Shoutout to the guy at the lumber yard who saved my deck project

I was building a small deck last month, about 8x10 feet in my backyard in Portland. Some random dude waiting in line saw me picking out pressure treated wood and said I was grabbing boards that were too wet. He told me to check the end grain for cracks and look for a moisture content under 19%. I dismissed him at first but grabbed a moisture meter from Harbor Freight for 15 bucks. Turns out the first stack I picked was reading 28% and would have warped in a month. Who else has gotten game changing advice from a random stranger on a project?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan36926d ago

Read a study once that said green lumber can lose a third of its volume just drying out. That number stuck with me. Makes sense why that guy stopped you. Wet wood shrinks and twists like crazy once it sits in the sun for a few weeks. A lot of people skip checking moisture because they think pressure treated is always ready to go. Sounds like that stranger saved you from ripping out half your deck next summer.

the_mary26d ago

Hate to be that person but is a deck really gonna warp that bad in a year if it's slightly wet? I've seen people throw up decks with green lumber and they're still standing fine after a few seasons. Moisture meters are cool and all but I feel like Portland's humidity kinda makes the whole thing moot anyway.