It’s been a dry winter here in Maryland. Has any one in this parched region experienced any abnormal shrinkage in lumber, more particular in floor joists. In homes that are about eight months old with 2 x 10 hem fir joists I’ve experienced shrinkage up to 1/2″.
Thanks for any help!
PLP
Replies
Sounds a little on the extreme side if they were KD to start with.
But that's one of the reasons why a lot of us have gone to engineered truss joists of one kind or another.
i've seen that in houses with very dry conditions.. like wood stoves and no humidifier.. if the RH gets down to 15% - 20%..
you can get that kind of shrinkage.check the moisture content of the wood.. and get a sling psychrometer to check the RHMike Smith
Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike,
Thanks for the time and knowledge.
Hey, where do I get one one those physco- meters?
Just Kidding, if you had one of those you wouldn't be here.
Thanks again.
PLP
Thanks Piffin!
I'm working on the TJI's.
PLP
Did a house 7-8 years ago where the floor joist were shipped in a new load of lumber from the mill. We offloaded the 2x10's and delivered them directly to the jobsite for installation(July). In October the new home owners moved in ..........the week of Christmas the phone calls began.
The contractor and I made the housecall.......................what a sad sight. Walls separated from floors and ceilings, a 2 inch rise in the kitchen floor, cracks and splits in the floor joists, large gaps in the floor system. We called the supplier and a rep also made the inspection.......laying it off to poor workmanship.
The owner hired a lawyer and the settlement was large. Discovery found that the shipping weight of the two units of supossed "KD" lumber was much higher than it should have been....therefore although stamped "KD" it was not. Therefore as the house was occupied and the gas forced air furnace (without humidifier) took the relative humidity to 7% and the wet 2x10's did their "dance" as they were dried.
The mill fit the bill. The contractor and I were left out of the damage claims. I bought a very good moisture meter and began checking all units going to contract jobs. I also now rely heavily on engineered joists rather than "KD" lumber.
................Iron Helix
Iron Helix,
Thanks for the responce. I'm going to invest in a nice moisture meter. Our lumber supplier has been out and they couldn't believe how bad things are. We are switching to SPF first before the TJI route. (I want to go straight to TJI"S) We'll see what happens.
Anyway thanks again!.
PLP
Wait till you check the SPF........................it will suprise you ! And scare you.
We receive SPF that is so moist it mildews in the bunk. You can actually feel the coolness as you pick up a board. Often the stamp does not read "KD"but is listed as "Stable-Dry", which is wetter than KD when shipped. Cuts costs at the mill you know ...less heat and time in the driers.
Many distributors stack the wrapped bunks outdoors where any loss of wrapper integrity means the lumber is water soaked. And returning goods to most distributors is a pain as they conveniently forget everything that waould make it happen.
Be vigilant......................................Iron Helix