Hey Jeff,

I bet you didn't think you would get this much feedback! Anyway I hope your still having fun.
Just to add some validation, I've taken a quote from Steve Chappell's "A Timber Framer's Workshop";p141

"Pine timbers should be stacked and stickered with one inch Stickings between layers, and one inch side-by side so that there is an even air flow around each timber. Rows should be no wider than four feet, with the timbers stacked high to gain the benefit of the wight of the timbers themselves to resist twisting. Oak timbers can be stacked tight b/c blue stain does not affect hardwoods. In the initial stages of curing, air circulation is not such a great factor as time. Oak tends to crown, twist and warp much more dramatically than pine, so extra care should be taken when stacking and stickering. Stickers should be spaced EVERY TWO FEET"

You really shouldn't be thinking in terms of strength when you say "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."

Of course its strong enough. But you should be thinking in terms of how to minmize the affects of different drying rates between compression wood and tension wood during curing (ie. removal of water outside the cell wall 4-6 wks after Jeff gets his wood ). It doesn't matter how strong the timber is, the timber will twist and crown depending on how much reaction wood (large variation btwn tension and compression wood) there is. You can sometimes look at a timber's growth rings to predict how its going to dry but good luck getting it right the first time you stack you timber to cure. This why the initial curing process should be thought of much like a flower or leaf press with air circulation. That's why stickers aren't placed less than two feet. We need to maximize the support in one plane but we also need air circulation.

Having said that I know lots of people that don't sticker every two feet. They're also masters when it come to fitting on raising day. I suspect there is less concern over the affects of curing for some because with power tools one can easily get rid of a twist or bowe by simply passing an electric plane over it. But still, it means more prep time on your timbers. If you're just using hand tools, I would think this would bare greater concern.

Ian :p

Ian;
Do not let Steve Chappell's name be used in the excising of Demons.

Allow the validation to come from real world experience And, Real World experiments. Trust what you see.

Before I go any further, it's Very important NOT to stack Green Hardwoods tight. I cannot stress this enough. Bluestaining is a form of fungus -- an initial stage of Rot -- while Oak, and other hardwoods do not get "BlueStain", they Do rot, and will do so Much more Quickly without adequate air flow. The Greying of your timbers is Also caused by a Fungus, as is the Spalting of Maples (though Spalting is a more advanced sign of Rot than is greying).

The question of strength is of particular relevance when determining how many points of support a given timber requires. Strength is also an element as to Why I sticker as I do.

For that matter, the Strength of a given material Very much comes into play when attempting to do what it is that you are recomending -- The Deformation and Bending of a Heavy Timber --Twist, Crown / Bow,

The Thickness of Stickers
In many shops, the thickness of stickers has more to do with the methods of handling the timbers than it does with facilitating Drying.

I am a Traditional Timber Framer who, for many years obtained timber by Purchasing and/or Sawing (WoodMizer) and Hewing. When I was running my Own shop (Up until Two Months ago), the means of moving the timbers were entirely by hand. One of the primary methods of getting sticks from one place to another (this often included loading Flatbeds) was by sliding, or rolling, them along 3 x 3 skids. Consequently my stickers were 3 x 3's.

This is a Practical Consideration.

At the shop I am currently at almost all timber is moved with a "Lull". The Forks do not rotate. Stickers in this shop do not tend to be smaller than 3 inches either. And the practicality again stems from the requirements of the Timber Handling.

A Real World Look at Supports
In order to see why Supporting a One Inch Board every Two feet is important perform a small experiment. Take Six eight foot boards and Six eight foot 8 x 8's and support them only on the ends.

(Let your boards be Pine and at least Two of your timbers be a fairly strong Hardwood -- for the last two set ups)

Stack one set (One Board and One Timber) on a pair of bunks perfectly in plane, but with nothing atop them.

Stack another set on the Same set of bunks but with simulated Weight over the point loads (the Bunks)

Stack your third set on out-of-plane Bunks (You are attempting to induce a twist here -- which is the SAME as attempting to take twist out, ie; you are acting to deform a length of wood). The excercise here is see how much force is needed. Keep stacking weight atop this set until you have achieved the desired deformation.

This last stack should be done with timbers of both soft, and, hardwoods, as their ability to resist this type of deformation varies considerably.

Your Final Stack should be on a set of bunks placed every Two Feet (beginning at the ends of the timber/board). Again, let these Bunks be out of Plane, but, in such a way that it resembles a twist (Making One bunk up, the next down, and so on, would make deformation of the timber virtually impossible and would skew the results)

Let one stack have the remaining Hardwood, and one the remaining Softwood Timber. Attempt to add wieghts over the Stickers (Point Loads) until the timbers again deform to match the arc of the Bunks.

My Prediction
I would predict that over time the first set shows no deformation in the timber, but significant deformation in the Unloaded Board -- that the Timber is more than strong enough to support it's own weight, but that the board is not.
Further, there will be no twist in the timber unless spiral grain is present.

The second set will show pretty much the same results (deformation in the board, none in the timber)

For the third set, deformation of the softwood timber is possible, though only with the application of a decent amount of weight, while deformation of the Hardwood is beyond the practical limit (ie; it will take more than balancing a verticaly standing 14' White Oak 8x8 on either end of the timber).
Deformation of the boards should occur very readily.

The fourth set should be the most difficult scenario of all, for inducing twist.
Supporting the Timbers every Two feet should distribute the load so much so that significantly More weight is needed to deform the Softwood timber, and, the Hardwood timber (though it will be much eaiser to stack greater weights on it now -- as there are many more point loads on it) will again be virtually impossible.

A Final Experiment
Set up Bunks, outdoors on only roughly level Earth on Two Foot Centers for a stack 4 - 6 feet wide, by 14 feet long (8 Bunks).

Shoot the grades of each and every bunk, shooting two elevations for each bunk, and mark the points so One can find those exact points again.

Make sure that All the bunks are perfectly in plane, and make that plane be Level.
And then fully load them (An eight foot high stack of lumber).

Over the course of the next two to three weeks, shoot the bunks periodicaly, and see how, or if, any of these bunks are moving.

The point of this is that as One adds bunks, the diffuculty in getting them ALL in plane increases substantially, and, they are not likely to stay in plane either.

The Practical aspect of fewer Bunks is that you can more precisely determine Where the support for your timbers will be. You don't have that flexibility with Boards, as, a softwood board simply does not have the strength to span much more than Two feet without deforming over time.

Further, Most timbers do not come from the sawmill perfectly straight and square. These imperfections are, of neccessity, within the pile. Two foot centers magnify the bows and twists that were Sawn into the stack, while, centers that are more spread out tend to mellow the influences of these flaws on the overall stack

There are practical realities, and Shop realities which cause us to sticker timber as we do.
Two Foot centers are not the Ideal to Reach for.

I never thought my simple question would get this level of discussion going?

A good solid well supported storage structure just makes plain sense to me and that is what I did... 8" CMU blocks placed on 12"x24"x2" thick concrete slabs spaced 4' on center. I used my 4"x8" sill plates as the rails and placed 4x4's on top 2' OC, leveled with my transit dead nuts, timbers stickered with kiln dried 2x2's. This support bed cost me nothing but a little extra time.

As a homeowner constructing a once in a lifetime project, the extra labor involved (not much) is effort well spent to protect my investment of both time and dollars. I dont have time for trial and error or the $ to learn the hard way.

Jeff

green timbers (before cutting joints) i stack crown up on two supports outdoors, bigger beams in single layers and smaller stuff in multiple layers.
finished timbers i stack stickered under steel roof sheets outdoors or in our old barn with the hay and straw (and chickens-for that rustic finish)
-Mark in Ontario.

I agree with Tim and would strongly second the idea of a ground cover, I have used woven geotextile which is left over from lane construction also the spun geotextile, filter fabric, would also work very well a s a plant barrier.