocks (as least 2"x2") in-between each row of timbers. Stack timbers of same sizes in each row.
Place your sticker blocks (2x2) in each row directly over the support blocks on the bottom, keeping them all aligned vertically, so that all the weight of the pile is well supported.
After you have placed the top row of timbers, place another row of stickers blocks on and then some other lumber or timber cover, such as a sheet of plywood. Angle this cover sheet so that the rain will shed off the cover. Keep the sides and ends of the pile open so that some air will flow threw. Air flow will prevent the chance of moist air build up which could help mold to form.
Good luck with your project.
Jim

Thank you everyone, the above comments are a great help.

Jeff.

One more thing, Dont go away! I will probably bombard this post with future questions as I frustrate myself with this latest challenge.

Jeff,
just one more thought, try and use dry stickers. green stickers sometimes leave stains that you have to sand out. All depending on what your using for stickers and how long they sit.

enjoy ....ZAC

Hi Jeff,

One other thing. Store your timber with the crown up. The weight of the timbers will reduce the affect of crown. You may have to do this after you timber has cured a little bit in order for the crown to be evident.

Have fun with it.
Ian

I can say that the manner in which you store your timbers does not need to be as elaborate as Jim descrihes. Typically, the system he describes is one which is often reserved for "Boards", which can't span large distances without deformation, rather than for Timbers, which can (depending on their dimensions).

I, and a great number of others, typically use three, or four, supports rather than supports every Two Feet, but, which are still, as Jim relates, as Level, and in Plane, as possible.

Some of what I have found helpful, in addition to the advice on Covering the Piles, and Using Dry Bunks in between Layers to minimize Sticker burn is

* Minimize Plant Growth up through, and around the Bases of the piles. For me enormous sheets of paper making Felt, and old, discarded paneling went down, first, under the Stacks, and served to inhibit weeds, grass, etc.

* Air Flow. One By stickers have always seemed to work MORE than fine with stacks of Boards, but, for stickering Timbers I rarely went smaller than Two Inches, and Often relied on Three Inch stickers. and tried to make my Piles a Maximum Width of Six Feet.
The thickness of the Stickers helps to facilitate that Airflow Jim and the others mention, as well as allowing for Forks to be used to pull the piles apart, if needed. (If the Timbers are stacked Level on an unlevel surface, and the Timber Handling Equipment is unable to pivot it's forks, thicker Stickers will be of enormous help here).
If each stick that goes into a Pile is Done, and the Barn is to be transported to another site for erection, then create your stacks with Loading in mind. This will allow you to rapidly load your frame when the time has come (Something to think about, not neccesarily something to live by).

Three months is a Very short period. Airflow and a good, level Bed, as high up from grade as you can Reasonably get, will be the only truely Crucial elements (and end grain sealer). But, I have had Frames in the yard that Should have gone out in three to four months, become delayed and delayed, and delayed, for one reason or another, so, for me, I got into the habit of stacking as though the timbers would need to sit through multiple Summers. It's not a bad practice to get into.

Tim Berube

How much more does it cost in time or stickers to add another one, two or three to each row?

If you could do this in order to help your timber stay flat and straight, are you going to take the risk not to?

Not aligning your stickers over your support blocks maybe "elaborate", but not doing it is asking for trouble.

Making stacks as wide as 6' works for those who have large forklifts with long forks but for the average do it yourself homeowner this is not likely. And the wider the stack the less air flow threw the pile.

Some projects are once in a lifetime projects, and the people doing them should do what they feel is the best possible practices for themselves.

And what works for one doesn't always work for another, so having all the information or suggestions available and weighing this information to one's own situation is the best method of determining what is best for one's self.

Jim Rogers

oops,

Aligning each sticker over your base support, and, over each other is a given.

But as for having supports every two feet. Again, this is standard practice where One Inch Boards are concerned, but, you are unlikely to find many shops doing this. I Never Have.

Twist is generally in a timber or it's Not. And, if it is, you can often see it (Spiral Grain).

Timbers are not boards, especially your heavier timbers. while a poor pile can act to ruin a run of 1 Inch Pine Boards, and a good pile can help to take some twist and curves out of a stack of boards, the same does not always apply to Timbers, particularly Hardwoods such as Oak.

If you think about it; A timber which will span 8 - 12 Feet in the finished frame certainly does not need to be supported every 2 Feet in the Stack.

As Way of Example;
* A pile of six foot Long, 5 Inch by 7 Inch Braces require only Two supports, Not Three,

* A Pile of Nine Foot Long, 8 Inch by 8 Inch Intermediate Posts requires only Two Supports, not Four.

* A Pile of Sisteen Foot Long, 12 Inch by 14 Inch Summers require only Three Supports, Not Eight.

If these Timbers cannot stay flat, and without twist under these conditions then there is something extremely wrong with the design, for here, in the Stacks, they must merely bear their OWN weight, while, in the Frame, they will be asked to bear MUCH greater Loads.

I would say that the concerns and objectives used when stacking Boards and Timbers can be very Different.

My Concerns when Piling Timbers are

* Moisture
* Stacking in Plane

My Objectives are

* Accessibility and Logistics -- Some Stacks need to be accessed Often ( Particularly in a Scribe Rule Shop, or, where the stacks are simply of Raw Materials) Some Piles will be of finished Materials awaiting shipping, and, thus are more long term. These need to be out of the way of the short-term stacks, and yet, not inaccesible when it comes time to transport them.

There are many ways of stacking Lumber. I agree.

However, a common practice is what is sketched out in these various responses.

* Level -- In Plane -- Supports (Bunks)
* Stickers Over the Bunks and in line with the ones below, and teh ones above
* End Grain sealed (When Possible)

The differences between How I (and Many Others) Stack our Timbers adn the Way Jim is suggesting boils down to the number of supports, and, why you would add them, or, Not.

I would say again, Jim provides an Excellent description of how to stack One Inch Lumber.

Tim Berube