Untreated Wood - Exposed to the elements

[Bolson32]

Hey All,

I've been busting my tail getting my garage finished before Winter and I finally had a chance on Saturday to build my firewood storage from scrap lumber. It's a 10x5x6 lean-to built mostly out of good solid 2x6 lumber.

I tried to stain it yesterday but it was way too cold and my sprayer wasn't working, it was just globbing the stain out. So, what happens if I don't stain it this year and wait to stain it until next year? I'm sure it'll gray but I can't imagine untreated wood will just disintegrate with one year exposed to the snow. Especially since almost all of it is off the ground and will be able to dry out regularly.

The forecast is not looking great for getting this thing done, and I'd just as soon get the roof on it and get my wood stacked in there and wait until next year to deal with it. What do you guys think?

 

[madhatter]

Stain isn't really going to protect it anyway. Make sure you have good overhangs all the way around it. If you look at old barns made out of untreated wood the only part that really rots is the bottoms of the boards that got splash back from water running off the roof.

 

[Zmann]

a little weather before stain will add character ;-)
if you hate the uneavene weather look ( if the weather only changes the lower portion
pressure wash it with an aggressive tiip and it will change the whole appearance to a more of a rough sawn exposed grain consistent color/texture before staining next season

 

[Bolson32]

Stain isn't really going to protect it anyway. Make sure you have good overhangs all the way around it. If you look at old barns made out of untreated wood the only part that really rots is the bottoms of the boards that got splash back from water running off the roof.

That's kind of my thoughts, I know that bottom board is going to rot, that's fine. I'll just replace that with a piece of green treat when the time comes. I won't be able to have massive overhangs because I'm going to just slap steel roofing on the top and I don't think I'd want a big overhang unsupported. Maybe 6" off the back.

 

[Don1357]

Stain isn't really going to protect it anyway. Make sure you have good overhangs all the way around it. If you look at old barns made out of untreated wood the only part that really rots is the bottoms of the boards that got splash back from water running off the roof.

Untreated lumber would not disintegrate over a year, treated lumber is meant to last a tad longer than that.

We don't have termites so I use plain lumber on some raised beds that I water regularly, some finished their second year without deterioration. Your PT lumber will be fine.

 

[Zmann]

Your PT lumber will be fine

for the record it reads as though he did not use " PT" lumber

 

[Bolson32]

for the record it reads as though he did not use " PT" lumber

Correct, the only PT lumber I used was the posts. The rest is not treated. Still, 2x dimensional lumber is pretty sturdy, I'm betting it'll last a good while and just wanted the validation!

Thanks all.

 

[Don1357]

You should swap the ones on the base for either PT or a synthetic material, those are the ones most likely to suffer from rot, insect damage, fungus, and the like.

 

[bushmechanic]

Type out things like "pressure treated" so people can find threads like this.

 

[nadogail]

Do you have anything to cover the top with? IMHO, you want to keep the stored wood as dry as possible.

Maybe corrugated steel or even Visqueen ?

 

[Bolson32]

Do you have anything to cover the top with? IMHO, you want to keep the stored wood as dry as possible.

Maybe corrugated steel or even Visqueen ?

Yea, I just haven't put it on yet lol. I'm going to use steel roofing from menards.

Sent from my SM-N981U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Jlbc212]

Untreated wood outside that has good air circulation around it can last for many years.

 

[Bretny]

A quality exterior stain may actualy not want you to put its stain on shiny new wood. It hasn't dried and cracked enough yet. I know this is what TWP suggests.

Either way I'm going on 8yrs with my car trailer deck boards..regular non PT no stain.

 

[Bolson32]

A quality exterior stain may actualy not want you to put its stain on shiny new wood. It hasn't dried and cracked enough yet. I know this is what TWP suggests.

Either way I'm going on 8yrs with my car trailer deck boards..regular non PT no stain.

Well dangit, an even better excuse to be lazy! I'll stain it in 5 years. Perfect!

 

[txvwnut]

If you got a propane torch you could just char the untreated wood and not have to worry about stain. Look up shoshugibon and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

 

[Bretny]

If you got a propane torch you could just char the untreated wood and not have to worry about stain. Look up shoshugibon and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Unless you do that to every side of every board prior to putting it up it wont work for the joints.

I wouldnt wait 5yrs but they do want the wood to be slightly "weathered". With TWP oilbased stain your really soaking oil into the wood. The wood is suposto beagle to soak up and accept the oil.

Since this is just a wood shed have you thought about a fine motor oil stain?

 

[MushCreek]

In a semi-related question- I am planning to build a timber carport. I can buy local rough-sawn lumber much cheaper than pressure treated, especially right now. The posts will be 6X6, and sit on post bases above concrete spot footings. The carport will be open, with a tin roof on purlins, so no sheathing. Will brushed on copper napthanate do a reasonable job of protecting the wood? I have a gallon of concentrate that you mix with mineral spirits up to 40:1, so you can mix it a lot stronger than Cuprinol. I could use PT posts, but they wouldn't match the rough-cut timbers on the rest of it.

 

[joey1320]

The row on the bottom, sitting on the ground, will the one to have any serious damage, if at all. The rest will be fine. I would replace the bottom row with pressure treated wood so you don't have to do it in 10 years.

 

[Mick56]

One late fall when I was putting the outside trim on my garage, it was way too cold to paint. I gave all the wood a coat of BLO. It protected the wood perfectly all winter, and the next summer I just painted over it with great results.