How to Store Wood Like a Pro: Best Practices for Long-Term Preservation
Fine wood products undergo a long journey from their humble forest beginnings to livening up your home. Whether they are intended for exterior, interior, or other structural components, their journey will likely include a significant storage period. With that being said, you must understand that knowing how to store wood the right way has a major impact on the final results you receive.
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What Affects How to Store Wood
If you’re wondering how to store wood the right way, then there’s a lot to learn, and there isn’t any one-size-fits-all solution, either. Dealing with different types of wood across varying conditions creates a variety of potential approaches.
First, you must consider the type of wood you’re working with. Different structural and decorative elements rely on a variety of tree species, and each offers its own unique properties. The density, moisture content, and internal structure of the wood all play a role in figuring out its specific storage requirements.
Local humidity, weather, and pest activity also play a part in how to store wood properly. There are some regions in which certain types of wood can be stored outside without any issue, while other regions may require that same wood to be kept in interior storage. Some wood types require more careful control over temperature, humidity, and airflow than others as well.
Why Proper Wood Storage Is Important
Proper wood storage is vital to ensuring the performance and quality of the final products produced from it. When trees are harvested, they undergo many changes until they become finished products.
One of the most significant is drying, which occurs as moisture slowly works its way out of the wood. The process depends heavily on ambient conditions. Without the proper ones in place, finished products can be left with a higher moisture content, which can cause the drying process to continue afterward, leading to a variety of issues.
Many fine wood products also undergo aging for a certain period of time, and depending on the type of wood and its final intended use, that process can take years. To ensure adequate results after all that time, every detail regarding how to store wood must be carefully controlled.
What Happens When You Don’t Know How to Store Wood
mproper storage can lead to a variety of issues that impact the quality of the final piece. Humidity and moisture, for instance, can cause wood to shift unevenly, resulting in warping that can affect both its strength and appearance.
Many wooden elements are also prone to bowing with improper storage, meaning their ends will bend up or down. In other cases, the wood can twist, creating a more complex distortion across two dimensions, and uneven warping can lead to cracks and other damage due to internal pressures.
In a worst-case scenario, poorly-stored wood can develop issues such as rot or mold, which can leave the wood completely unsalvageable. Pest activity is also another serious concern, depending on the region and climate.
How the Pros Handle Wood Storage
At Reliance Timber, we curate a wide selection of different wood products. To do so, we address a number of key requirements and appropriate methods to carefully dry wood to maintain its structure, integrity, and appearance and prevent damage. These cover a range of thicknesses and species, meaning a unique approach is needed to ensure proper storage for each.
Keeping various wood products flat is one important step, as it allows for an even distribution of airflow. Proper spacing must also be maintained to prevent individual pieces from having their airflow restricted.
Humidity levels are also carefully controlled for certain wood products to prevent moisture damage and warping. These vary depending on species, thickness, and other factors, all of which we take into account during our drying and storage processes.
No matter the approach, the end result is beautiful, consistent, and strong wood products for your home’s interior, exterior, and structure. With Reliance Timber, you always get quality that you can depend on.
Products Handled Right from Start to Finish
Storage is an important step in ensuring the quality and longevity of fine wood products, but it’s just one step. To get the results you need for your home, you need to make sure that every step has been handled by true experts. At Reliance Timber, we do it all for all of our wood products.
