What to do about curved/ warped 2x4's/ lumber?

[dave1949]

Lumber seems to have a much wider grain these days, not as dense, and I think that contributes to the warping.

The lumber that comes from plantation forests of fast growing trees would result in wide growth rings I think. Also, there is a huge variation in the density of the wood, even though it is graded the same. You can feel a real weight difference between individual boards in a stack. Some even feel like a real piece or lumber when you pick them up. You can definitely tell the difference when sawing and nailing them too. I would guess there is a huge difference in the structural strength of dense wood vs the crap wood.
Dave.

 

[beenthere]

glenn
I wouldn't count on it. Wood takes on a set when it dries and the wood fibers shrink together. They may swell back a little bit, but not enough to straighten a crooked board. Once crooked, that is about the way it stays. But then "pretty well" may be good enough.

 

[skipmarcy]

What Lowes and Home Depot sell is what we used to call utility grade (and culls !!) years ago, I quit using it years ago. We have a small, locally owned building supply that sells true #2 and sometimes #1 lumber that is barely more expensive than the big stores. They keep all of their treated stuff outside so it's usually wet, soaking wet inside the stacks. It is all #2 grade lumber and mostly has been the copper azole treatment - a very light green, almost yellow color and the boards & posts will dry pretty straight - very few will warp much at all. Their 2x6's, 8's, 10's, 12's in SPF or pine are all #1 stuff and then again, he's just barely higher than the big stores so it's a win-win buy. So much nicer framing with decent lumber !!!

 

[RickB]

Anybody else think 2x4's & other lumber from Home Depot/ Lowe's seems a lot more curved/ warped than a decade or 2 ago?

Maybe it's just me, but when I buy boards & put them in my (enclosed but not air-tight) barn, seems that in less than a week they're incredibly warped, basically useless to me.

Can this be prevented?

Can they be straightened once they've warped?

If you buy lumber at a quality independent lumberyard you run a much better chance of getting decent wood. Big box home improvement stores are nothing more than the WalMart of wood.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I was working tonight with some pressure treated I had in my garage, it was warped really bad. Once piece totally unusable..

 

[clemsonfor]

I forgot to mention the company that supplies lowes in this area. Pollard lumber company, look for their mark on wood.

Another thing i see yall talking about kild dried. At least here in the south SYP treated lumber is not kiln dried, only untreated wood is kilndried. It sits roughcut out for awhile then goes to the planer (both PT and untreated), then straight to the treatement chamber. These look like huge submarines that the end comes off of. A car on rails rolls in and the chamber has a vacume pulled and then is floded with the water-born chemical. Meaning that water carries the ACQ or CCA (only used in commercial timbers and poles now) into the wood with the vacume helping pullit into the center.

 

[/pine]

FWIW...
There are companies that supply pressure treated lumber that is kiln dried AFTER it has been pressure treated...including plywood...

 

[clemsonfor]

Even a forester learns things about wood. /pine i have never seen it or heard about it but i guess its so, seems like a crazy expense, here in the south, esp now just lay it out on off the ground in the sun one board thick and in 3 days i promise you its dried. The reason most prolly ship wet is that it hides those inperfections like warp, you have to dry in a stickerd pack, which when they go to stack it will make stacking a buck of ( shaped boards hard to square up and strap down. :laughing:

 

[IdahoTractor]

A couple of years ago had to buy some lumber for a company I worked for. Even after picking through a stack of lumber the best ones were still crap to say the least. Lucky I have some nice Douglas firs on my place that I have been able to mill. A couple had died and took down 4 altogether, 70-90 years old and up to 4 ft diameter. After getting milled by a band saw on my property they get stickered between layers and then air dried for at least 6 months. You can't buy what I have at the store. Depending on your project and area you may try to talk to some band saw mill operators who would cut to your specs.

I see that you're in Canada. In the US, building codes require a grade stamp on structural building elements made of wood (studs, rafters, beams, trusses, etc.) . There are some county and city inspectors that will allow a variance, but most of these will require that a structural engineer signs off on the use of ungraded lumber.

 

[/pine]

...i have never seen it or heard about it but i guess its so...

Most larger fiberglass boats have some wood in them (decks, bulkheads, stringers, stiffeners and keels etc...) dry wood (less tham 8% moisture content) is paramount to ensure a good bond between fiberglass, kevlar etc. laminates (polyester, epoxy etc.) and wood...

There are alternatives to using lumber...polymer foam structural panels like 'Klegecell' or 'Divinycell'...but they are about twice the price of KD PT lumber...and they require full encapsulation which adds even more to the cost..

surprisingly KD PT is not all that expensive...a sheet of 3/4" B-C s1s was about $45 (last fall) and a sheet of 1/2" was only about $30...
dimensional lumber was only about 10%-15% higher than the junk at the box stores...

There is still some problem with delamination even with the KD PT but almost no rot like there was when marine builders mostly used yellow pine and untreated plywood in structural elements...