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SCSJeff
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# Posted: 10 Jan 2017 02:44pm
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Hello All,
I've just acquired enough oak pallet boards to test doing an interior bedroom wall with at our cabin. I got the boards directly from a local pallet manufacturer before they were assembled (very inexpensive). No treatments applied. The wood tested at 14% moisture content. I got 6" wide boards that are 4' long. The manufacturer even ship lapped the ends of the boards for me.
My cabin is in central PA, lows can be in the single digits F at times during winter and up to 90's F during the summer. My cabin is off-grid and thus not heated when we're not there.
Questions:
I was hoping to be able to hang it this Spring/Summer. Is the wood dry enough for that? The person at the manufacturer seemed to think I could hang it right away with the shiplapping...
The wood is rough cut. Is it necessary to sand it down? I was hoping to "slap" it up and not have to do alot of prep to it.
We do want to stain the boards (rough Oak is pretty plain looking, isn't anywhere as nice looking as Cedar). Do I need to stain both sides?
Can/Should we poly over the boards after staining? Is there a poly/stain in one?
If this project goes well, I'd like to attempt getting more and doing our ceilings with it. However, I'm thinking I would paint the boards white for that application. Any prep concerns for painting rough cut boards?
Thanks All!
Jeff
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 10 Jan 2017 05:15pm
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14% MC is rather high, but a lot of what it should be depends on whether you are in a humid coastal area or the dry desert, or in between. For interior work you would generally want the MC to be 8% on average. Here in the desert we see hardwoods at 6%, down to 4% as a norm. Humid coastal area might be as high as 10-12%.
As for rough cut vs sanded that is a matter of personal choice. Rough will gather and hold dust though. Rough will also soak up more stain and finish. Rough will be, IMO, a pita when staining. Staining involves wiping off excess and your wiping rags will likely snag and leave threads behind. There are stain/poly finishes but the one time I had some experience with them years ago was the last time. I never care to use that again. YMMV, after all they do keep selling the stuff.
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TerraLove
Member
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# Posted: 10 Jan 2017 05:20pm
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How rough? If they are very rough with splinters from sawmill, you can run them through a planer and not bother about sanding.
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old243
Member
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# Posted: 10 Jan 2017 06:36pm
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Jeff you stated that you have the ends ship lapped, I would recommend ship lapping the sides. an planing at least one side. Probably both. By ship lapping the sides any shrinkage or swelling will not leave gaps between boards, as moisture varies. 13% is the normal moisture content of air dried lumber , in our area. old243
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SCSJeff
Member
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# Posted: 10 Jan 2017 07:10pm - Edited by: SCSJeff
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TerraLove,
The boards are rough, but I wouldn't consider them splinter rough. They are intended for pallets. So that should give an idea as to how rough they are.
MtnDon,
I guess in central PA, we would be considered somewhere in between dry arid and coastal humid. I would probably lean a bit more on the humid side, especially in August. Good points about the rough being a PITA. So if you don't like the poly/stain combos, is it OK to poly on top of stain?
old243,
I'm not as worried about the gaps since I'm using this on a non-insulated interior wall. I work at a high school and I asked our wood shop teacher about the moisture reading and he said good to go. He also said I could poly it all and trap any moisture inside. I won't be hanging it until July/August, so it will have another 6 months to dry out too. I'm actually more worried about cupping than I am shrinking...
Thanks for all the replies!
Jeff
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TerraLove
Member
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# Posted: 11 Jan 2017 01:08pm
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I would plane them then and not bother sanding. The added benefit is that you get fine oak chips which you can use for compost instead of a cloud of dust to clean.
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 11 Jan 2017 08:55pm
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Only problem with planing is it leaves knife marks. They will show when finished. Best way to get rid of them is with a wide belt sander, or abrasive planer. Some cabinet shops rent use of theirs to others.
Jeff- if you only stain it it's not necessary to stain both sides. If you put any kind of film finish on it- varnish or whatever- its best to do both sides so moisture will gain and depart evenly, avoiding the worst of cupping
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SCSJeff
Member
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# Posted: 12 Jan 2017 06:09pm
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Thanks for the feedback everyone!
So I just moved the stack to another location in my garage and actually paid more attention to the roughness. Yes, it is pretty rough and I can see how staining/painting would be a PITA because of that. So I guess I'll be sanding them anyway.
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