Wood Is Gonna Wood: Movement, Checks and What to Expect

Here is something the big box store will not tell you: wood moves. It takes on water, dries out and takes on water again, whether it was sold green, air dried or kiln dried. It was a living thing, and it never got the memo that it is a ceiling now.

Kiln drying does not stop that movement. What it does is bring the wood down to about the moisture it is going to live at before it goes up. That is why we do not warranty against movement, and why no honest mill does. What we can do is tell you what to expect.

Timbers shrink and check

Green timbers shrink as they dry. Timbers with the heart in them are going to check, and most of ours have the heart in them, because Colorado does not grow big trees and we often cannot get more than one 6x6 out of a log. A check is not a broken beam. It is a beam being wood.

Let the timber tell you

If a timber is going to check, it usually shows within the first 10 days. Let it sit a while, see where the check wants to be, and then turn that face where you will not see it.

Pick the right dryness

Most movement headaches come from using the wrong material in the wrong place, like green boards on an interior ceiling. Here is how to pick green, air dried or kiln dried.

If you want every piece to look like it came out of a mold, we are probably not your mill. If you want real wood from people who will tell you the truth about it, come on by.