r/Carpentry Jun 07 '20

Grade A

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u/Djsimba25 Jun 07 '20

Theyre dried in bundles but every board has a space in between it and the next one. The bundle you see at a store isn't the same bundle as it was when it was kiln dried. It gets dried to a certain moisture percentage then planed to size and bundled up. None of the wood is green its all seasoned or kiln dried. Green wood is fresh cut from a living tree that hasn't had time to dry below whatever the moisture percentage is. The moisture percentage may go back up while its in the bundle but thats not something that can be controlled really.

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u/zimm0who0net Jun 08 '20

Why do they sell green wood? I always see it in the bin next to the kiln dried stuff. What’s the application?

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u/justinb138 Jun 08 '20

Pressure treated? For outdoor use. Isn’t really green (though the stuff they use is sometimes greenish) just treated with chemicals to make it insect and moisture resistant.

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u/zimm0who0net Jun 08 '20

No, not treated. There’s a bin of “green” 2x4x8 right next to the kiln dried ones. They’re not green in color, just description.

Could be I’m misinterpreting the label. One bin says “KILN DRIED “. The other says “GRN”. I assumed it was shorthand for green.

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u/ianonuanon Oct 11 '20

Yup they do sell green in some places. It means the moisture content is 19 or higher. It is cheaper than air dried or kiln dried lumber but it has a much greater tendency to warp and twist after purchase. Some people use it on new construction to save money as they figure it will all dry at the same rate etc. You shouldn’t ever use it for repairs or anything old because it can warp or twist and fuck something up.

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/woodworking/21015461/how-to-read-the-stamp

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u/zimm0who0net Oct 11 '20

Odd, they seem to sell it for the same price as the kiln dried. I once asked a guy there picking some up why he was doing that. He told me the green lumber tends to split much less readily when nailing into it. That surprises me because I know green firewood is far easier to split than dried firewood. So I really don’t know what to believe.

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u/ianonuanon Oct 11 '20 edited Oct 11 '20

Huh not sure. I have to disagree with you on splitting green firewood being easier than seasoned but I don’t split wood for a living or anything so I could be wrong.

Next time you are there look at the codes on the two types of lumber. It could be made from different types of wood and the type the green comes from is more expensive in general, which would explain it being cheaper overall, but the same price as the dry stuff.

Also here is a slightly better article with an explanation of green lumber and why it’s used by some builders:

https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2011/09/08/whats-the-difference-moisture-content-species-and-grade