Why wood has gotten so dang expensive

Re:Why wood has gotten so dang expensive by bcrosby95 on Sunday June 27, 2021 @12:09PM (#27652706)

> There's "we bought a sawmill!" ads here in the rural lands now for fresh sawn green pine and oak; which isn't "lumber" yet in any useful sense. I've seen porches being built that won't last the summer.

I'm curious why this is. Is it the drying stage, or something else?

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Re:Why wood has gotten so dang expensive by tastyfreeze on Sunday June 27, 2021 @12:19PM (#27652812)

You can build out of green lumber. But, as wood dries it will twist, warp, and crack. If you happen to live somewhere humid building with green wood is an invitation for fungal rot. For both durability and square building it is better to dry the wood first.

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Re:Why wood has gotten so dang expensive by rootusrootus on Sunday June 27, 2021 @02:48PM (#27654101)

You can frame up houses, but code usually mandates no more than 15-19% moisture before you can close the walls up, for exactly that reason.

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Re:Why wood has gotten so dang expensive by silon42 on Sunday June 27, 2021 @12:30PM (#27652924)

I'm sure there's plenty of "almost dry" wood in California.

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Re:Why wood has gotten so dang expensive by alamortsubite on Sunday June 27, 2021 @12:15PM (#27652762)

Yes. The wood will twist and bend as it dries.

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Re:Why wood has gotten so dang expensive by monetus on Sunday June 27, 2021 @12:24PM (#27652863)

- Which, for those curious, is the the whole idea behind greenwood carpentry.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_woodworking

Its a shame more of that craft isn't going around. Granted, I'm not sure how a greenwood porch would work.

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Re:Why wood has gotten so dang expensive by h2odragon on Sunday June 27, 2021 @12:36PM (#27652990)

Green white oak, especially, can do some cool stuff. I imagine you could do a porch with lap built and grain matched construction and get a "tensegrity" bonus as stuff dried; but ive never seen that trick done with anything more complicated or smaller than house siding.

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Re:Why wood has gotten so dang expensive by jjeaff on Sunday June 27, 2021 @04:26PM (#27654970)

Wouldn't work well at all for any construction that isn't using mortise and tenon or some other type of friction fit construction. Can be disastrous for traditional construction where pieces are butted up together and nailed.

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Re:Why wood has gotten so dang expensive by ArkanExplorer on Sunday June 27, 2021 @12:18PM (#27652798)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_drying

Wood for construction needs to reach an equilibrium moisture point with the outdoor air after its cut.

If its dried outside, it takes months to years to dry, depending on the humidity level and temperature.

The wood is dried because it makes it lighter, and the shrinkage and swelling has already played out during the drying process... instead of when its in place!

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Re:Why wood has gotten so dang expensive by drewzero1 on Sunday June 27, 2021 @12:18PM (#27652804)

Yes, wood that is used to build something before it has been dried will warp and curl.

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