Newbie needs lots of info on PT lumber

Posted by on August 29, 2008, 12:18 pm

Hi:

I am a total newbie when it comes to building. I bought some
plans for a deck (eventually a gazebo), spent $$$ on tools, and also
spent several hundred $$ on PT lumber at Home Depot this spring.
(Mostly 2x6, 2x8 and 4x4's.)
The guy at HD said I should let the lumber get air and dry for a
couple months before using it. (It was soaking wet.) So I put nails
in the ends and vertically suspended all the boards from the ceiling
of my garage, with lots or air around each board.
A couple weeks ago I started......and stopped. The wood is
warped, in all 3 dimensions. Some badly, and some just a little.

Obviously I did something wrong. So I found this group, and hope
that some of you could give me some guidance.
First, are there some websites that give good, detailed info on
the selection and use of PT wood?
Secondly, here are a couple of basic questions. Did I let it dry
correctly? Or should I have used it while it was still wet?
Is there any way to get the wood to bend back into shape? All my
joists will be double 2x8's. I just used some heavy-duty clamps to
force the ends of 2 pieces of 2x8's back together , but it looks like
the wood will crack/split if I try to go any further along the lengths
of the boards..
Even if the wood doesn't split, how should they be fastened, and
will the fasteners hold after I release the clamps? My brother-in-law
said to use long deck screws, but they look awfully weak, and so I was
thinking of using 3/8 s.s. bolts with s.s. fender washers next to the
wood. But all this is based on the wood not cracking/splitting, and I
have a hunch that it is going too once I start moving down the length
of the 2 boards..

As I said, I am a newbie. Any basic info on PT wood would be
__much__ appreciated, as would pointers to any lengthy
discussions/primers on pt wood on any websites.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

dave

Posted by SteveBell on August 29, 2008, 12:35 pm

dave@home.com wrote:

> I am a total newbie when it comes to building. I bought some
> plans for a deck (eventually a gazebo), spent $$$ on tools, and also
> spent several hundred $$ on PT lumber at Home Depot this spring.
> (Mostly 2x6, 2x8 and 4x4's.)
> The guy at HD said I should let the lumber get air and dry for a
> couple months before using it. (It was soaking wet.) So I put nails
> in the ends and vertically suspended all the boards from the ceiling
> of my garage, with lots or air around each board.
> A couple weeks ago I started......and stopped. The wood is
> warped, in all 3 dimensions. Some badly, and some just a little.
> Obviously I did something wrong. So I found this group, and hope
> that some of you could give me some guidance.
> First, are there some websites that give good, detailed info on
> the selection and use of PT wood?
> Secondly, here are a couple of basic questions. Did I let it dry
> correctly?

Wood is usually stacked and stickered to dry. One of the reasons is to
minimize warping. (Stickers are the thin slats that separate the
layers.)

> Or should I have used it while it was still wet?

That's what I do. It will still warp a little, but not nearly as much
as if you let it do whatever it wants.

> Is there any way to get the wood to bend back into shape?

No.

> All my
> joists will be double 2x8's. I just used some heavy-duty clamps to
> force the ends of 2 pieces of 2x8's back together , but it looks like
> the wood will crack/split if I try to go any further along the lengths
> of the boards..

It probably won't split, but if it does, the board was too warped to
use.

> Even if the wood doesn't split, how should they be fastened, and
> will the fasteners hold after I release the clamps? My brother-in-law
> said to use long deck screws, but they look awfully weak, and so I was
> thinking of using 3/8 s.s. bolts with s.s. fender washers next to the
> wood. But all this is based on the wood not cracking/splitting, and I
> have a hunch that it is going too once I start moving down the length
> of the 2 boards..

I suspect that the deck screws would be fine if you add some
construction adhesive.

> As I said, I am a newbie. Any basic info on PT wood would be
> __much__ appreciated, as would pointers to any lengthy
> discussions/primers on pt wood on any websites.

Google is your friend.

Random musings:
PT wood is best used wet. It shrinks a ton as it dries, it always warps
a little, and sometimes it warps *a lot*. It also shrinks massively
cross-grain. I have screwed down wet PT deck boards so the touch, then
found quarter-inch gaps a week later.

In my opinion, PT wood is best used for ground-contact applications
only, because of its instability.

--
Steve Bell
New Life Home Improvement
Arlington, TX

Posted by John Grabowski on August 29, 2008, 1:29 pm

> Hi:
> I am a total newbie when it comes to building. I bought some
> plans for a deck (eventually a gazebo), spent $$$ on tools, and also
> spent several hundred $$ on PT lumber at Home Depot this spring.
> (Mostly 2x6, 2x8 and 4x4's.)
> The guy at HD said I should let the lumber get air and dry for a
> couple months before using it. (It was soaking wet.) So I put nails
> in the ends and vertically suspended all the boards from the ceiling
> of my garage, with lots or air around each board.
> A couple weeks ago I started......and stopped. The wood is
> warped, in all 3 dimensions. Some badly, and some just a little.
> Obviously I did something wrong. So I found this group, and hope
> that some of you could give me some guidance.
> First, are there some websites that give good, detailed info on
> the selection and use of PT wood?
> Secondly, here are a couple of basic questions. Did I let it dry
> correctly? Or should I have used it while it was still wet?
> Is there any way to get the wood to bend back into shape? All my
> joists will be double 2x8's. I just used some heavy-duty clamps to
> force the ends of 2 pieces of 2x8's back together , but it looks like
> the wood will crack/split if I try to go any further along the lengths
> of the boards..
> Even if the wood doesn't split, how should they be fastened, and
> will the fasteners hold after I release the clamps? My brother-in-law
> said to use long deck screws, but they look awfully weak, and so I was
> thinking of using 3/8 s.s. bolts with s.s. fender washers next to the
> wood. But all this is based on the wood not cracking/splitting, and I
> have a hunch that it is going too once I start moving down the length
> of the 2 boards..
> As I said, I am a newbie. Any basic info on PT wood would be
> __much__ appreciated, as would pointers to any lengthy
> discussions/primers on pt wood on any websites.

Two mistakes you made. Buying your wood at that place and listening to the
advice from someone at that place. You should have gone to a lumber yard
and you would have noticed a difference in the quality of the products and
in the knowledge of the employees.

The only way to get that wood in good working condition is to cut it
lengthwise and/or plane it.

I think that you should only use the PT wood for underneath and get
something nicer looking like cedar or redwood for the floor and rails.

Posted by Steve Barker DLT on August 29, 2008, 2:22 pm

The HD guy was wrong. PT lumber has to be used wet. It will always warp
when it dries if it is not tied down.

s

Posted by RicodJour on August 29, 2008, 9:23 pm

On Aug 29, 12:18=A0pm, d...@home.com wrote:

> Hi:
> =A0 =A0 =A0I am a total newbie when it comes to building. =A0I bought som=

> plans for a deck (eventually a gazebo), spent $$$ on tools, and also
> spent several hundred $$ on PT lumber at Home Depot this spring.
> (Mostly 2x6, 2x8 and 4x4's.)
> =A0 =A0 =A0The guy at HD said I should let the lumber get air and dry for=

> couple months before using it. =A0(It was soaking wet.) =A0So I put nails
> in the ends and vertically suspended all the boards from the ceiling
> of my garage, with lots or air around each board.
> =A0 =A0 A couple weeks ago I started......and stopped. =A0 The wood is
> warped, in all 3 dimensions. =A0Some badly, and some just a little.
> =A0 =A0 =A0Obviously I did something wrong. =A0So I found this group, and=

hope

> that some of you could give me some guidance.

Ouch. You interpreted something an idiot said and did something that
only a newbie would do. You've learned a valuable lesson - don't ever
listen to the advice from a guy wearing an apron without verifying it
with someone who actually knows what they are talking about.

Since Home Despot is so ready to take stuff back, you may want to try
returning the stuff. They may balk at the time involved or they may
not. Try returning ten pieces or so. If they accept those in return
then you should be able to return all of it with only a moderate
amount of pleading, accusing and stomping of feet.

R

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